‘Design is not just what it looks and feels like. Design is how it works’ – 

Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, Inc

Intent

At Runnymede St Edward's Catholic Primary School, we aim to deliver a high-quality Design and Technology curriculum, providing pupils with the foundations to understand the influence of design and technology in the modern world. This will enable our Young Edwardians to develop the creative and technical expertise needed to perform everyday tasks confidently and to meet the design and technology challenges of today and the future.

The content of our curriculum has been designed to meet the statutory requirements of the National Curriculum and reflect our context, with our planning structure aiming to promote continuity and progression through inspiring projects which enable pupils to: acquire key technical knowledge and skills; develop their practical, critical thinking and problem-solving skills; and apply their learning from other subjects.

Our Food Technology units also aim to provide pupils with high-quality learning experiences which enable them to develop key technical life skills, an understanding and cultural appreciation of food and a love of cooking as a form of creative expression.

Implementation

The design of our curriculum embraces various fields of design and technology, enabling pupils to develop an appreciation of quality design and the importance of design and technology in the wider world. Projects within engaging and challenging contexts, inspire pupils to use their creativity, imagination and resourcefulness to design and make practical and innovative products that solve real and relevant problems.

D&T in the early years enables our children to make sense of the ‘made world’ in which they live. By making, changing and modifying things for themselves, children can come not simply to a greater understanding of their world, but of being able to change and modify their environment.  

Guided by the expertise of our teachers, pupils acquire a broad range of subject specific knowledge, practical and technical skills and an understanding of design criteria and the iterative design process, with cross-curricular projects also providing opportunities for pupils to apply their learning in other subjects. Through this, pupils are empowered to take risks and use their initiative, express their ideas through annotated designs and diagrams, making and testing quality prototypes, and learning how to improve their products through critical evaluation.

Our Young Edwardians also develop the key life skills of how to prepare and cook food, as well as an understanding of where food comes from and the principles of healthy eating. Moreover, they are encouraged to embrace cooking as an enjoyable, creative process; developing a range of technical skills and an understanding and appreciation of food culture in different parts of the world.

Impact

We use a number of ways to test, measure and assess the impact of our curriculum and its implementation. This enables us to continually refine and adapt our planning to further improve the quality of teaching and pupil’s learning experiences.

• The monitoring of books, each term, by the subject leader helps to ensure quality and consistency across all year groups.
• Pupil voice is a valuable tool used by teachers and the subject leader to assess pupil’s interest and engagement in learning, their acquisition of knowledge, understanding and key technical skills and also to find out if pupils have been able to independently apply their learning in other areas of learning or activities outside of the school setting.
• Annual Teacher Voice Surveys together with an open discussion policy ensures that a constructive dialogue exists between teachers and the subject leader to address any issues in respect of planning, teaching and learning.  This is also used as a transformational tool to aid in the design, planning and implementation of a high quality Design and Technology curriculum.