Design and Technology Curriculum

Subject Leader: Miss May

'Design is an iterative process, where mistakes are embraced and solutions are refined'

- David Carson

Intent - What are we trying to achieve?

At St Michael and St Martin’s School, we aim for each pupil to be equipped with the expertise needed to contribute to the creativity, culture, wealth and well-being of the world. To achieve this, our curriculum is designed to support our children to develop skills for the future, including: complex problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, originality and resilience. Our curriculum is also designed to engage and inspire pupils to develop a passion for D&T and develop their talent as young designers, and so they will increase their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement. We believe that these skills will inspire our children to have a Growth Mindset and recognise that this can be applied to many other aspects of their lives. 

Implementation - How is the curriculum being delivered?

Design and Technology lessons are taught weekly on a termly rotation with Art. We use the KAPOW scheme of work as a foundation for our curriculum to ensure the aims of Development Matters (EYFS) and the National Curriculum (KS1 and KS2) are met fully. Where appropriate, cross-curricular links have been made.

All of our projects at St Michael and St Martin’s have been carefully selected with a clear intended user/purpose. Our staff are confident in teaching and supporting pupils to develop their skills, enabling all pupils to develop a deeper understanding of the subject. Our staff are knowledgeable about how to adapt and enhance lesson sequences from KAPOW to ensure pupils are exposed to the iterative design process in all projects across the school, allowing children to improve their designs based on the results of testing.

From the earliest age in the EYFS, and in line with Development Matters, children will begin to explore different tools, processes and materials to give them a secure foundation of D&T, which will be built upon as they progress through the school. 

Our D&T projects, skills and areas of progression are included in our D&T Whole School Progression Document. Key vocabulary is also included within this document to support pre-teaching and to put up in the learning environment. All staff have access to the D&T Whole School Progression Document, as well as the Whole School D&T Overview, to allow staff to see which skills are being taught in each year group and how the skills are being built upon each year.

Impact - What difference is the curriculum making?

Pupils are given the opportunity to give feedback, receive feedback, and present their work with others in order to develop their self-confidence and teamwork skills. This teaches our children to value the ideas, opinions and feedback of others when working collaboratively, and empathise with others by being understanding and supportive of their achievements and areas of development.

Pupils develop resilience and a Growth Mindset way of thinking when faced with new experiences and challenges. They are always encouraged to deepen their thinking when designing, making and continually evaluating, and to demonstrate independence when using resources and working towards an outcome.

If you visited a Design and Technology lesson at St Michael and St Martin’s you would see:

• Eager and focused learners
• Confident, enthusiastic and knowledgeable teaching staff
• Clear learning challenges that reflect the iterative design process 
• Exposure to and modelled examples of subject specific vocabulary
• Opportunities to work creatively and collaboratively as a class, in smaller groups and as a school community through whole school events. 

Pupil Voice:

Reception: ‘We make things for other people. I am looking forward to making a bookmark to use when I read’ - Juliet, RM

Year 1: ‘I enjoyed tasting the smoothies. Some fruits were sweet and some were sour.’

Year 2: ‘I love making new things. Last term we made a ferris wheel for a mini golf course.’ - Levi, 2M

Year 3: ‘I really like when we make food. We have been learning about nutrition and designing a fruit skewer to go on the school menu.’ - Larenz, 3M

Year 4: ‘We enjoyed the challenge of buying our ingredients with a limited budget and making a tasty biscuit. My favourite part was making a poster to share my recipe with others.’ - Larissa, 4s

Year 5: 'We enjoyed making the book 3D and working as a team so we could share ideas.' - Abira, 5A

I enjoyed creating the contraptions and presenting the final book to the Year 1 children as this was the first time they'd experienced this. They enjoyed it alot!' - Carla, 5A

Year 6: ‘I enjoy making things better and solving problems until they are just right.’ - Ashton, 6C

How do the pupils at St Michael and St Martin Catholic Primary School develop the school ‘STRIVE’ values through Art and Design and Technology? 

Our children strive to:

• Connect spiritually with our community including through using D&T as a medium to express their individual beliefs.
• Deepen their thinking when they are designing, making and continually evaluating. 
• Be resilient when faced with new experiences and challenges and develop a growth mindset.
• Demonstrate independence when using resources and working towards an outcome.
• Value the ideas, opinions and feedback of others when working collaboratively.
• Empathise with others by being understanding and supportive of their achievements and areas of development.