Intent 

At Priory Primary School, Design and Technology is regarded as a key area of the curriculum and one which underpins the development of creativity and the practical exploration of designing and making products. 

 It is our aim to teach the pupils the key knowledge, understanding and skills required to be successful as designers.  

These skills will be taught progressively as they move on their journey of learning through the school, ensuring they are fully able to access their next stage of learning and to develop personal interests and passions within the subject.  

They will be given opportunities to develop these and combine them with knowledge and skills from other subjects, particularly Maths, Science, Computing and Art.  

Using themed projects will captivate the interests of the children, nurture their creativity and allow them to innovate, ultimately allowing them to develop the technical knowledge to design, make and evaluate functional and appealing products for a particular purpose and user.  

A key factor in the design process is bringing context and relevance to real life and therefore, meaning to learning. It is our intent to ensure our children are provided with the necessary opportunities to gain the relevant knowledge, understanding and life skills needed to prepare them for today’s ‘design and make’ world in which we all work and live. 

Implementation 

Our curriculum sequence involves two important elements - learning about the designed and made world and how things work and learning to design and make functional products for particular purposes and users. To do this, we plan a sequence from the D&T Association's Projects on a Page. 

Our sequences allow children to acquire and apply knowledge and understanding of materials and components, mechanisms and control systems, structures, existing products, quality and health and safety. 

Our curriculum helps develop children’s skills through collaborative working and problem-solving, and knowledge in design, materials, structures, mechanisms and electrical control. They are encouraged to be creative and innovative and are actively encouraged to think about important issues such as sustainability and enterprise. 

There are three core activities children engage with in Design and Technology: 

• Activities which involve investigating and evaluating existing products 

• Focused tasks in which children develop particular aspects of knowledge and skills 

• Designing and making activities in which children design and make 'something' for 'somebody' for 'some purpose' 

Impact

Our DT curriculum is high quality, well thought out and demonstrates progression. Self evaluation and formative assessments take place regularly throughout units, highlighting areas which need further development.  Children develop a critical understanding of the impact of DT on daily life and the wider world.