Design Technology @ Kirkburton First
The Intent of Design and Technology at Kirkburton First School
At Kirkburton First School, we aim to provide a high quality, practical Design Technology education which engages, inspires and challenges pupils. We aim to equip them with the knowledge and skills to experiment, take risks, become resourceful, innovative, enterprising and capable citizens.
We expect children to think critically, solve problems independently as well as working as a team, and develop a more rigorous understanding of design and technology. We anticipate that children will reflect, evaluate past and present design technology, its uses and effectiveness and how design and technology shapes our history and contributes to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation.
Children will take inspiration from engineers, designers, architects and chefs and use their own creativity and imagination to ignite their learning and relate the design of their products to the real world. At Kirkburton, the Design and Technology curriculum combines skills, knowledge, concepts and values to enable children to tackle real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts, considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values. It can be found in many of the objects children use each day and is a part of children’s immediate experiences.
The Design & Technology curriculum at Kirkburton aims to improve analysis, problem solving, capability and evaluation skills, and enables children to build key foundation knowledge and concepts, whilst providing links to other subjects such as Mathematics, Science, Engineering, Computing and Art.
The Implementation of Design and Technology at Kirkburton First School
Design and Technology projects follow a design, make and evaluate cycle with many projects being cross-curricular allowing children to explore subjects at a greater depth.
Design
Children are taught to:
- Research and develop design criteria to inform the design of innovative, functional, appealing products that are fit for purpose, aimed at particular individuals or groups.
- Generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through discussion, annotated sketches, cross-sectional and exploded diagrams, pattern pieces and computer-aided design (depending on year group)
Make
- Select from and use a wider range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks, such as cutting, shaping, joining and finishing, accurately.
- Select from and use a wider range of materials and components, including construction materials, textiles and ingredients, according to their functional properties and aesthetic qualities. Evaluate
- Investigate and analyse a range of existing products.
- Evaluate their ideas and products against their own design criteria and consider the views of others to improve their work.
- Understand how key events and individuals in design and technology have helped shape the world Alongside the design, make and evaluate process, teachers will communicate and encourage the use of a strong technical knowledge.
The Impact of Design and Technology at Kirkburton First School
This section is for posting high-quality photo examples of work from pupils, and quotes from children about the subject.
Please also reference the 5-minute starter work we do to help the children retain their knowledge and skills over time.