Intent:

At Pyrcroft Grange School we aim to provide all children with a broad and balanced curriculum which prepares them for life beyond primary education. We encourage children to use their creativity and imagination, to design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts, considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values.

Design and Technology is an inspiring, rigorous and practical subject. It can be found in many of the objects children use each day and is a part of children’s immediate experiences. Design and Technology encourages children to learn to think and intervene creatively to solve problems both as individuals and as members of a team.

The Design and Technology curriculum combines skills, knowledge, concepts and values to enable children to tackle real problems.

We aim to, wherever possible, link the children’s learning to cross curricular subjects and to other disciplines such as mathematics, science and art.

Implementation:

Teachers are supported to plan an inspiring curriculum which asks ‘big questions’ to motivate our pupils into becoming enthusiastic designers. As part of the planning process teachers will plan for

• A curriculum that develops knowledge and vocabulary the children will need to master
• A curriculum that develops the creative, technical and practical expertise needed to perform everyday tasks confidently and to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world
• Opportunities to 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
• Children to be able to 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.

Impact:

Our Design & Technology Curriculum is high quality, well thought out and is planned to demonstrate progression. If children are keeping up with the curriculum, they are deemed to be making good or better progress. In addition, we measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:

• A reflection on standards achieved against the planned outcomes;
• A celebration of learning for each term which demonstrates progression across the school;
• Pupil discussions about their learning; which includes discussion of their thoughts, ideas, processing and evaluations of work.