Mayfield Primary SchoolDesign & Technology
DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY LEADER
Mrs Czarnecka
'ALWAYS START WITH WHY'
DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY INTENT FOR OUR PROGRAMME OF STUDY: KNOWLEDGE, PROGRESSION, COVERAGE
(PRIOR, NOW, NEXT)
Our core school intent runs through every aspect of our teaching and learning. It is our philosophy and approach in every subject area. It is how we teach and learn. Every leader commits to this. But every subject must have its own Programme of Study - its own lines of progression for the knowledge and skills we plan to teach and therefore its own rationale/intent for what we teach and learn. This is the rationale for this ‘prior, now and next’ in our subject.
Using the National Curriculum, we have designed a study programme which build progressively and logically over seven years:
We have split our programme into four areas of study: FOOD & DIET, STRUCTURES, MOVEABLE MECHANICS & TEXTILES.
These are not necessarily equitable across the programme and instead are chosen where we believe there is more fundamental knowledge and skills for our children and where they can, if possible, make meaningful links to the wider 'When I Grow Up...' studies.
In order to safely explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques in readiness for year 1, we introduce a FOOD & DIET, STRUCTURE & MOVEABLE MECHANICS opportunity into the 'I Wonder' studies in reception year - sharing their creations and experimenting with designs and functions.
During Key Stage 1, we have planned for our children to visit each of the four areas at least once and have designed two study opportunities for our children in STRUCTURES and TEXTILES as we feel these offer ideal chances for our children to practise and refine their cutting, joining and marking skills which we feel are essential to developing their work as they reach Key Stage 2. We have designed a wider FOOD & DIET study for year 2 which allows the children to draw upon areas of the world they have considered and bring this together in a special banquet outcome. We have created a MOVEABLE MECHANICS study which focuses upon just two specific moving parts as we form the basis for more extensive challenge in Key Stage 2.
During Key Stage 2, we have deliberately planned to ensure the children revisit, cover and extend each of these four areas (FOOD & DIET, TEXTILES, STRUCTURES, MOVEABLE MECHANICS) within both Lower and Upper stages. We have designed each unit carefully alongside our 'Progression & Milestones' document to ensure the complexity and expectation builds systematically each time i.e. the complexity and demands of the mechanisms and the range of materials, and joining and stitching skills, that the children work with and use in textiles and structures.
Take a look at the Coverage Overview below and our Programme of Study: Progression & Milestones document. Download them at the base of the page and then take a look at the 'Implement & Impact' section of the website to see how we bring this to life with the help of our ‘how’ Classroom Craft philosophy.
DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY IMPLEMENTATION & MONITORING: SO MY CURRENT WORK IS.....
* monitoring the current work and outcomes of our new curriculum by talking with the children and observing their work;
* checking that both teaching and learning builds progressively as planned and that this is evident in what the children tell me and what I see.
I am the new Design & Technology Leader for Autumn 2022. In addition to undertaking training for this new role, I am currently analysing our new planning mats against the progression and milestone statements to make sure coverage is correct. The rest of my focus right now is upon monitoring what the implementation looks like and what the impact is upon teaching and learning within my subject. I know that we have a curriculum that is open to tweaks, reflection, developments and revision and, as my own understanding develops, I will be looking at little avenues where we can develop outcomes or look for further possibilities as we move forward and this may well include working with staff on aspects of their subject knowledge in order to do this as time unfolds.