Design and Technology

Intent

Design Technology ignites children’s creativity and applies it to relevant situations. At St. Paul’s, the curriculum is designed for pupils grow in their ability to solve real and relevant problems in a variety of contexts. The driving force behind every DT unit is the imaginative search for solutions that employs the skills they’re mastering, rather than just arriving at a final product. There is an emphasis on developing essential cooking skills so that when they leave St Paul’s they’ll know the pleasure and satisfaction of creating nutritious and delicious meals that are good for them and good for the planet.

Implementation

In order to develop their DT skills, learners will:

• Use their creativity to solve problems
• Design something useful for someone in particular
• Develop essential cooking skills
• Grow in their confidence to perform a wide range of relevant life skills

The life of a Design Technician at St. Paul’s School:

EYFS

• Weekly ‘Expressive Arts and Design’ sessions throughout their topic-based learning.

KS1

• Twice a year topics have a half-termly DT  focus
• Once a year, the focus is on food.
• Years 1, 3 and 5 focus on their skills using textiles and the other years explore structures, mechanisms and electrical.
• Demonstrate their learning through proof of progress (POP) tasks

KS2

• Twice a year topics have a half-termly DT  focus
• Once a year, the focus is on food.
• Plan and prepare recipes.
• Deepen their understanding of healthy eating.
• Develop an appreciation of international cuisine and a sustainable diet

Impact

By the time the children at St. Paul’s leave our school, they will have developed:

• A passion for being creative and using their imagination to solve problems.
• A commitment to the design process of testing, analysing and refining.
• The ability to reflect, discuss and evaluate  their ideas and those of others.
• The confidence to use their technical and practical skills to perform a range of every day tasks.
• A desire to embrace challenging activities, including undertaking high-quality research across a range of history topics.