Design & Technology at Roscoe

Here at Roscoe Primary School, Design and Technology lays at the forefront of creativity. The subject allows for the children to bring their ideas and designs to life using their ever-developing skills of creativity and problem solving. The inclusivity we hold at Roscoe shines throughout, as children are encouraged to work not just individually but as part of a team. Throughout the topic, we expose the children to the wider world, we allow them to see how products have been developed over time and the importance designers and inventors have on influencing new products in today’s society. Children are given access to a range of materials and equipment that becomes more enhanced throughout their journey at school. The gradual development of materials and equipment throughout each year allows the children to acquire an understanding of healthy and safety, responsibility and quality control. Design and technology provides endless possibilities for the children to apply English, maths, science and computing in an alternative manner throughout each of the products they create. At Roscoe, we thrive on allowing children a means to express their creativity; design and technology allows for children of all abilities to express themselves and bring the unique ideas of the individuals to life.

Aims

At Roscoe, we aim 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.
• gain an understand of how significant designers have brought about change and the influence they have had.
• build and apply a bank 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 key principles of nutrition and learn how to cook.

Subject content Key stage 1

When designing and making, pupils will be taught to:

Design

• design purposeful, functional, appealing products for themselves and other users based on design criteria.
• generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through talking, drawing, templates, mock-ups and, where appropriate, information and communication technology.
• Children use their understanding of significant people in a given area to aid their own designs.

Make

• select from and use a range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks [for example, cutting, shaping, joining and finishing].
• select from and use a wide range of materials and components, including construction materials, textiles and ingredients, according to their characteristics.

Evaluate

• explore and evaluate a range of existing products and the work of significant designers.
• evaluate their ideas and products against design criteria.

Technical knowledge

• build structures, exploring how they can be made stronger, stiffer and more stable.
• explore and use mechanisms [for example, levers, sliders, wheels and axles], in their products.

Cooking and nutrition

• use the basic principles of a healthy and varied diet to prepare dishes.
• understand where food comes from.

Subject Content Key stage 2

When designing and making, pupils will be taught to:

Design

• use research and develop design criteria to inform the design of innovative, functional, appealing products that are fit for purpose, aimed at particular individuals or groups.
• generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through discussion, annotated sketches, cross-sectional and exploded diagrams, prototypes, pattern pieces and computer-aided design.
• children will draw on design concepts used by significant designers to aid their own designs.

Make

• select from and use a wider range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks [for example, cutting, shaping, joining and finishing], accurately.
• select from and use a wider range of materials and components, including construction materials, textiles and ingredients, according to their functional properties and aesthetic qualities.

Evaluate

• investigate and analyse a range of existing products.
• evaluate their ideas and products against their own design criteria and consider the views of others to improve their work.
• understand how key events and individuals in design and technology have helped shape the world.

Technical knowledge

• apply their understanding of how to strengthen, stiffen and reinforce more complex structures.
• understand and use mechanical systems in their products [for example, gears, pulleys, cams, levers and linkages].
• understand and use electrical systems in their products [for example, series circuits incorporating switches, bulbs, buzzers and motors].
• apply their understanding of computing to program, monitor and control their products.

Cooking and nutrition

• understand and apply the principles of a healthy and varied diet 
• prepare and cook a variety of predominantly savoury dishes using a range of cooking techniques.
• understand seasonality, and know where and how a variety of ingredients are grown, reared, caught and processed.