At St John Vianney Primary School it is our intention to: 

Develop and apply, the creative, technical and practical skills needed to perform everyday tasks with confidence within our increasingly technological world. 

Understand and apply the principles of nutrition and healthy eating when learning how to prepare and cook a range of foods. 

At St John Vianney Primary School we encourage children to use their creativity and imagination to design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts considering their own and others’ needs, want and values.  We aim to, wherever possible, link work to our school context and location and other disciplines such as Mathematics and Science.  When making products and preparing food, pupils will be encouraged to consider uses and users asking perceptive questions to enable them to evaluate designs and products at every stage of the process.   

Children use the talents they have been given to achieve the best they can through designing, making and evaluating a range of products and developing important skills. 

The key skills taught in the Design and Technology curriculum at St John Vianney Primary School are: 

Plan.  

• Use technical knowledge to make informed choices. 
• Design purposeful and appealing products. 
• Use tools to perform practical tasks. 
• Understand the principles of a healthy diet when preparing food. 
• Evaluate and suggest improvements to their own and others’ work. 

Through a variety of creative and practical activities, we teach the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in an interactive process of designing and making.  The children work in a range of relevant contexts (for example home, school, leisure and the wider environment).

When designing and making, the children are taught to:

Design
• Use research and develop design criteria to inform the design of innovative, functional, appealing products that are fit for purpose, aimed at particular individuals or groups.
• Generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through discussion, annotated sketches, diagrams and prototypes.
Make
• Select from and use a wider range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks (for example, cutting, shaping, joining and finishing).
• Select from and use a wider range of materials and components, including construction materials, textiles and ingredients, according to their functional properties and aesthetic qualities.

Evaluate
• Investigate and analyse 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.
• Technical knowledge.
• Apply their understanding of how to strengthen, stiffen and reinforce more complex structures.
• Understand and use mechanical systems in their products.
• Understand and use electrical systems in their products.

Key skills for DT have been mapped across the school to ensure progression between year groups.  This also ensures that there is a context for the children’s work in Design and Technology; that they learn about real life structures and the purpose of specific examples, as well as developing their skills throughout the programme of study.

Assessment

Pupils evaluate their own designs and models.  Children are assessed throughout their work in each topic.  Any misconceptions can then be addressed in class.  End of unit assessments are used to identify any wider misconceptions so that skills can be revisited.

We ensure the children:
• Develop the creative, technical and practical expertise needed to perform everyday tasks confidently and to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world.
• Build and apply a repertoire of knowledge, understanding and skills in order to design and make high-quality prototypes and products for a wide range of users and critique, evaluate and test their ideas and products and the work of others.
• Understand and apply the principles of nutrition and learn a variety of techniques and skills to be used in the kitchen (chopping and baking etc).  Children will design and make a range of products.  Activities are made appropriate to the age and ability of the child.

Children learn how to take risks, becoming resourceful, innovative, enterprising and capable citizens.  Through the evaluation of past and present design and technology, they develop a critical understanding of its impact on daily life and the wider world.