'Work together, Achieve More'

Through our curriculum, we provide accessible opportunities for all children to explore the skills and knowledge needed to be a designer.  Using creativity and imagination, pupils design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts, considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values.

A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans and reimagining the world and the products we use to make them better.

Intent

As a school we offer a structure and sequence of lessons to ensure all children have covered the skills required to meet the aims of the national curriculum. The intent is to ensure all students produce original, imaginative work.  At Holley Park Academy children are inspired through a broad range of practical lessons to create innovative designs which solve real and relevant problems within a variety of different contexts. All lessons follow our schools design process and guide the children from evaluating current products, to analysing their market and producing final designs.  Children are given opportunities to identify real and relevant problems, critically evaluate existing products and then take risks and innovate when designing and creating solutions to the problems. Opportunities are provided for children to evaluate individuals who have helped shape the design world, showing the real impact of design and technology on our current lifestyles and helping to inspire children to become the next generation of innovators.  Our curriculum also enables children to see the links between Science and Design and Technology and builds upon prior and current learning to achieve these outcomes.

Our curriculum is designed and sequenced around the four main pillars of Design and Technology.

Design	Make	Evaluate	Practical Knowledge
Know how to design a product that is purposeful, functional and appealing to a specific group.	Know how to cut, join and finish a range of increasingly complex materials, ranging from paper to wood.	Know how to investigate, evaluate and analyse a range of existing products and their own designs based on a specific design criteria. In addition to this, children will know key individuals have helped to shape the world in which we live in.	Know how to apply their knowledge of specific materials to meet the criteria listed above in the design, make and evaluate stages.

Children are encouraged to follow the design process to: research, analyse, design, make and evaluate, using a range of tools and materials, in a variety of different contexts.

 

Children are challenged to identify, examine and solve practical problems to make existing situations better and draw on disciplines such as mathematics, science, engineering, computing and art to produce final products.

Pupils learn through exploration of past and present designers, innovation technology and craft-makers and are able to develop an understanding of how products in our daily life have developed to what we know now.  Throughout lessons, students learn to become curious creators able to think outside the box and produce high quality designs.

Implementation

At Holley Park Academy we implement a progressive Design Curriculum throughout.  Design and Technology skills and understanding are built into lessons, following our design process. Lessons and resources help children build on prior knowledge alongside introducing new skills, knowledge and challenge. Key vocabulary is built into each lesson and additional resources ensure that children are allowed opportunities to repeat and apply key terminology to their learning. Adult guidance and support is given for all children to access the Design and Technology curriculum and produce high quality final products. Through these lessons, we inspire pupils to develop a love of Design and Technology and see how it has helped shaped the ever-evolving technological world they live in.

Impact

Teachers have high expectations and quality evidence is produced in a variety of forms.  At Holley Park Academy, pupils will become confident in critiquing their work and giving their positive opinion on their own and other works of art.  Children will use technical vocabulary to improve their inquiries and curiosity about the design and technology world around them and apply these skills to meaningful briefs and current problems.  All pupils are expected to know, apply and understand the skills and processes specified for each topic through the design process we follow in school.  All children are able to can speak confidently about their inventions and creations and enjoy producing innovative pieces as part of our tailored art curriculum.  Design and Technology is loved by teachers and pupils across the school.

SEND

Our curriculum that puts all pupils, regardless of their needs, at the heart of what we do. By building mutual respect, we accept others for their differences believing that everyone is special and everyone has something to offer. Our inclusive and enriching curriculum, written for all children, provides pupils with meaningful and aspirational experiences as well as promoting personal growth for life-long learning. When the curriculum needs adapting, to suit the needs of individual children, appropriate modifications are made by the class teacher with support of the SENDCo and the Curriculum Subject Lead.

 

Reading Spine

 

Useful Links

Primary Design and Technology resources (stem.org.uk)

KS2 Design and Technology – BBC Teach

KS1 Design and Technology – BBC Teach

Should you wish to know more about the DT curriculum at Holley Park Academy, please contact the DT Subject Lead via the school office.