Design Technology

What is the vision for Design and Technology at The Phoenix Primary School and Nursery?

At Phoenix Primary school, our intent for Design and Technology (D.T.) is to provide all children with a rich and varied curriculum that fosters creativity, innovation, and problem-solving skills. We aim to equip our students with the confidence and ability to design and create high-quality products that meet defined criteria, taking inspiration from the world around them and integrating learning across various subjects. Our D.T. curriculum is designed to:

• Develop Technical Skills: Encourage children to acquire and develop technical skills through hands-on experiences with a range of materials, tools, and technologies.
• Promote Creativity and Imagination: Inspire students to think creatively and innovatively about solutions to problems, allowing them to express their ideas and thoughts through their projects.
• Enhance Collaboration and Communication: Promoting teamwork and collaborative skills, enabling pupils to think critically about problems, work effectively with others and express their ideas confidence.

How is this vision for Design and Technology to be achieved?

Design and Technology is embedded as an integral part of our curriculum at Phoenix Primary School. We implement our intent through:

• A Well-Structured Programme: Our D.T. curriculum is structured around the National Curriculum with clear progression across year groups. Each unit uses the Design, Make, Evaluate cycle and focusses on a key strands – Cooking and nutrition, mechanisms, structures, electrical systems or the digital world.
• Quality Resources and Facilities: We provide access to high-quality tools, materials and technologies that support hands on learning, while ensuring staff are trained to use them effectively.
• Cross-Curricular Connections: DT links to Maths, Science and real life projects to make learning meaningful and engaging.
• Differentiated Tasks: Lessons are designed to cater for the diverse needs of our students, with tasks differentiated according to ability, allowing all learners to succeed and flourish at their own pace.

How does the school know if the Design and Technology curriculum has been effective?

The impact of our D.T. curriculum is evident in the following ways:

• Skill Acquisition and Application:Pupils develop technical skills through hands on projects, progressing from core techniques to more advanced methods by the end of their time at Phoenix.
• Creative Problem Solving:Children approach problems with confidence and creativity, showcasing innovations in their designs and understanding the reasoning behind their choices. They articulate their thought processes and reflect critically on their learning through frequent self assessments.
• Positive Attitudes to Learning:Pupils show high levels of enthusiasm and engagement in D.T., developing curiosity, creativity and a desire to continue building their skills as innovative thinkers and makers.
• Collaboration and Peer Engagement:Pupils demonstrate effective collaborative skills, communicating clearly and offering evaluations of peer work to support mutual development.
• Feedback and Continuous Improvement:Parent, Governors, Teacher and pupil feedback reflects high satisfaction with our D.T. provision, with assessment data showing steady progress from Key stage 1 to 2. Peer and self-assessment, along with end of project evaluations, ensure pupils reflect on their learning and continually develop their skills.

At Phoenix Primary School, we are committed to continually reviewing and improving our Design and Technology curriculum to ensure that it meets the highest standards, fostering a generation of innovative and skilled young people ready to meet future challenges.

 At the Phoenix Primary School and Nursery, we assess progress by:

• Determining the extent to which objectives are met within each lesson and overall, at the end of each unit.
• Summative assessment of pupil discussions about their learning.
• Images of the children’s practical learning.
• Interviewing the pupils about their learning (pupil voice).

/docs/design_and_technology_progression_map_april_2024.pdf