Focus

Our focus in DT is to provide an inspiring, rigorous and practical subject where pupils design and make and evaluate products using their creativity and imagination.

Our DT Curriculum aims to equip students with the knowledge, skills and attitudes they need to become successful, innovative young designers and makers. By building on prior experience, students progressively develop technical skills and practical expertise. They are encouraged to think creatively, imaginatively and be ambitious in their design ideas. They are given opportunities to solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts, considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values. They learn to recognise the importance of design and technology in the real world and its relevance in everyday life. They are given opportunities to learn about and be inspired by designs and designers past and present who have impacted on life across the world. Through the design, make, evaluate process, students are guided to develop skills of team work, communication, resilience and reflectiveness through problem solving. They learn to use knowledge and understanding from other curriculum areas including mathematical, scientific, computing and art skills, applying them in relevant and practical contexts. In this way, we aspire for our students to become articulate, dynamic thinkers able to approach new challenges with confidence and enthusiasm

Inclusion: Our curriculum is ambitious for all and strives to address inclusion and disadvantage in its intent and implementation

Saltford’s Approach:

At Saltford, each year group covers three DT topics in the year. These can be viewed on our long term overview, found here. 

The aim is for a ‘know more, remember more’ approach of learning, where at the end of each two year cycle, all children will have had access to the advancing objective and some children will achieve a deeper understanding of the objective.  More information about this can be found in our Art and DT handbook, found here.

We provide opportunities for children to work individually, in pairs and in groups to discuss plans and to evaluate their own and their peers’ work in a constructive way. We also assist pupils to develop skills and knowledge of tools and materials, to appreciate the need for safety for themselves and others, and to develop their creative thinking, designing and making, and evaluative skills.

Aims

Underpinning the intent of the Futura Curriculum, are key substantive and disciplinary concepts. The future curriculum is designed so pupils can know more and remember more. The Futura curriculum framework can be found here.

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.