Design Technology
At Norwood we believe that every child should have the opportunity to be extraordinary and future ready through a curriculum which is creative, bold and courageous. This is achieved through an irresistible, EPIC approach
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EPIC means:
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E –Exciting & Engaging learning experiences
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P-Pace/Progress
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I-Involvement
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C-Challenge
Our school ethos, vision and values recognise that each child is unique. Providing them with a curriculum that is inspirational, creative and caring whilst also providing challenge for all, prepares our children for their future. Our curriculum not only aims to provide children with the skills that they need now, but also the ability to be flexible, resourceful, reflective and resilient; helping them to adapt and problem solve as they grow up in an ever-changing world.
Our vision for DT
We believe that through the Design and Technology curriculum at our school, and through EPIC teaching of the subject, children should have the opportunity to explore creativity, innovation, independence and reflection. Motivating projects and challenging goals will allow all children to flourish, while developing key technical competency and vocabulary, alongside key skills, such as teamwork, resilience and resourcefulness. Children will have the opportunity to explore the different factors that affect design decisions and by the end of their primary years, children will be able to independently set design criteria, research a project, evaluate and use a wide range of tools, equipment and materials and reflect on the design process and their learning journey.
How is DT taught in Norwood-The 5 key strands of D&T:
Our Design and Technology programme of study links closely with our cross curricular topic themes. The children have the opportunity to design, make and evaluate products connected with their learning - from vehicles to puppets to smoothies and many more - while learning to use a range of tools and techniques. There are 5 key strands of learning: Materials and Structures, Mechanisms, Textiles, Cooking and Nutrition and Electrical Systems.
Materials/Structures: Children progressively learn how to measure, cut and join materials to create specific structures, following a design criteria. In KS1, the focus is on learning about ways to strengthen, stiffen their products, and by the end of KS2, children will be applying this knowledge to a wide range of more complex structures.
Year 2's Great Fire of London Houses
Year 3's Photo frames and Bridge Building
Mechanisms
With strong links to our Science curriculum, in our Mechanism units, children will study levers and sliders in Key Stage One - leading onto work on pulleys, gears and cams in Key Stage Two.
Year 6's Fairground Rides
Textiles: In our textile units, children learn how to design items for a purpose and then measure, cut and join materials using a variety of different methods.
Cooking and Nutrition: Our work in cooking and nutrition work focusses on healthy eating and understanding where food comes from. Children will have the opportunity to learn about foods and to develop a variety of skills and techniques in order to make food and prepare dishes.
Electrical systems: Working with aspects of electrical systems is introduced in Key Stage Two, where we try to incorporate electrical circuits, including light bulbs, motors and switches into our designs.