Design and Technology

Design and Technology should be the subject where Mathematical brainboxes and Science whiz kids turn their bright ideas into useful products.

James Dyson

Intent

At Hartford Church of England High School, we strongly believe that Design and Technology is an essential part of preparing students for life in the real world. It encourages students to think outside the box, be creative and to solve problems. It gives students the opportunity to work through real life problems, both alone and as part of a team. We encourage them to use their creativity and imagination, to design and make products that solve real problems within a variety of contexts, considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values. Students are taught to follow an iterative design process that encourages them to evaluate, rethink and modify their designs as they go along.

Design and Technology forms a vital part of STEM education and we aim to link work to other disciplines such as Mathematics, Science, Engineering, Computing and Art. Design & Technology encourages students to explore clear progression paths to further study in a wide range of subjects such as Engineering, Manufacturing and Trades - to ensure they can make a valuable contribution to society when they leave education. Whether students decide to continue with their Design & Technology studies or not, they will leave with the necessary skills and knowledge to tackle the practical problems they are faced with in adulthood.

Design Rationale

At Key Stage 3 students follow the National Curriculum Programme of Study, which provides a broad background framework for all we do. Students rotate between the three main focus areas: Design Technology, Engineering and Food Technology. They spend one term in each focus area in Years 7, 8 and 9. Key knowledge and key skills for Design & Technology have been mapped across Key Stage 3 to ensure progression between year groups.

Through a variety of creative and practical activities, we teach the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in an iterative process of designing and making. Students design and create products that are aimed at a specific target market, and they are encouraged to consider function and purpose.

When designing and making students are taught to:

Design
Make
Evaluate

These three processes are the principles that underpin our curriculum and they are glued together by strong technical knowledge, including mechanical and electrical systems.

Delivery

Students will be presented with problems, and then guided through a design process; this will enable them to solve these problems through creatively designed thinking.

Most of the work students undertake will be project-based, with the end goal of making a successful product. In the early stages, students should be gathering research that will help ensure that their solution meets the needs of the target user. Ideally, this will involve generating their own research by asking the target user what they want and summarising the information into relevant design criteria. In the design phase, students will use this information to generate a range of potential solutions to the problem set. Ideally, the students will use design strategies to avoid the major obstacle to creative thinking - design fixation. Students will share their ideas with others to gain feedback and make appropriate modifications. In the making phase, students should be using a wide range of machines and hand tools to make a high-quality product, skilfully and safely. In a typical lesson, students will be working independently, moving from task to task, regularly checking their outcome against their design work.

The final goal is for students to have acquired the necessary knowledge and skills to enable them to apply these to produce a high-quality outcome that is fit for purpose and appealing to the target market.

At Key Stage 4, students can choose between various pathways. We offer AQA GCSE Design & Technology, and the vocational qualification OCR Cambridge Nationals in Engineering Design and AQA GCSE Food & Nutrition. These are all two-year courses.

Impact

The effectiveness of curriculum implementation is measured by student progress;

To track progress, we follow a layered assessment structure including a range of lower stakes assessment, knowledge retrieval quizzes – these will take place in a range of lessons in a variety of ways.

There are a range of mid stakes taking place through each project – these take the form of key pieces of work and act as check points within the project- these will be marked and feedback provided for students.

There is also a high stakes assessment that takes place at the end of each unit of learning. Students will complete a more formal examination paper/ oracy presentation to test understanding of all key knowledge. A further high stakes will be focussed on the practical outcome the students have produced, this will largely be based on skills demonstrated using tools and equipment.

Hartford Church of England High School

Design and Technology

Intent

Design Rationale

Delivery

Impact

Long Term Plans

Key Stage 4 Engineering Design

Key Stafe 4 Food Preparation & Nutrition