Design Technology
Design Technology Curriculum
Purpose of our study
Design and technology at St. Clements High is an inspiring, rigorous and practical subject. Our curriculum is designed around using creativity and imagination, getting our pupils to design and make high quality products that solve real world problems, considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values. They acquire a broad range of subject knowledge and draw on disciplines such as mathematics, science, engineering, computing and art. Pupils learn how to take risks, becoming resourceful, innovative, enterprising and capable. Through the evaluation of past and present design, they develop a critical understanding of its impact on daily life and the wider world. Our pupils should know how high-quality design and technology makes an essential contribution to the creativity, culture, wealth and well-being of the nation.
Aims
Our curriculum for design and technology aims to ensure that all pupils:
- Develop the creative, technical and practical expertise needed to perform everyday tasks confidently and to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world.
- Build and apply a repertoire of knowledge, understanding and skills in order to design and make high-quality prototypes and products for a wide range of users.
- Critique, evaluate and test their ideas and products and the work of others.
- Understand that the world of design is limitless, and ever changing.
- Understand and apply the principles of nutrition and learn how to cook.
- Build knowledge of food safety and its importance in food preparation and storage.
Subject Content - Design and Technology
Through a variety of creative and practical activities, pupils should be taught the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in an iterative process of designing and making.
When designing and making, pupils are taught to:
Design
- use research and exploration, such as the study of different cultures, to identify and understand user needs
- identify and solve their own design problems and understand how to reformulate problems given to them
- develop specifications to inform the design of innovative, functional, appealing products that respond to needs in a variety of situations
- use a variety of approaches to generate creative ideas and avoid stereotypical responses
- develop and communicate design ideas using annotated sketches, detailed plans, 3-D and mathematical modelling, using visual communication through a variety of approaches
Create
- select from and use specialist tools, techniques, processes, equipment and machinery precisely, including computer-aided manufacture
- select from and use a wider, more complex range of materials, components and ingredients, taking into account their properties
Evaluate
- analyse the work of past and present professionals and others to develop and broaden their understanding
- investigate new and emerging technologies
- test, evaluate and refine their ideas and products against a specification, taking into account the views of intended users and other interested groups
- understand developments in design and technology, its impact on individuals, society and the environment, and the responsibilities of designers, engineers and technologists
Technical knowledge
- understand and use the properties of materials and the performance of structural elements to achieve functioning solutions
- understand the characteristics of materials such as resistance, malleability, recyclability and sustainability
- understand how electrical and electronic systems can be powered and used in their products
Subject Content - Cooking and Nutrition
As part of our pupils work with food, they are taught how to cook and apply the principles of nutrition and healthy eating. Instilling a love of cooking in pupils also opens a door to one of the great expressions of human creativity. Learning how to cook is a crucial life skill that enables pupils to feed themselves and others affordably and well, now and in later life.
When learning about food, pupils are taught to:
- Understand and apply the principles of nutrition and health.
- Cook a repertoire of predominantly savoury dishes so that they are able to feed themselves and others a healthy and varied diet.
- Become competent in a range of cooking techniques [for example, selecting and preparing ingredients; using utensils and electrical equipment; applying heat in different ways; using awareness of taste, texture and smell to decide how to season dishes and combine ingredients; adapting and using their own recipes].
- Understand the source, seasonality and characteristics of a broad range of ingredients.