Intent
The Design and Technology curriculum at Wolsingham Primary School is designed to provide the children with practical skills that they can apply to real-life in our rapidly changing world. We want to encourage our children to become problem solvers who can work creatively on a shared project. We teach Design and Technology as it helps develop children’s skills and knowledge in design, structures, mechanisms, electrical control and a range of materials, including food. We believe that high-quality D&T lessons will inspire children to think independently, innovatively and develop creative, procedural and technical understanding. Our D&T curriculum provides children with opportunities to research, represent their ideas, explore and investigate, develop their ideas, think about health and safety, make a product and evaluate their work. You will also see that the skills learned in D&T also help with learning across the curriculum. Knowledge about the properties of materials helps in science and the practice of measuring accurately helps in maths. These skills help in Computing through the children’s use of computer control and, naturally, in art and design. We feel it is vital to nurture creativity and innovation through design, and by exploring the designed and made world in which we all live and work.
Design and Technology in the Early Years
A designer in the early years will learn how to use tools safely, and effectively to construct with a purpose in mind. They will begin to learn how to join and assemble pieces together and adapt their work where necessary, understanding that tools can be used for a purpose and how to use these safely and effectively. Practising some safety measures without supervision. All learning will include children understanding how to use tools and techniques safely, competently and appropriately, considering and managing some risks. They will show an interest in the way toys work with knobs, pulleys, flaps, or moving parts, and use these as inspiration when designing and making. A designer in the early years will use previous learning, discussions, stories, topics and recent visits to move forward their designs, often making items and objects familiar to them for example a pair of binoculars to go on a bear hunt. A lot of learning in the early years takes place through purposeful play, both indoors and outdoors. Towards the end of Reception, children will be learning skills to equip them for their future learning and later success in Year 1.
Please see our Whole School Long Term Overview and Whole School Long term plan to see what our pupils will study during each year.
