Design Technology Curriculum at XII Apostles
Design Technology; Subject Leader Mrs Yates and Curriculum Team 2
Intent:
I think one of the big challenges is actually cultivating beginners’ minds and making sure you’re still open to the world and continue to see new things… Those are the things an entrepreneur needs—an open mind and the ability to see the world with new eyes.”- Caterina Fake: an American entrepreneur and businesswoman who co-founded the websites Flickr and Hunch.
At Twelve Apostles, our vision for Design Technology is just that: cultivating beginner’s minds. DT should provide children with a real life context for learning. inspired by engineers, designers, chefs and architects to enable them to create a range of structures, mechanisms, textiles, electrical systems and food products with a real life purpose.
The aims of the National Curriculum for Design and Technology ensure that all pupils:
- develop the creative, technical and practical expertise needed to perform everyday tasks confidently and to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world
- build and apply a repertoire of knowledge, understanding and skills in order to design and make high-quality prototypes and products for a wide range of users
- critique, evaluate and test their ideas and products and the work of others
- understand and apply the principles of nutrition and learn how to cook
Implementation:
The teaching of Design and Technology across the school follows the National Curriculum. It is cross - curricular and draws upon subject knowledge and skills within Mathematics, Science, History, Computing and Art. Teachers use some ideas from the Design and Technology Association's 'Projects On A Page' documents and Nuffield Primary Design and Technology | STEM web site
Children design products with a purpose in mind and an intended user of the products. Food technology is implemented across the school with children developing an understanding of where food comes from, the importance of a varied and healthy diet and how to prepare this. Many of the projects undertaken by the children enable the children to learn about sustainability and encourage them to reuse materials or cook with locally grown produce.
Design and Technology also embeds Twelve Apostles Learning Powers. It is an inspiring, rigorous and practical subject, requiring curiosity, creativity, collaborative working, resourcefulness, and imagination. Pupils design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts. Children learn to take risks, be reflective, innovative, enterprising and resilient. Through the evaluation of past and present technology they can reflect upon the impact of Design Technology on everyday life and the wider world.
All teaching of DT should follow the design, make and evaluate cycle. Each stage should be rooted in technical knowledge. The design process should be rooted in real life, relevant contexts to give meaning to learning. While making, children should be given choice and a range of tools to choose freely from. To evaluate, children should be able to evaluate their own products against a design criteria.
Impact:
At XII Apostles, we recognise the unique needs of each child and support them in reaching their human potential. The impact of our Design and Technology curriculum is measured in the experiences, confidence and competence of our children within the subject and the ability to apply the disciplinary knowledge they have been taught, in other subjects and within the wider world. We ensure children receive the experiences they require, both within and beyond the curriculum, to develop their skills and become confident in the different areas of the subject.
Supporting Documents
Design and Technology Curriculum Outcomes