Design & Technology

Intent

At Balfour Infant School we believe that Design and Technology prepares children to take part in the development of tomorrow’s rapidly changing world.  Creative thinking encourages children to make positive changes to their quality of life.  The subject encourages children to become autonomous and creative problem-solvers, both as individuals and as part of a team.  It enables them to identify needs and opportunities and to respond by developing ideas, and eventually making products and systems. 

The objectives of teaching Design and Technology are:

• To develop imaginative thinking in children and to enable them to talk about what they like and dislike when designing and making things;
• To enable children to talk about how things work, and to draw and model their ideas;
• To encourage children to select appropriate tools and techniques for making a product, whilst following safe procedures;
• To explore attitudes towards the made world and how we live and work within it;
• To develop an understanding of technological processes and products, their manufacture and their contribution to our society;
• To foster enjoyment, satisfaction and purpose in designing and making things;
• To develop in children a variety of other skills, including those of enquiry, problem-solving, ICT, investigation, and that of presenting their conclusions in the most appropriate way.

Implementation

We use the National Curriculum as the basis for our curriculum planning. Our curriculum is built around essential knowledge, understanding and key skills.  These are broken into year group expectations and show clear continuity and progress. We use a variety of teaching and learning styles in Design and Technology lessons.  Teachers ensure that the children apply their knowledge and understanding when developing ideas, planning and making products, and then evaluating them.  We do this through a mixture of whole-class teaching combined with enquiry-based research activities.  We encourage children to ask as well as to answer questions and give them the opportunity both to work on their own and to collaborate with others, listening to other children’s ideas and treating these with respect.  They engage in a wide variety of problem-solving activities.  Wherever possible, we involve the children in ‘real’ activities, for example research of a practical problem.

Impact

The impact of the Design and Technology will be through learning walks, displays, book looks, photographic evidence and Pupil Voice. Children will develop and build upon new skills and encounter new experiences through exciting lessons. Children will learn to problem solve and think independently and take risks. Children produce high-quality Design and Technology and begin to understand that D & T makes an essential contribution to the world around us.

What do our children think of DT at Balfour Infant School?

Year R child: “We get to make puppets, we got to cut them all out. You have to cut out the shape of them.”

Year One child: “I made my picture move with a lever.”

Year Two child: “I learnt how to create pivots and linkages. It was really difficult but once I practised a few times I nailed it and created a fantastic moving car.”