Design and Technology

At Adswood Primary School we value Design and Technology not only as a way for children to express their creativity and problem solving skills, but also as an opportunity to apply other curriculum skills, such as Maths and Science, in a practical situation.

Design and Technology at Adswood Primary School utilises knowledge and skills acquired from across the curriculum, which can be applied to meet the requirements of a design brief, provided at the beginning of a D&T Project Day.

Our Design and Technology curriculum consists of ‘Project Days’ where pupils complete a full project through all the stages in one day – Research & Design, Make, Test & Evaluate. This enables children to fully immerse themselves into the project and produce a high quality outcome that can then be either used, displayed or eaten. Each class has 2 or 3 Project Days throughout the year, ensuring full curriculum coverage across a Key Stage. The projects have been planned to link with the classes Learning Challenge Curriculum topics and begin with a problem for the children to solve . These include:

• Year 1-How can we send Mandy Meerkat around the world?
• Year 2-How can Miss travel on the moon?
• Year 3-How can I keep my school P.E. safe and tidy?
• Year 4-How can we make the star of the show shine?
• Year 5-How can we make a hat which does not blow off in the wind?
• Year 6-How can we keep the crown jewels safe?

In the Early Years Foundation Stage, Design and Technology forms part of the learning children acquire under the ‘Knowledge and Understanding of the World' branch of the Foundation Stage curriculum, which also covers geography, history, ICT, and science. Children are encouraged to experiment with methods of mixing and combining different materials and ingredients; exploring, building and collapsing structures; investigate electronic equipment and generally test, evaluate and improve the resources in their environment.

Each day begins with a problem, design brief, then follows the process of Research, Design, Make and Evaluate, covering areas such as; structures, food technology, mechanical systems, fabrics and electronics. 

Following each D&T Project Day, learners evaluate their products against the design brief. This is can be either written or a video demonstration of how they have solved the problem and how their finished product works.

We also conduct learner voice sessions, where pupils can talk about their project days, suggest ways of developing the curriculum and showcase their learning.

The creative and kinaesthetic nature of design and technology provides opportunities for all learners to engage with the design and make process. The development of practical skills and use of physical resources promotes engagement, especially when children understand how these skills can be applied in real life situations. For children who find traditionally academic subjects more challenging, Design and Technology can often generate aspirations for their future as they take pride in their achievements. At Adswood, the teaching of Design and Technology is inclusive through quality first teaching. Provision for learners is age appropriate but differentiated to meet the needs of our learners. SEN Support plans outline specific targets for our learners with additional needs.

Links and visits to local restaurants such as ‘Where the Light Gets In’  and 'The Landing' gives pupils an opportunity to see food technology in practice-growing bread from wheat to loaf, whilst also learning about seasonality and food sources. In addition to this, the school has developed a working partnership with the Royal Navy-where the children particpate in STEM(Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) activities, which allow them to develop a deeper understanding of how electronics and coding are used in real life situations.

Engagement with the young engineers programme has seen some of our pupils awarded with distinctions for their innovative designs!

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