INTENT

The future in work in uncertain and the careers and jobs available now may completely change when they are leaving secondary school. Therefore, it is important that we provide our children at Welland Academy with future ready skills, skills that are transferable and they can take to wherever they may go. Design and Technology is not just about making things - it's about teaching and developing skills such as these identified by Forbes:

We want our children to develop creativity - an important skill used in many areas of education and one that ensures children use their metacognitive skills. As Dylan William has described:

Implementation

At Welland Academy we follow the National Curriculum. The DT curriculum is divided as follows:

KS1 - mechanisms, structures, food and textiles

KS2 - mechanical systems, electrical systems, structures, food, textiles, control and CAD (computer aided design)

The long term plan of the DT curriculum has been designed to ensure that there is clear progression in each of the above areas and has been completed with support from the Design and Technology Association. Each Year group has 3 DT projects over the year. When planning the individual projects we have considered the 6 Principals of the DT experience;

 Or simply considering that each project involves

Doing Something

For Someone

For some Purpose

When teaching each project, there will be planned;

a) IEAs - Investigative and Evaluative activities

b) FT's - Focussed tasks

c) DMEAs - Design, Make and Evaluate Assignments

Depending on the project, the length of these activities will vary. Some may have more focussed tasks than others, some may have more investigative activities.

Projects where relevant and appropriate will link to other areas of the curriculum, for example, science and electricity, Computing and coding.

Impact

The impact of the quality of education within DT will be seen in the IEA's, FT's and DMEAs. This will be gauged through discussions with the children, the development of DT skills and the outcomes of the projects. Impact will also be seen in those characteristics and 'life and future ready' skills as outlined above.