St Matthew's C.E Primary School

“Design is a funny word. Some people think design means how it looks.

But of course, if you look deeper, it’s really how it works.”

 Steve Jobs

At St Matthew’s we aim to inspire children to challenge themselves, take risks and to create innovative and bold designs. We encourage them to develop problem-solving approaches and build resilience.

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

Thomas Edison

The children complete two D.T focuses per year, in Autumn 2 and Spring 2. The key skills and knowledge within D.T have been mapped across the school so that the progression is clear. Our cornerstones curriculum provides lots of cross curricular opportunities and provides relevant problems within well considered engaging contexts. At the beginning of each topic, a memorable experience provides an exciting ‘hook’ for the children.

In every D.T focus we research existing products and identify current needs. We follow the key design process:

Design:

• Using research and developing design criteria to create functional and appealing products that meet a specific set of criteria.
• Developing ideas through discussion and various methods including annotated sketches, diagrams and prototypes.

Make:

• Selecting and using a range of tools, equipment and materials to perform practical tasks to create a desired effect (e.g. cutting, shaping, joining).
• Deciding which methods are the most suited to their design.

Evaluate:

• Testing designs to see if they meet the design specification.
• Evaluating our own ideas against design criteria.
• Considering the views of others to improve our work.
• Making suggestions about improvements and alterations which could be made to improve our designs.

During each topic we ensure that key vocabulary is embedded by being explained and referred to throughout. Children are continually encouraged to articulate their own learning and think critically to show a deeper understanding of the design process. 

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Curriculum Intent, Implementation and Impact document	D&T Topic Overview	Progression of knowledge and skills	Pictorial Summary (School Development Planning)