Design and Technology

Intent, Implementation and Impact of the DT Curriculum

DT is a subject that gives every child the chance to shine by creating something truly original. Where else can you plan, design and make a toy? Or a nutritious meal? Or sew something that can be worn or used every day? The skills children gain through DT are truly skills for life and can sometimes represent the first steps a child takes in what will one day be their career. At Harnham Juniors we make sure children have every chance to be original as they explore, design and create. The opportunity to evaluate their design choices is built into the curriculum, ensuring that children know exactly what went right!

Intent

At the heart of our curriculum are our school curriculum drivers – Communication, Resilience, Diversity and Aspirations. They form a key part of life at Harnham Juniors and are a crucial part of the DT curriculum. Throughout the DT curriculum children are encouraged to communicate their thinking, to aspire to create truly create things and to be resilient when things do not go as planned. It is important for the children to understand that designs can and often are adapted, and that the process of adapting an original idea is an important life skill that they will use time and again. In experimenting with design choices, adapting them when they do not work as expected and evaluating their usefulness, children have the opportunity to develop and enhance their own resilience.

It is our intent that all children at Harnham Junior School should have access to a varied DT curriculum where they will experience opportunities to work with a variety of materials, for a variety of different outcomes.

Our curriculum aims to ensure all children will:

·       Learn how to work collaboratively, reflecting and adapting their designs

·       Learn how to research and then design products for a variety of real world contexts

·       Use a variety of different ways to communicate their ideas, both verbally and through diagrams, drawings and prototypes

·       Use a wide range of tools and equipment to make products based on their own original designs, selecting materials and components

·       Evaluate existing products as well as considering their own against their own design criteria. This will enable children to improve their own work, as well as offering opinions on the work of others and accepting the views of others as part of evaluating their own work

Children will gain an impressive technical knowledge that will allow them to consider how to change the strength of specific structures, to understand mechanical and electrical systems and apply their understanding of computing to help program, monitor and control their products.

Children will also gain valuable cooking and nutrition skills – learning all about the principles of healthy and nutritious food but most crucially gaining a life skill and a passion for cooking that will lead them to create elaborate and exciting meals as they gain confidence and experience.

Implementation

Our DT curriculum works on an exciting, yearly rotating plan that is mapped out across the four years a child is at our School to ensure coverage and progression. Because topics change, when children cover these skills may vary from year to year.

We emphasis the development of both knowledge and skills so that children can be inspired by how a product has been created and can really think about why products look and behave in the ways that they do.   Skills are built on each year so that children develop and enhance the understanding they have already gained. Skills are usually linked to topics, but may also link to other areas of the curriculum such as Maths, English or Science if it is deemed meaningful and relevant.    

The children’s work is celebrated and displayed around the school, where possible. We are proud of the amazing responses the children at Harnham Junior School have to our various DT topics and love the diversity and originality of thought they show.

Impact

DT teaches children the value of original thought, the value of adaptability, the value of evaluation and collaborative thinking. DT at Harnham Junior School not only creates learners with a sound and thorough grasp of design techniques, practical skills and evaluative knowhow, but also learners who apply the skills of careful planning, adaptability and resilience to every area of the curriculum.