Subject vision (The 'intent'):

At Cooper and Jordan Primary, Design and Technology (DT) is an inspiring and practical subject. Pupils are encouraged to use their creativity and imagination to design products within a variety of contexts. Pupils are taught how to work as a team and solve problems collaboratively. They draw on their knowledge of mathematics, science, engineering, computing and art and apply a wide range of subject knowledge. Through the evaluation of past and present Design and Technology, they develop a critical understanding of how it fits into their daily life and their future job aspirations. The children develop their DT skills through our scheme of work called Kapow.

Curriculum (Implementation):

At Cooper and Jordan Primary, Design Technology is taught both discretely and through cross-curricular lessons in other subjects such as Science and PSHCE. We aim to provide a Design and Technology curriculum that is creative, inclusive, challenging and inspired by the real-world. At our school, we use Kapow’s progression map which sets out the knowledge, skills, understanding, vocabulary and cultural capital opportunities for each year group. The Progression Map shows a coherent progression in expectations, all meeting the national curriculum programme of study for Design and Technology. A Curriculum Overview for Design and Technology sets out how the curriculum will be met throughout the school. This shows a cohesive and bespoke interpretation of the curriculum. Mechanical systems, Digital World, Electrical Systems, Food, Structure, Textiles and seasonal projects are taught across the school creating a familiar and progressively more challenging curriculum each year. Before teaching each unit, teachers will adapt planning to meet the needs of the pupils in their class, and use adaptive teaching to ensure all pupils are challenged to meet or exceed age-related expectations. We hope this will inspire future thinkers, innovators and problem solvers in an immersive environment that stimulates curiosity and supports high-quality learning. The Design and Technology aims are set out in the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum and National Curriculum 2014.

EYFS:

In the Early Years Foundation Stage, we teach design and technology through the Understanding the World and Expressive Art strands of the Early Years Framework.

Ongoing experiences and opportunities linking to children’s developing understanding of the world, are planned from the objectives set out in the Early Years Framework. These underpin the curriculum planning for children aged 3-5 at Cooper and Jordan Primary School.

The experiences that we provide ensure that children develop a secure understanding of the world around them. By the end of the Reception year, they will be able to:

• Safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function.
• Share their creations, explaining the process they have used; 

 KS1 and KS2:

The Primary National Curriculum for design and technology aims to ensure that all pupils:

• Develop the creative, technical and practical expertise needed to perform everyday tasks confidently and to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world.
• Build and apply a repertoire of knowledge and understanding in order to design and make high-quality prototypes and products for a wide range of users.
• Critique, evaluate and test their ideas and products and the work of others.
• Understand and apply the principles of nutrition and learn how to cook.

Special Educational Needs

Through the SEND and Inclusion policy, teachers will plan to ensure all pupils, including those with special educational needs, can access the DT curriculum. This will ensure that all children access the same DT curriculum.

Adaptive Teaching

Kapow provides differentiated lessons/resources which teachers can use to adapt their teaching to suit children of all abilities. This includes challenges for children working at greater depth. We give children of all abilities the opportunity to develop their skills, knowledge and understanding as they move through the school and the pupil progression document from Kapow outlines this progression of skills.

Formative Assessment: (The ‘impact’)

This section outlines the assessment methods and practices that we use to monitor pupil progress and attainment in DT at Cooper and Jordan School, and also ensure that the activities that we plan for our children are suitably matched to their ability and level of development.

Formative assessment (AfL): Formative assessment in art occurs throughout the learning process, through dialogue and conversation. The Kapow Design Technology scheme of work is built around the following areas:

• Design
• Make
• Evaluate
• Technical Knowledge

Progress is demonstrated through the use of sketchbooks where children record this process through the use of drawings, explanations, peer and self assessment, evaluation grids, labelling and comparisons. Every learning objective each lesson will link to a specific skill outlined in Kapow’s Progression of Skills document and the children will be provided with the time to self-assess their own work against each skill. Where possible, children will receive verbal feedback during the lesson based on the knowledge they are learning and developing.

Teachers will consider the DT objectives covered each lesson and the end-goal that is to be achieved which will help them make judgements used to inform future teaching.

Educational visits and Enrichment

We understand how important it is to offer the children educational visits and visitors to enhance the teaching and learning of Design and Technology. These visits and visitors provide valuable opportunities for learning through first-hand experience. Next year, we hope to invite a DT specialist to our school so that the children can make valuable connections between what they have learned in class and the experiences the world has to offer.  

Pupil Voice 

Penny said "I like that I get to draw out my design and then I can make it."

James said "I really enjoyed using split pins to create our moving monsters, it was really good fun!"

Jack said "I really liked when we made the Ferris wheel because we had a long time to make it perfect!"

Harry said "It is great fun making things and designing it in the style that you want."

Ethan said "It is a really creative subject and I can use my imagination to make it how I would like to."

Ava said "I like that we can use different materials and other things based on their properties"