Intent

At Alston Lane Catholic Primary school, we believe that design and technology should be an inspiring, rigorous and practical subject where pupils have the opportunity to use their creativity and imagination to design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts. Through our design and technology curriculum we aim to teach pupils how to take risks, become resourceful, innovative, enterprising and capable citizens who are able to make positive changes to their own and others’ lives.  We are committed to supporting our pupils to develop the creative, technical and practical expertise they need to perform a variety of tasks with tangible outcomes, which will enable them to participate in an increasingly technological world.

Implementation

Our design and technology curriculum has been designed so topics build on one another with clear progression and links so that in subsequent year groups, children will be able to build on skills they have learnt and apply their increasing knowledge in different contexts. 

In our EYFS setting, children explore the world and develop their understanding of how different aspects of the world work. Our children are encouraged to select and use appropriate tools and resources to accomplish tasks both individually and collaboratively. From this early age, we encourage and support children to become inquisitive learners who ask questions about how things work and investigate different methods of achieving tasks until they accomplish a desired goal.  Work is often linked to the children’s interests and provides an enabling environment offering a range of experiences that encourage exploration, observation, problem solving, critical thinking and discussion.

Our design and technology curriculum in KS1 and KS2 provides opportunities for children to work individually or collaboratively to create a final product which meets the requirements of a design brief within a real-life context.  Research and evaluation into the product being created is often the starting point of a unit, and children use their findings from their research to generate their own designs.  Before the children make their final product, teachers plan focused practical tasks which help the children to practise skills and acquire the knowledge they need. Once a final product has been made, the children are encouraged to evaluate their model, relating this back to their original design.