Curriculum Intent
At Enfield Academy, it is our intent to prepare children for the rapidly changing world around them. Through Design and Technology, we develop children’s innovation, creativity, problem-solving and entrepreneurial skills. We also develop their knowledge and understanding of key designers, technicians and the impact that technology has on history, culture and the World today.
We provide children with the opportunity to identify design needs and to respond to them by developing a range of ideas and by creating products and systems in order to respond to that need. Through the study of Design and Technology, they combine practical skills with an understanding of aesthetic, social and environmental issues, as well as functions and industry. This allows them to reflect on and evaluate past and present technology, its uses and its impact.
It is the intent of Enfield Academy for Design and Technology to be taught in all year groups through at least one topic per term through our Cornerstones topics. Design and Technology projects are often taught through cross curricular links.
It is the intent that Design and Technology will be taught termly in projects - the focus will be outcome based. The main NC objective will be: build and apply a repertoire of knowledge, understanding and skills in order to design and make high-quality prototypes and products for a wide range of users.
Curriculum Implementation
The teaching of Design and Technology across the school follows the National Curriculum. Children design products with a purpose in mind and with an intended user of the products. Food technology is implemented across the school with children developing an understanding of where food comes from, the importance of a varied and healthy diet and how to prepare this. This will be taught as part of science and where appropriate, through project teaching. This will incorporate the background of food and foods across the world. Food technology will be taught in each year group at least once per term to ensure that children have the chance to experience cooking, baking, selecting and preparing foods.
Design and technology is a crucial part of school life and learning and it is for this reason that as a school we are dedicated to the teaching and delivery of a high quality Design and Technology curriculum; through well-planned and resourced projects and experiences.
Design and Technology also embeds our Enfield Key Drivers. It is an inspiring, rigorous and practical subject, requiring ambition, resourcefulness, resilience, collaboration and imagination. Pupils design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts. It is cross - curricular and draws upon subject knowledge and skills within mathematics, science, history, computing and art. Children learn to take risks, be reflective, innovative, enterprising and resilient. Through the evaluation of past and present technology they can reflect upon the impact of Design Technology on everyday life and the wider world.
Design and technology will also be taught as part of termly topic work through the Cornerstones curriculum. DT will be used in some topic lessons to enhance DT skills and the understanding of the topic. The number of topic lessons devoted to DT will be determined by the topic.
DT lessons will be taught with reference to the Design and Technology Skills Progression document to ensure that DT skills are being developed and built upon as children progress through the school. It will also ensure that DT is being taught with breadth as well as depth and that children are accessing a range of skills and materials.
Design and technology will also be taught discretely in order to ensure that children are taught specific design and technology skills and have a sound knowledge of famous technicians, inventors, designers, architects, entrepreneurs etc. A long-term plan has been developed to ensure that children gain a thorough coverage of famous inventions and inventors and how they have influenced today’s world. During these targeted DT lessons, children will explore a famous person from the past and their inventions/ designs and study how they have affected today’s way of life. At the end of the study children will produce a piece of high-quality work based upon their study.
Early Years Foundation Stage
During the EYFS pupils explore and use a variety of media and materials through a combination of child initiated and adult directed activities. They have the opportunities to learn to:
- Use different media and materials to express their own ideas
- Use what they have learnt about media and materials in original ways, thinking about form, function and purpose
- Make plans and construct with a purpose in mind using a variety of resources
- Develop skills to use simple tools and techniques appropriately, effectively and safely
- Select appropriate resources for a product and adapt their work where necessary
- Cook and prepare food adhering to good health and hygiene routines
National Curriculum requirements at Key Stage 1
Through a variety of creative and practical activities, pupils should be taught the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in the process of designing and making. They should work in a range of relevant contexts, (for example the home and school, gardens and playgrounds, the local community, industry and the wider environment).
When designing and making, pupils should be taught to:Design
Make
Evaluate
Technical knowledge
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- explore and use mechanisms, (for example levers, sliders, wheels and axles), in their products.
National Curriculum requirements for food and Nutrition at KS1
As part of their work with food, pupils should be taught how to cook and apply the principles of nutrition and healthy eating. Learning how to cook is a crucial life skill that enables pupils to feed themselves and others healthily and affordably throughout life.
Pupils should be taught to:
• use the basic principles of a healthy and varied diet to prepare dishes
• understand where food comes from.
In Key Stage 2:
Within key stage 2 key events and individuals that have influenced the world of Design Technology are teaching focuses that are to be covered.
The use of computer programmes and applications are also a key focus to be utilised by children in their design of their products.
National Curriculum requirements at Key Stage 2
Through a variety of creative and practical activities, pupils should be taught the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in an iterative process of designing and making. They should work in a range of relevant contexts, for example, the home, school, leisure, culture, enterprise, industry and the wider environment.
When designing and making, pupils should be taught to:
Design
• use research and develop design criteria to inform the design of innovative, functional, appealing products that are fit for purpose, aimed at particular individuals or groups
• generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through discussion, annotated sketches, cross-sectional and exploded diagrams, prototypes, pattern pieces and computer-aided design
Make
• select from and use a wider range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks, such as cutting, shaping, joining and finishing, accurately
• select from and use a wider range of materials and components, including construction materials, textiles and ingredients, according to their functional properties and aesthetic qualities
Evaluate
• investigate and analyse a range of existing products
• evaluate their ideas and products against their own design criteria and consider the views of others to improve their work
• understand how key events and individuals in design and technology have helped shape the world
Technical knowledge
• apply their understanding of how to strengthen, stiffen and reinforce more complex structures
• understand and use mechanical systems in their products, (for example as gears, pulleys, cams, levers and linkages)
• understand and use electrical systems in their products, (for example series circuits incorporating switches, bulbs, buzzers and motors)
• to apply their understanding of computing to programme, monitor and control their products.
National Curriculum requirements for food and nutrition at KS2
As part of their work with food, pupils should be taught how to cook and apply the principles of nutrition and healthy eating. Instilling a love of cooking in pupils will also open a door to one of the great expressions of human creativity. Learning how to cook is a crucial life skill that enables pupils to feed themselves and others affordably and well, now and in later life.
Pupils should be taught to:
• understand and apply the principles of a healthy and varied diet
• prepare and cook a variety of predominantly savoury dishes using a range of cooking techniques
• to understand seasonality, and know where and how a variety of ingredients are grown, reared, caught and processed.
Curriculum Impact
Children will leave Enfield Academy as successful designers, problem-solvers and creative thinkers. They will be able to identify needs and understand how to approach and solve them through effective and critical design of a product or system. Children will be able to create high-quality products and understand how to analyse and evaluate their work. They will have a rounded and in-depth knowledge of key designers, engineers and technicians and understand how to approach an ever-changing world.
Design Technology Curriculum