Design and Technology gives children the opportunity to develop skills, knowledge and understanding of designing and making functional products.
At St John of Jerusalem, we have developed a scheme of work that we believe will nurture the children’s creativity and innovation through the process of designing and making a range of different products. We have designed a broad range of practical experiences to create innovative designs, which solve real and relevant problems within a variety of different contexts. Our scheme of work offers a coherently planned sequence of lessons that covers the progression of knowledge, understanding and skills required in the National Curriculum.
Implementation
Each unit of work follows a design process which allows children to become familiar with the structure of a design project, whilst embedding key skills into their design practice. Each unit begins with the exploration of an existing product. This gives children the opportunity to understand how a product is designed and made, whilst also exploring design ideas by considering how it could be improved or designed differently. This is followed by the design process, where children will create their own designs based on particular criteria. Children will then use a range of tools and materials to make the product they have designed. Each unit of work concludes with an evaluation of the final product. Children are able to develop skills in critical thinking as they evaluate elements of their design, and consider ways in which design problems can be solved.
Through revisiting and consolidating skills from previous topics, children are able to build on prior knowledge alongside introducing new skills, knowledge and challenge within the new project. The revision and introduction of key vocabulary is built into each lesson. Teachers are provided with plans and additional resources to enable them to feel confident and supported in delivering successful design lessons.
Impact
Through these lessons, we intend to inspire pupils to develop a love of Design and Technology and see how it has helped to shape the world they live in.
Children will be confident in sharing the products they have made in their Design and Technology lessons and be able to think critically about the design process. They will gain a wealth of knowledge, understanding and skills through the projects they complete, and be able to build on these skills as they progress through each key phase. We want to ensure that Design and Technology is loved by pupils across the school, therefore encouraging them to want to continue building on this wealth of skills and understanding, now and in the future.