Trowell C of E Curriculum Vision – Design and Technology

At Trowell C of E, all aspects of school life centre around our four core values.  These values are the backbone of the school.  They encompass our expectations of all members of our school community, and our ultimate goal for all the children we teach.  They can be seen in our relationships, expectations, routines, policies and our curriculum.  The key aims of our curriculum are promoted through our Design Technology curriculum in the following ways:

Love Others

Forgiveness

Empathy

Patience

Friendship

Kindness

Generosity

Care

Thoughtfulness

Honesty

In each topic and phase of the design, make, review process, children are given the opportunity to work collaboratively where they learn to give specific, kind and useful feedback to one another.

In each topic, the children are given opportunities to support others with difficult practical tasks which require more than one person to achieve.

They learn to turn take, share resources and respond to the ideas of others.

Children learn to be patient as part of the making process and through turn taking.

Children recognise the need to use resources sparingly, thoughtfully and with the environment in mind.

Aim High

Ambition

Pride

Trust

Independence

By making a prototype and assessing the effectiveness, children see the importance of making mistakes in order to achieve a high quality product which meets their design criteria.

Children are given the opportunity to plan, make and review within each unit of work; allowing them to reflect continually and set goals to improve.

Children are encouraged to work independently; making mistakes without intervention from an adult (as long as it is safe to do so) which allow children to identify where they went wrong and think critically to rectify.

At the start of each unit children are given a design brief to work from. This allows them to create something that is not only fit for purpose, but something they can be proud of.

Children are given the opportunity to analyse existing products; identifying successes and shortcomings.  These act as a benchmark whereby they can reflect upon their own successes and feel a sense of achievement.

All children receive equal opportunity to develop DT skills with increasing independence and appropriate scaffolds are provided for children with SEND.

Units within DT are specifically designed to enable each child to progress when using a wide range of tools with increasing complexity.

Through the practical nature of DT, whereby key life skills are taught, this gives children independence both inside and outside of school. 

Believe We Can Do It

Determination

Confidence

Self-Belief

Resilience

Children practice resilience by making mistakes in both the design and make process, reflecting upon these and working to rectify.

Modules are mostly sequenced over a two-year cycle where the skills build upon previous learning, allowing the children to grow in confidence.

The success of practical learners is celebrated and valued equally thus allowing children who are more practical learners to shine.

Children are continually developing problem solving skills within DT.  This is particularly evident in the making stage when they are likely to come across many problems which they need to work both independently and collaboratively to rectify.

Do The Right Thing

Understanding

Self-Control

Respect

Courtesy

Humility

Children in years 4 learn to understand where our food comes from and the distribution through the Fair Trade food unit.

Years 5 and 6 learn about other cultures and the traditional foods eaten in Greece and Mexico.

Children learn to give respectful feedback – identifying the positive contributions of others.

Children learn to gain self-control when choosing and using equipment, focusing on the environmental impact of the choices they make.  They are encouraged to design products which are, as much as possible, environmentally friendly as well as fit for purpose.