Intent
At Wouldham All Saints we believe that design and technology helps to prepare children for the developing world and encourages them to become curious and creative problem-solvers, both as individuals and as part of a team. Our intent is to engage, inspire and challenge pupils, equipping our children with the knowledge and skills to experiment, invent and create design.
At Wouldham, we follow Kapow Primary's Design and Technology scheme. Our aim is to build pupils' confidence in taking risks, drafting design concepts, modelling, testing, and reflecting on their work and the work of others. Through our curriculum, we aim to raise awareness of the impact of design and technology on our lives, fostering resourceful and enterprising citizens ready to contribute to future design advancements.
Learning to cook is a crucial life skill, children at Wouldham, will understand how to apply the principles of a varied and healthy diet to their own lives. They will have a greater understanding of where our food comes from and how to use various ingredients in dishes by using a range of cooking techniques.
Kapow Primary's Design and Technology scheme ensures that pupils meet the national curriculum's end-of-key-stage attainment targets, aligning perfectly with its objectives.
Implementation
The national curriculum for Design and Technology is structured around three main stages of the design process: design, make, and evaluate. Each stage is supported by technical knowledge, encompassing the contextual, historical, and technical understanding required for each strand. Cooking and nutrition are covered separately, focusing on principles, skills, and techniques related to food origins, diet, and seasonality.
The curriculum organizes Design and Technology attainment targets into five strands:
- Design
- Make
- Evaluate
- Technical knowledge
- Cooking and nutrition
Kapow Primary's scheme offers a clear progression of skills and knowledge within these five strands across each year group. Our curriculum mapping indicates which units address each national curriculum attainment target and strand. The progression of skills document outlines how these skills develop within each year group, ensuring that attainment targets are securely met by the end of each key stage.
Through Kapow Primary's scheme, pupils engage with design briefs and scenarios that consider the needs of others, developing skills in six key areas:
- Mechanisms
- Structures
- Textiles
- Cooking and nutrition (Food)
- Electrical systems (KS2)
- Digital world (KS2)
Each key area follows the design process (design, make, evaluate) and focuses on themes from technical knowledge or cooking and nutrition. The Kapow Primary scheme is designed as a spiral curriculum, revisiting key areas with increasing complexity to build on prior learning.
Lessons incorporate a variety of teaching strategies, including independent tasks, paired and group work, practical hands-on activities, computer-based tasks, and creative challenges. This variety ensures lessons are engaging and cater to different learning styles. Differentiated guidance makes lessons accessible to all pupils, with opportunities for advanced learning when needed. Knowledge organizers for each unit help pupils build a foundation of factual knowledge, supporting the recall of key facts and vocabulary.
Strong subject knowledge is essential for delivering an effective Design and Technology curriculum. Each unit includes teacher videos to develop subject knowledge and support ongoing CPD. Kapow is designed to help teachers feel confident in delivering the full Design and Technology curriculum, ensuring high-quality lessons and pupil progression.
Impact
The impact of Kapow Primary's scheme is continuously monitored through both formative and summative assessment opportunities. Each lesson includes guidance for teachers to assess pupils against learning objectives. Additionally, each unit features a quiz and knowledge catcher to be used at the start and/or end of the unit.
By following the Kapow Primary Design and Technology scheme, pupils will leave school equipped with a range of skills to succeed in secondary education and become innovative, resourceful members of society. The expected impact includes:
- Understanding the functional and aesthetic properties of various materials and resources.
- Proficiency in using and combining tools for shaping, decorating, and manufacturing products.
- Building and applying a repertoire of skills, knowledge, and understanding to produce high-quality, innovative outcomes, including models, prototypes, CAD, and products.
- Understanding and applying principles of healthy eating, diets, and recipes, including key processes, food groups, and cooking equipment.
- Appreciating key individuals, inventions, and events that have impacted our world, both historically and currently.
- Recognizing the broader impact of their decisions on the community, society, and the environment.
- Self-evaluating and reflecting on their learning at different stages to identify areas for improvement.
- Meeting the end-of-key-stage expectations outlined in the national curriculum for Design and Technology and Computing.
