Design & Technology

Design & Technology at St Gregory’s

On this page, you can read more about our design and technology curriculum at St Gregory’s.

Our Intentions

Design and Technology is an inspiring, rigorous and practical subject. Using creativity and imagination, pupils design and make products that solve real and relevant problems, within a variety of contexts, considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values.

At St Gregory’s, children are encouraged to consider the effectiveness of their designs and requirements of a product. Every child will have the opportunity to learn and extend their understanding, experience and application in the use of technology, including ICT.

Implementation

The National Curriculum for design and technology aims to allow opportunity for children to:

Develop imaginative thinking and enable them to talk about what they like and dislike when designing and making;
Talk about how things work, and to draw and model their ideas;
Be encouraged to select appropriate tools and techniques for making a product, whilst following safe procedures;
Explore attitudes towards the made world and how we live and work within it;
Develop an understanding of technological processes, products, and their manufacture, and their contribution to our society;
Foster enjoyment, satisfaction and purpose in designing, creating, inventing and making.

Here at St Gregory’s we use the Kapow scheme of work to teach children design technology. This provides teachers with week-by-week lessons for each year group in the school, with clear progression that supports all requirements of the national curriculum from the Early Years to the end of Key stage 2.

Our chosen scheme of work enables pupils to meet the end of key stage attainment targets within the National Curriculum through fun and engaging lessons.

The learning within this Scheme is based on:

Cooking and nutrition
Mechanical systems
Textiles
Electrical systems
Structures
Digital world

Impact

Impact is monitored through both formative and summative assessment opportunities. Furthermore, each unit has a unit quiz and knowledge catcher which can be used at the start and/ or end of the unit.

The expected impact of following the Kapow Primary Design and technology scheme of work is that children will:

Understand the functional and aesthetic properties of a range of materials and resources.
Understand how to use and combine tools to carry out different processes for shaping, decorating, and manufacturing products.
Build and apply a repertoire of skills, knowledge and understanding to produce high quality, innovative outcomes, including models, prototypes, CAD, and products to fulfil the needs of users, clients, and scenarios.
Understand and apply the principles of healthy eating, diets, and recipes, including key processes, food groups and cooking equipment.
Have an appreciation for key individuals, inventions, and events in history and of today that impact our world.
Recognise where our decisions can impact the wider world in terms of community, social and environmental issues.
Self-evaluate and reflect on learning at different stages and identify areas to improve.
Meet the end of key stage expectations outlined in the National curriculum for Design and technology.
Meet the end of key stage expectations outlined in the National curriculum for Computing.