Design and Technology

Design and Technology

Miss Kachwalla is our Design and Technology Leader and she is very creative and passionate about DT.

For all the latest Design and Technology curriculum news, please click here.

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Intent

Our overarching aim at St Barnabas is for our pupils to achieve great things and live life in all its fullness. Offering a well-rounded and balanced curriculum is one way we work towards achieving this and Design and Technology provides the perfect platform for children to achieve great things and explore what living a full life might look like for them and the people around them. Our Design and Technology curriculum at St Barnabas encourages our children to solve problems independently, based on initial explorations of designers and their products. Through the evaluation of past and present design and technology, our children develop a critical understanding of its impact on daily life and the wider world. They acquire a broad range of knowledge and draw on disciplines such as science, engineering, mathematics, art and computing. At St Barnabas, we ensure that we deliver a curriculum that is both challenging and enjoyable. High-quality design and technology education makes an essential contribution to the culture, wealth and well-being of the nation. We want our children to know that design and technology skills are essential to everyday life and that our children are confident and not afraid to take risks. 

Implementation

Our bespoke Design and Technology curriculum is designed to meet the key skills, knowledge and understanding required by the National Curriculum, which is then planned to ensure that the skills are taught sequentially across the key stages and that new skills build on and develop the skills taught in previous year groups. 

At St Barnabas, teaching staff create a positive attitude to learning within their classrooms and reinforce an expectation that all children are capable of achieving high standards in design and technology. 

Children have time to evaluate their design and end product against the design specification.  Evaluation simply confirms that the product will work or it is fit for its purpose and responds to the wants and needs of the user. Children are encouraged to ask their own questions and consider constructive feedback from others, to improve their work.

Lessons are planned in learning blocks within each term’s topic, so that skills can be learnt and developed to a deeper level, over a sustained period of learning. 

Data is input using the target tracker, three times a year. Furthermore, teaching staff identify gaps in knowledge through a range of formative assessments which include: practical tasks and book scrutiny. These assessments inform our planning. Through enrichment days, such as the Christmas Fair, we promote and showcase our designs to the whole school and to parents. This allows our children time to explore designs and products created by every year group. 

Impact

Our bespoke approach to the teaching of design and technology at St Barnabas results in a fun, exciting and engaging programme. We encourage our children to become critical thinkers, take risks, evaluate existing designs and provide feedback to make improvements to designs.  Our children learn to be passionate not just about design but also about preparing and tasting food which is linked to their topic. They gain skills in evaluation, collaboration, construction, designing and investigation. 

At St Barnabas, we liaise with parents regularly so that they are aware of what the children are learning. Children are prepared with skills that are transferable into future work life. Pupil’s voice is used to further develop the design and technology curriculum and ensure pupils remain motivated. This is achieved through questioning, measuring attitudes towards D.T, and assessing the children’s enjoyment of the lessons. 

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