Intent  

At Holy family we are designers and technologists. The children understand that design and technology is an evolutionary concept. Through this understanding they are exposed to a wide range of products from the past, present and future, enabling them to become channels of inspiration when involved in creating such products. We utilise creative thought-processes to not only design and apply technical knowledge but to also problem solve and evaluate. During the evaluative stage of our creating, we recognise that this is a multi-step process which can be completed in various ways such as: design decisions, material choices, tools and equipment selection, value in relation to the intended use or user, and so on. 

Implementation 

Design and Technology is implemented through the support of Chris Quigley’s Essentials curriculum. All learning is grouped into 3 milestones: Milestone 1 – Years 1-2, Milestone 2 – Years 3-4 and Milestone 3 – Years 5-6.  

Within these Milestones, children will experience an array of progressive, linkable skills and techniques leading to the engagement of product creation. This ensures that children are continuously building upon previous learning and broadening knowledge and understanding before they delve into the creative depths of project creation.  

Children will create 3 main products each year. Each product will be created over the course of 2 or 3 consecutive days, giving the opportunity for children to become fully immersed into the creation of their product. They will journey through multiple stages before their product is completed:  

1. THINK – Children are exposed to existing products and form foundational knowledge surrounding their theme.
2. DESIGN – Children showcase their creative thought-processes through completing multiple design ideas, whilst following a design brief. 
3. MAKE – Children apply technical knowledge during the creation of their product.
4. BREAK and RE-THINK – Children engage in evaluative practice by finding flaws in their own product, providing solutions for these flaws and then applying said solutions actively.

Impact 

Before a child of Holy Family transitions to secondary school, they will have gained both technical and conceptual knowledge. They will understand the conscious connections they have made with other subjects and recognise their importance in aiding the process of design and development of technology. The transferable skills they have developed, will help to support their future learning.  

Design technology documentation