Design Technology & Food Preparation

Curriculum Aims:

In a technology driven world, it is easy to let a mechanical process override thoughtful consideration of the human experience.  We encourage and build empathy, helping pupils to adopt a user-centred approach, and combating the bad habit of relying on mechanics to define form and function.  In Design Technology and Food Preparation,  we enable our pupils to develop the skills to engage positively with the designed and made world, harnessing the benefits of technology.  Pupils will learn how products and systems are designed and manufactured, facilitating them to use creativity and imagination and providing them with a sense of purpose to improve the world around them.  Pupils will learn to use the iterative design process to design and make products using relevant and the most up to date technologies.  It is our belief that we will equip pupils to become entrepreneurial in their approach to products - designing and mading to such a high quality that they are commercially viable, and considering the future impact of their designs on the environment.

Curriculum Features:

Our projects at Key Stage3 focus on the mastering of basic practical skills, which is essential to becoming an expert at KS4. The projects ensure pupils are  confident in using the tools and equipment safely in the workshops and understand the working properties of a range of materials. Our lighting project at KS3 encourages pupils through the iterative design process to plan, modify, compare and combine design ideas considering cultural values and sustainability. Pupils will learn to understand advancements in technology and global changes - they use CAD/CAM, electronics and systems in KS3, building these skills at KS4 and KS5. This is also the same for Food Preparation and Nutrition as projects are closely linked to real life and industry. Pupils are developing higher order thinking skills ensuring all that is made is purposeful. 

“Manufacturing is more than just putting parts together. It’s coming up with ideas, testing principles and perfecting the engineering as well as final assembly”

• James Dyson, British Engineer

Design and Technology is the practical application of Physics and Maths which feature throughout projects within the curriculum, the T in STEM. We focus on two main materials areas, timbers and metals, leading to pupils secure knowledge of these materials and enabling them to make independent and informed choices during their Non Examination Assessment task at KS4. Creative expertise is required to specialise and to become a resourceful innovator when generating ideas for the NEA contextual challenge. 

Pupils remain with a subject specialist teacher in KS3 and KS4 enabling a challenging, consistent approach and the development of relationships where practical demonstrations and activities enthuse and engage pupils. We consider British values as we teach an ethical, diverse and inclusive range of projects. These are continually evaluated and revised to maintain enthusiasm. Learning environments support the teaching and enhance the learning as informative resources.

Co-curricular experiences:

We encourage pupils to work creatively after school, offering the opportunity to  pursue projects of their choosing to encourage the use of critical thinking skills as they plan, adapt their ideas, developing innovation and resourcefulness in the pupils.

We participate in the IET Faraday Challenge in Year 8 which is an annual, national engineering-based competition of STEM activity days with a real-world challenge for pupils aged 12-13 years. This aims to inspire the next generation of engineers and technicians.

We also attend the Rotary Challenge Technology Tournaments which are one day events for multiple teams of four students to engage with Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) by collectively solving a previously unseen technology task. Each team is challenged to plan, design, develop, build and then test their solution, with the tournament offering a fun way to develop team building, communication and time management skills.

What follows is a current summary of the intended subject curriculum content in each year of the key stage.  It highlights the key knowledge and skills intended for learning, and some of the ways progress in the curriculum is to be assessed.  It clarifies the key questions students should be addressing and gives links to help students and families to develop this learning further.