Our Design & Technology Curriculum
Curriculum Intent
Our Kaizen Design Technology curriculum is designed with the intent of addressing the contextual issues that impact on pupils through our four values: inclusive, collaborative, resilient and reflective. Design and Technology at Kaizen develops children’s skills and knowledge in a number of different areas. These include: structures, mechanisms, electrical systems, textiles and food. We inspire children's creativity and encourage them to think about important issues in the world around them.
Curriculum Implementation
At Kaizen Design Technology is taught in all year groups, with meaningful and well resourced lessons. Children are taught through the three phases of designing, making and evaluating as set out by the National Curriculum. At Kaizen we have also implemented another phase which we call ‘practise’. This phase allows children to explore existing products and create mock-ups and prototypes before designing their final product. Where appropriate, cross curricular links are made to allow children to make links within the world they live in.
Each year group focuses on at least 3 topics throughout the year and children will use transferable skills and knowledge from previous learning where possible. As children progress through the school, they are presented with opportunities to develop these skills, as similar topics are revisited and built upon. We follow the Projects on a Page scheme of work, which allows the teachers to be creative with their lessons, whilst still ensuring all aspects of the National Curriculum are covered. All staff have participated in training on delivering Projects on a Page and further D&T professional development is always on offer for staff should they feel more support is needed. Our school works in collaboration with 5 other trust schools; here the curriculum leaders meet and discuss aspects of the curriculum, sharing good practice and ideas for purposeful teaching and learning.
At Kaizen we split the terms between D&T and Art outcomes, with subjects alternating each half term. The time dedicated to D&T ensures that each topic can be delivered to a high standard and children can create important and useful products. Children are encouraged to be clever and creative when designing and making their products. All children are challenged during D&T lessons through continuous verbal feedback and through problems presented to them. Children are constantly encouraged to evaluate their work and designs in order for them to justify their choices.
During D&T lessons, cross-curricular links are observed when appropriate. The school utilises our forest school provision to enrich children’s understanding of the world. Maths links are made where possible, for example in Year 3 children have an opportunity to work with shapes and nets to design packages. During cooking topics, children are measuring out ingredients, as well as calculating the quantities of different recipes. Instructions are often created as part of the ‘design’ phase, which has a direct link to English. Through the children presenting their products confidently oracy skills are practiced. Science knowledge is practiced when children are creating products that contain electrical components, for example Year 4 children use their knowledge of electrical circuits to create nightlights/torches. Adults also encourage children to consider the impact their product can have on the wider world, to ensure they realise the difference they may make in the future. This is achieved via the use of recyclable materials to create different products.
This year brings inevitable pressures on the timetable with catch up provision and some of the timetable being given over to increased hygiene measures. To ensure full curriculum coverage we have planned the following provision:
● Establishing Design Technology as a termly ‘event’ in place of typical end of term celebrations.
● A menu of activities for each phase (KS1, LKS2, UPKS2) for the week before Christmas to support the development of language for the subject; to include small scale design and make projects with textiles and paper.
● The last week of Spring Term will see cross curricular design and make projects.
● A Design and Technology Week at the end of Summer Term. Each phase (KS1, LKS2 and UKS2) will run two projects concurrently; a design and make project and a healthy food/ nutrition project.
We anticipate that as the year progresses we will either be less restricted by Covid safe conditions or, at the very least, schools will be more confident in safely delivering lessons in which children can creatively design and make things. We anticipate an increased frequency of individuals/groups isolating over the winter months, so the large scale projects taking place in summer allows staff to re-establish positive behaviour frameworks for practical lessons involving a large range of exciting resources.
Through these Design and Technology events we will continue to deliver a Design and Technology curriculum that allows children to design, make, evaluate and develop technical knowledge.
Curriculum Impact
Each topic ends with all children creating a final product; these products are a fantastic way for children to demonstrate the skills they have learnt. Throughout the school, children are given the opportunity to consolidate their skills by creating their final product independently. Each lesson builds on the previous and children’s skills are improved upon throughout each topic. It is also clear to see the progression of skills throughout the school through the quality of products each year group creates. Curriculum and school leaders monitor the impact of our curriculum provision through completing regular monitoring, that includes listening to the voice of our children.