RILLINGTON Primary School

“Strive for perfection in everything you do. Take the best that exists and make it better. When it does not exist, design it.” – Sir Henry Royce

Encourages children to develop their practical skills whilst being creative and productive. Design and Technology work will focus on designing products, making products and evaluating them. They will also learn fundamental skills of cooking, nutrition and hygiene.

Our intent for Design Technology: 

1. Develop the creative, technical and practical expertise needed to perform everyday tasks confidently and to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world
2. 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 
3. Critique, evaluate and test their ideas and products and the work of others  
4. Understand and apply the principles of nutrition and learn how to cook 

Our implementation:

• Teaching of Design Technology at Rillington Primary School is based on the aims and purposes outlined in the National Curriculum and has fidelity to the academic discipline of design and technology 
•  We have carefully designed a knowledge rich curriculum, underpinned by a progression of skills. The knowledge and skills build incrementally so that by the end of Key Stage 2 children know, understand and apply the subject content specified in the Programme of Study for Design Technology.  
•  In EYFS the essential building blocks of children’s design and technology capability are established. The children explore and use a variety of materials, tools and techniques through a combination of child initiated and adult directed activities. They will begin to construct with a purpose in mind using a variety of resources using simple tools and techniques appropriately. They have opportunities to experiment with design, texture, form and function and adapt their work when necessary. The children will also share their creations explaining the process they have used.
•  In KS1 children will undertake a mechanisms, structures, textiles and food topic each year, these will be continued in KS2 when children will also undertake an electrical systems and digital world topic.
•  All teaching of DT should follow the instigation, design, make and evaluate cycle.
•  Each stage should be rooted in technical knowledge.  
•  The design process should be rooted in real life, relevant contexts to give meaning to learning.
•  While making, children should be given choice and a range of tools to choose freely from. To evaluate, children should be able to evaluate their own and their peers’ products against a design criteria. Each of these steps should be rooted in technical knowledge and vocabulary
• DT should be taught to a high standard, where each of the stages should be given equal weight. There should be evidence in each of these stages in the DT books, which should also develop to show clear progression across the key stages.

Our impact:

• Pupils will be able to justify and explain why they have selected materials based on their features, in order to manipulate, join, construct and shape a full range of materials to create a quality product.
• Knowledge and understanding of the importance of food hygeine will be developed alongside the skills required to create a range of sweet and savoury food, explaining how this contributes towards sustaining a healthy, varied and balanced diet.
• Our pupils will become proficient in applying a range of stitching and joining techniques when making textile products.
• Knowledge of how and why mechanical systems and electrical components are often used in designs will be used to develop the skill of incorporating these features into their products.