Intent

At Caldecote we want to provide our children with quality opportunities to be creative, innovative and be able to have a range of opportunities to develop skills, knowledge and understanding of designing and making functional products. 

We encourage our children to think creatively and solve problems, be imaginative and then design while thinking of our own and others needs. 

Through the Curriculum Maestro planning, we offer a range of opportunities to develop knowledge and skills within a variety of contexts. 

Children at Caldecote are taught the content of the National Curriculum throughout their time at Caldecote in readiness for their transition at the end of year 4 to middle school. 

We intend for out DT Curriculum to be practical, engaging and an opportunity to develop a range of valuable cross curricular skills e.g. Maths, English and Science.

Implementation

Through a variety of creative and practical activities, we teach the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in a process of designing, making and evaluating. Products are designed considering purpose and function.

When Designing and Making children are taught to:

Design

• Use research and develop design criteria to inform the design of functional and appealing products that are fit for purpose, aimed at particular individuals or groups. 
• Generate, develop and communicate their ideas through discussion, annotated sketches, cross-sectional diagrams, pattern pieces.

Make

• Select from and use a wide range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks. (for example: cutting, shaping, joining and finishing, as well as chopping and slicing.) accurately.
• Select from and use a wider range of materials , ingredients and components, including construction materials, textiles and ingredients, according to their functional properties, aesthetic qualities and where appropriate, taste. 

Evaluate

• Investigate a range of existing products.
• Evaluate their ideas and products against their own design criteria and consider the views of others to improve their work.
• Begin to understand how key events and individuals in Design and Technology have helped shape the world. 

As children progress through school they revisit, consolidate and then develop further their expertise, experiencing gradually more complex techniques and skills. 

Impact

We aim to ensure that children:

• Develop the creative and practical expertise needed to perform everyday tasks confidently and to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world. 
• Build and apply a bank of knowledge, understanding and skill in order to design and make  products for a wide range of users and critique, evaluate and test their ideas and the work of others.
• Understand and learn some of the principles of nutrition and learn to cook a range of simple dishes. Children will design and make a range of products. 

Children's skills and knowledge are assessed on an ongoing basis by the teachers. This assessment informs children's progress and also determines the next steps in terms of teaching and learning. 

We hope that through our engaging and interesting curriculum, that children will enjoy Design Technology and have confidence to be creative and try out their ideas.