Design & Technology
Design and Technology education involves two important elements - learning about the designed and made world and how things work and learning to design and make functional products for particular purposes and users.
Children acquire and apply knowledge and understanding of materials and components, mechanisms and control systems, structures, existing products, quality and health and safety.
The skills learned in D&T also help with learning across the curriculum. Knowledge about the properties of materials helps in science and the practice of measuring accurately helps in maths. These skills help in IT through the children’s use of computer control and, naturally, in art and design.
Design and Technology education helps develop children’s skills through collaborative working and problem-solving, and knowledge in design, materials, structures, mechanisms and electrical control. They are encouraged to be creative and innovative and are actively encouraged to think about important issues such as sustainability and enterprise.
There are three core activities children engage with in Design and Technology:
- Activities which involve investigating and evaluating existing products
- Focused tasks in which children develop particular aspects of knowledge and skills
- Designing and making activities in which children design and make 'something' for 'somebody' for 'some purpose'
These three activities are combined in sequence to create a Design and Technology project.
Here at Orchard Vale, Design and Technology is a practical and inspiring subject. The children use creativity and imagination, alongside rigorous design and make techniques, to produce high quality products.
They progress through a range of different skills, from simple joining techniques to more complex mechanisms and electrical systems. All our DT projects are linked, where possible, to our termly topics.
Our aim as a school is to provide our pupils with the technical and practical skills needed to perform everyday tasks confidently, and to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world.
Below is a link to the ‘Projects on a Page’ scheme of work helps us to implement the National Curriculum for D&T in an imaginative way.