Design Technology at Co-op Academy Medlock

'Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.'

 Steve Jobs

Intent 

Design and technology is an integral part of the broad and balanced curriculum provided for all pupils at Co-op Academy Medlock.  We believe that all children should have the opportunity to use their creativity and imagination to solve relevant problems while using and developing their knowledge and understanding of the world around them and their place in it as enterprising and innovative citizens. 

All children have opportunities to develop their knowledge in design and technology through a carefully structured and progressive curriculum which enables pupils to learn about a range of disciplines such as engineering and the evolution of design. Our curriculum closely follows guidance from the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Framework and the National Curriculum Programmes of Study. 

We also believe that it is important we recognise the diversity of our school community and that this diversity is present in our design and technology curriculum. This enables pupils to learn about designers, inventors and inventions from around the world and through different points in history but also allows our pupils and community to see themselves in what they learn and what they could potentially achieve. Design and technology provides opportunities for children to see, experience and understand how humans have taken risks and been innovative in their approach to solving real life, everyday problems. 

Implementation 

Design and Technology  is taught by class teachers, of which the delivery is supported by the subject lead. 

In Early Years,  pupils follow a holistic approach to creating with materials which includes guided, adult led and child initiated opportunities.  The children are provided with planned opportunities to respond creatively as well as refine and develop key skills (including fine and gross motor skills) in order to be  ready for the next stage in their learning. The environment is structured at each stage (including provocations) in order for children to develop, explore and investigate these new skills freely with adults carefully skilled at intervening and moving learning forward. At each stage of EYFS, children are taught specific technical vocabulary within High Focus activities. During these activities, they have the opportunity to explore techniques, resources and materials that are practical and relevant to their learning.  Children would then have the opportunity to explore what they have learnt further in their learning environment, supported (where appropriate) by an adult to make sure understanding is secure. As pupils move towards Key Stage One, this approach is complemented by EAD guided ‘projects’, where children are given more explicit class and small group instruction; these ‘projects’ are closely linked to their overarching themes and support future learning in structures, mechanisms and food technology specifically. 

In years 1-6, the curriculum builds on our foundational learning in the Early Years. Following progressive and carefully written medium term planning developed by the subject leader. These have been structured  so that pupils revisit and further develop their understanding; constantly building on the learning that has come before. This includes practical knowledge of how to design and make quality prototypes and products, learning the technical skills for them to do this successfully and participate in an increasingly technological world. Further to this, they support and enhance the learning in other curriculum areas, where appropriate, in particular humanities and give pupils opportunities to transfer and apply their knowledge from other curriculum areas. 

Units of work enable the children to research existing products and evaluate their effectiveness before they consider their own designs. The children encounter structures, mechanisms, food technology, electronics and textiles at spaced intervals. 

Each unit is planned to follow a specific cycle to support the acquisition and development of substantive and disciplinary knowledge which are taken from our progression documents.  Each lesson is planned according to the pedagogy outlined in our ‘Teaching and Learning Principles’. Both of these have been implemented based upon current educational research. 

Evaluation and critical thinking are key aspects of the design and technology  curriculum and at the end of each lesson pupils engage in evaluation activities where they evaluate their own, each other's and the work of designers, inventors and cooks. This might be done informally through discussion and through scrapbook annotations which are encouraged as the pupils move through school. At the end of a unit, pupils' final pieces will be photographed and added to the children's scrapbooks  

Reading  and vocabulary development is of utmost importance at Co-op Academy Medlock and as such this is reflected in the way that design and technology with pupils being explicitly taught vocabulary they will need to access the core knowledge at the start of each lesson.  Pupils also have opportunities to read a range of texts in lessons and across other curriculum areas such as English, reading and history. These texts include quality poems and non-fiction texts to support their understanding across the curriculum. 

Children from years 2-6 use scrapbooks to record their responses to a range of starting points, before year 2 this is recorded in floor books. These will move with the children through school so that the progression can be clearly measured and so that children can refer back to prior learning. 

Due to our location near the city centre we are fortunate to have a number of museums and galleries on our doorstep. We actively encourage pupils to visit local museums and galleries as well as work with institutions such as the university throughout their time at Co-op Academy Medlock.

Impact 

Teachers use the progression documents and examples of pupils' work to assess the pupils as they move through each teaching unit and they will use this to inform summative judgement  at the end of the year. Teachers will have opportunities to use both exemplification and moderation activities with the subject leader and other teachers to quality assure these judgements. 

As the design and technology curriculum is rooted within the context of the wider curriculum this gives a greater purpose to the artwork that pupils encounter and produce. The knowledge and skills they develop within these sessions are transferable to other areas of the curriculum including history, geography, science and maths. 

Pupils positively engage with design and technology, make good progress and produce work of a high standard.