The Intent

At Stewart Headlam and Hague we want to foster an appreciation of the thought, craftsmanship and creativity that has gone into designing and building the products in the world around us. We encourage children to use their creativity and imagination to design and make products which solve real life problems such as sewing our own glove puppets to tell stories in year 1, designing earthquake proof structures in year 3 and cooking foods from the different cultures represented in our local area in year 6. We want to equip our children with the confidence and skills such as cutting, joining, shaping and finishing, to bring their own designs to life .     

 

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Through our DT curriculum children should:

• Develop the practical skills needed to make their products safely.

• Become effective at evaluating products - both those already existing and their own.

• Be imaginative and creative to come up with their own designs. 

• Draw upon skills in other curriculum areas, especially maths, science, computing and art. 

• Work cooperatively with others, listening to their ideas and treating these with respect.

 

Implementation: 

Design and technology begins in the Early Years through regular opportunities to make their own objects and through cooking activities. Children are encouraged to be creative and build with an outcome in mind. They are supported to develop simple skills such as cutting, sticking and finishing and encouraged to revisit their creations and consider how they could be built upon and improved. 

Across key stage 1 and 2, DT is taught through termly projects. These are often blocked to allow children the time to develop their skills and ideas through sustained periods of learning. Topics are used to give a relevant context for the projects. We utilise the “Projects on a Page” plans from the Design and Technology Association.  

 

We see Design and Technology as a 4 part process: 

1. Research:

•  Identify the problem we need to solve, who the user will be and decide on the success criteria for our design. 

•  Explore what products already exist. 

•  Explore the possibilities and limitations of the materials we have available to work with. 

 

 2. Design: 

• Be imaginative - brainstorm a range of possible solutions to the problem. 

• Make a decision about the best solution.

• Draw your design

• Decide which materials you will use. 

 

 3. Make:  

• Develop the skills and techniques needed.

• Apply those skills in making the product.  

 

 4. Evaluate: 

• Test your design to see if it meets the design criteria. 

• Analyse the strengths and weaknesses of your product. 

• Share your product with others and get feedback. 

• Consider how your design could be improved. 

 

The Impact

At SHH, Design and Technology is taught from Early Years through to Year 6 and each year makes up an integral piece of a larger progressive curriculum that prepares our pupils to engage meaningfully with design and technology beyond primary school. The knowledge and skills that our pupils gain provide the building blocks upon which our pupils will access the Key Stage Three curriculum and further.

Design Technology is a subject that our children particularly enjoy. The opportunity to be creative, apply new skills and produce an end product gives the children a real sense of achievement and something they can be  proud of.