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Clydach Junior School A Curriculum Policy for Design and Technology Introduction
This policy outlines provision for Design Technology in our school.
The school policy for this provision reflects the consensus of opinion of the whole teaching staff. It has been drawn up as a result of staff discussion and has the agreement of the Governing Body and teachers.
The implementation of the policy is the responsibility of all the teaching staff.
Design technology forms a constituent part of Technology, which is one of the foundation subjects of the National Curriculum. This policy aims to outline the intrinsic nature of design technology, and our aims and intentions in meeting the demands of the National Curriculum document.
The Nature of Design and Technology
Design and technology is essentially a practical subject. It involves children in the designing and making of things that work. It requires that they draw upon previous knowledge and apply this to their work. It develops skills and knowledge of materials and equipment. Design and technology provides a meaningful and relevant base for work in all areas of the curriculum, as it deals with real life situations.
Aims
In order to promote an understanding of the design process we believe that :-
• Children should participate in Design and Technology projects that are meaningful and enjoyable.
• Pupils should have the opportunity to work with a range of materials and equipment.
• Each pupil should be taught how to use a variety of tools and material with regard to safety and accuracy, and use appropriate vocabulary when talking about their work.
• Each pupil should have the opportunity to work individually and within a group in a variety of contexts.
• Children should have the chance to make various design proposals, suggest ways forward and evaluate their own work.
Entitlement
The content of the schemes of work the children will study at Clydach Junior School are based upon the programmes of study for Key Stage Two within the statutory orders for Design Technology.
Designing Skills
This will involve the children in generating their ideas in a variety of ways through diagrams, modelling or using information technology. They will be encouraged to consider the purpose of their designs, their aesthetic and functional properties, and explore ways of realising their designs.
Making Skills
Children will have the opportunity to use a variety of materials and will be taught to use and select them with consideration. They will practice cutting, shaping, finishing and joining a variety of materials. Pupils will list the equipment to be used and plan what is to be done. On completion of the task they will evaluate their work.
Knowledge and Understanding
Each pupil will be given the opportunity to use a variety of materials and components so that they can handle each material confidently, and understand how they are used. They will be introduced to a variety of methods that produce and control movement using electrical and mechanical components, and have an opportunity to experiment with and test the strength of structures. The use of appropriate vocabulary will be introduced so that pupils can speak with clarity about their work. All pupils will be taught to use equipment safely and will be made aware of possible hazards.
Materials
Throughout Key Stage Two all children will work in a variety of media, these include:
• electrical components
• mechanical components
• materials suitable for making frameworks
• construction kits
• stiff and flexible sheet materials
• mouldable materials
• textiles
• food
Implementation
Pupils will be given opportunities to develop their technological capability via:
• Design and make assignments
• Focused practical tasks
• The investigation and evaluation of artefacts
Design and Make Assignments
Here the pupils are given a design brief from which there will be a variety of outcomes, having the opportunity to make some choices and decisions at various stages. Pupils will be required to talk about and record their ideas, develop a design proposal, construct a resource list and create an action plan prior to making their product. The finished product will then be evaluated through discussion in a group or by the class and/or the completion of a written evaluation.
Focused Practical Tasks
These enable the children to practise skills which they will later draw upon when engaged in design and make assignments. Focused practical tasks can be taught or drawn from other subject areas, e.g. measuring accurately in maths. Children may be taught these via the creation of a product even though the object of the lesson is concerned with skills development. Essentially the design and make tasks will draw upon knowledge and skills the children have previously acquired.
Investigating and Evaluating Artefacts
Pupils will examine, explore and evaluate artefacts made by others to make judgements about the quality or methods by which they were made. This process also provides children with information upon which they can draw at a later stage.
The school uses a variety of teaching styles, through a mixture of whole class teaching and individual/group activities. Pupils have the opportunity to work on their own and to collaborate with others. They are encouraged to listen to other pupils’ ideas and treat these with respect.
Each teacher will have the guidance of the scheme of work each term. The class teacher will judge the most appropriate way to organise their class to suit the nature of each task and the availability of resources. Some classes may work steadily throughout the term on a project, others may condense a project into an intense few days work. Where the need arises, parents will be invited into the classroom in a supportive role.
Pupils of differing abilities are accommodated through a range of strategies – the setting of open ended tasks that can have a variety of results, using additional adults for support, or providing a range of chalenges for different ability groups.
Contribution of Design and Technology to teaching in other areas
Literacy
Design and Technology provides valuable opportunities to reinforce areas of writing, speaking and listening. It requires pupils to articulate their ideas, justify their views when making decisions and evaluating, and to write lists and instructions when planning what they will do.
Numeracy
Many design and make projects rely upon skills acquired in this area of the curriculum, particularly in measuring.
ICT
We use ICT to support design and technology where appropriate. Pupils may use soft ware to enhance their designing and making, or use databases when investigating products or use the internet to gain access to information and images.
PSHE
Pupils are encouraged to develop a sense of responsibility in following safe procedures and meeting deadlines, and about the importance of personal hygiene when working with food.
Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural
Design and Technology offers opportunities for pupils to work with each other and have respect for others opinions and to develop an awareness that the wants and needs of individuals are not the same as the needs of groups.
Welsh
Design and Technology provides meaningful opportunities for the teacher to issue commands to pupils in Welsh in order to contribute to the bilingualism of the school.
It may also be an appropriate vehicle for reinforcing language patterns, e.g. Oes pensil ‘da ti? Asking pupils have you got? Ga i . . .? What do you like/don’t like? A pupils asking May I?
Monitoring
It is the responsibility of the coordinator to make an annual audit of all teaching, monitoring the range and standards of work.
Resources
It is the responsibility of the coordinator to ensure that sufficient specialist equipment and resources are available for each class to use each term. Classrooms have a range of basic resources. Specialist resources often have to be shared between 3 classes each term. Class teachers must ensure time allocation is sufficient through careful planning.
Special Educational Needs/Equal Access
It is a policy of the school to help pupils with SEN to gain access to all Design Technology activities where possible. Where appropriate pupils with learning difficulties will gain access to the curriculum using ICT.
Assessment
Teacher assessment in Design Technology can measure many different aspects within the design and making process, mostly as they observe the pupils at work:
• their knowledge of tools, materials and equipment and the application of other areas of the curriculum relevant to the project.
• their ability to record and communicate their design ideas in a clear manner
• their personal qualities and attitudes to their work, specifically their interest and motivation
• their ability to explain what they have done.
• their ability to use tools and materials safely and with precision
• their ability to evaluate their own work.
During each term's project two specific areas from the list above will be addressed. Most of the assessment will be made through observing children working and discussing their ideas with them as they move through the design process. These areas will be assessed by the class teacher and recorded in the end of year annual report to parents. A selection of work will be kept from each class or photographed by the coordinator.
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