At Leatherhead Trinity we enjoy being creative. Where possible, we will teach DT in conjunction with our our topic lessons.  We will develop our research, design, making and evaluation skills to create a range of Design and Technology projects. We have a strong ethos of understanding that the journey we make with our learning and development of new skills is as important as the finished product.

There will be food for thought in our cooking sessions in the practical room, we will demonstrate our awareness of health and safety when using a range of construction equipment ...there are plenty of enthusiastic Bob the Builders in our school and we will be showing off our Haberdashery skills too!

Introduction

Design and Technology encourages children to learn to think and intervene creatively to solve problems both as individuals and as members of a team.  At Leatherhead Trinity the children are encouraged to become innovators. They are taught to look for opportunities and to respond to them by developing a range of ideas and making a range of products.  As part of their learning cycle the children are given opportunities to reflect upon and evaluate past and present design technology, and their own projects for its uses and its effectiveness. and are encouraged to become innovators.

Aims & Objectives

• To develop children’s designing and making skills.
• To teach children the knowledge and understanding, within each child’s ability, that will be required to complete the making of their product.
• To teach children the safe and effective use of a range of tools, materials and components.
• To develop children’s understanding of the ways in which people have designed products in the past and present to meet their needs.
• To develop children’s creativity and innovation through designing and making.
• To develop children’s understanding of technological processes, their management and their contribution to society.

Design and Technology in relation to the National Curriculum

The national curriculum for design and technology aims to ensure that all pupils:

• Develop the creative, technical and practical expertise needed to perform everyday tasks confidently and to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world
• Build and apply a repertoire of knowledge, understanding and skills in order to design and make high-quality prototypes and products for a wide range of users.
• Critique, evaluate and test their ideas and products and the work of others.
• Understand and apply the principles of nutrition and learn how to cook.

Children will design and make a range of products.  A good quality finish will be expected in all design and make activities appropriate to the age and ability of the pupil.  The work covered in each year group ensures a balance of:

• Investigative, disassembly and evaluative activities,
• Focused practical tasks,
• Designing and making assignments

Teaching & Learning

Design and Technology will engage the children in a broad range of designing and making activities which involve a variety of methods of communications, e.g. speaking, designing, drawing, assembling, making, writing and using information and communication technology.  These activities can be differentiated through careful planning and the selection of resources, which are appropriate for different ages and abilities.  All children must be encouraged to design and make and must be stretched in deigning and making.  Access may be ensured through LSA support where appropriate.  Teaching and learning to DT are linked where possible to the current topic in each year group.

Inclusion

We recognise the fact that we have children of different ability in all our classes, therefore we provide suitable learning opportunities for all children by matching the challenge of the task to the ability of the child.  We achieve this through a range of strategies:

• Setting common tasks that are open-ended and can have a variety of responses.
• Setting task of increasing difficulty where not all children complete all tasks.
• Flexible grouping
• Providing a range of challenges with different resources.
• Adults support and extend the work of individual children or small groups.

Hygiene and Safety

It is important that children are taught essential life skills to enable them to participate confidently and safely in designing and making in society.  Teachers have a duty to introduce children to a wide variety of production processes and the correct tools for the task. Children must design considering health and safety issues and consequences and operate in a safe and hygienic manner when designing.