Curriculum Leads: Rosie Bloomfield and Julie Walker

Intent

Design and technology at Coten End encourages children to use creativity and imagination to design, make and evaluate products in a variety of contexts. Children will have the opportunity to solve problems, drawing on their own, or others’ experiences in order to consider how to improve existing products. Children learn a variety of skills across four different areas: mechanisms, structures, textiles and cookery. These skills are developed and built upon each year. Cookery lessons focus on seasonality and developing an understanding of where food comes from. Each topic follows a set sequence of lessons – explore, design, create, evaluate. Our main aim for the D&T curriculum at Coten End, is that children are encouraged to be resourceful, resilient and innovative and that we engender an appreciation of human creativity and achievement.

Implementation

• Taught as part of a half-termly learning theme
• Taught in a clear sequence of 'Explore - Design - Make - Evaluate'
• 4 main technical skills are covered: Textiles, Structures, Mechanisms and Cookery
• Key individuals and historical products and concepts are explored in order to inform design 
• Key vocabulary is taught and referred to throughout the sequence
• Use of knowledge organisers to support learning
• Building on children's prior learning of technical skills
• Children are supported in using a wide range of materials and tools
• Children are encouraged to be critical of their own work, and taught about the importance of constantly evaluating their work against product criteria

Impact

Children at Coten End will have an appreciation of the design process and how certain products have shaped the world we live in. They will have a solid understanding of technical knowledge such as sewing, cooking, joining and cutting materials that will allow them to become more competent in these practical skills throughout school. They will also have developed a critical eye, able to constantly evaluate their work, deciding how fit for purpose it is and whether any improvements can be made.