Design and Technology
The National Curriculum expectations for design and technology (DT) in primary schools can be found here:
We have used this curriculum to develop our own bespoke approach at St Bartholomew's based on the following intent, implementation and impact statement:
Intent
We aim to provide children with a DT education that is relevant in our rapidly changing world. We want to encourage children to become problem-solvers who can work creatively on a shared project. We believe that high-quality DT lessons will inspire children to think independently, innovatively and develop creative, procedural and technical understanding. Our DT curriculum provides children with opportunities to research, explore and investigate; develop and represent their ideas; make a product; and evaluate their work. Children will be exposed to a wide range of media including textiles, clay, food and woodwork; through this, children will develop their skills, vocabulary and resilience.
Implementation
Whilst the EYFS and National Primary Curriculum forms the foundation of our curriculum, we also ensure that children learn additional skills, knowledge and understanding, and we enhance our curriculum as and when necessary. Children have access to key knowledge, vocabulary and meanings to understand design technology and to use these skills across their learning. In DT lessons, children are asked to solve problems and develop their learning independently. This allows them to take more ownership over their curriculum and lead their own learning. English, maths and computing skills are taught during discrete lessons but are revisited in design technology so children can apply and embed the skills they have learnt in a purposeful context.
Impact
Our DT curriculum provides well thought out lessons linked, when possible, to other subject areas. We measure the impact of our curriculum through:
- reflection on standards achieved against the planned outcomes
- children’s discussions about their learning, which includes discussion of their thoughts, ideas, processing and evaluation of work.
As designers, children develop skills and attributes they will be able to use beyond school and into adulthood.
Please find our whole-school curriculum overview below.
You will also find an overview of how the Early Learning Goals and EYFS curriculum relate to the Primary Curriculum and our progression of skills for this subject.