At St. John’s C of E Primary School, our children are given the opportunity to develop Design and Technology abilities early on and then continue to develop them as they move through school.
Design and Technology is an inspiring, rigorous and practical subject. The subject encourages children to learn to think and intervene creatively to solve problems both as individuals and as members of a team. At St. John’s, 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. We aim to, wherever possible, link work to other areas such as Mathematics, Science, Computing and Art. Pupils are also given opportunities to reflect upon and evaluate past and present design technology, its uses and its effectiveness and are encouraged to become innovators and risk-takers.
Through a variety of creative and practical activities, we teach the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in an iterative process of designing and making. When designing and making, our children are taught to design, make and evaluate using technological knowledge and skills. These key skills and key knowledge for DT have been mapped across the school to ensure progression between year groups. This also ensures there is a context for the children’s work in Design and Technology; that they learn about real life structures and the purpose of specific examples, as well as developing their skills throughout the programme of study. DT lessons are usually blocked (taught in a day or subsequent days) so that children’s learning is focused throughout each unit of work.
At St. John’s, we ensure our children:
- develop the creative, technical and practical expertise needed to perform everyday tasks confidently;
- build and apply a bank of knowledge, understanding and skills in order to design, make, test and evaluate products in a wide range of contexts;
- understand and apply the principles of nutrition and learn how to cook a variety of basic meals.
We work closely in partnership with our local secondary schools, as well other organisations such as the Locomotion Railway Museum in Shildon and other external practitioners.
Our desire is that our children at St. John’s learn how to take risks, becoming resourceful, innovative, enterprising and capable citizens, understanding the impact technology has on daily life and the wider world.
Subject Plan
You can view or download the subject plan by clicking the link below.