Design and Technology Vision
At Seven Hills School, design and Technology develops children's skills and knowledge in design, structures, mechanisms, electrical control and a range of materials, including food. It encourages children's creativity and encourages them to think about important issues, and as outlined in the National Curriculum document, we follow a ‘Design, Make, Evaluate’ approach to the teaching and learning of DT, and celebrate this with a DT challenge across school each year. This challenge gives the children the opportunity to apply their skills and knowledge to a greater depth (mastery) level.
From the youngest children in Early Years, who are encouraged to show an interest in technological toys and explore different materials, tools and techniques to construct with a purpose in mind through year 1 who begin to put this exploration into action, building homes with particular purpose. Links are made to Stone Age history in year 2, with children making simple tools and artefacts a Stone Age person might need. Skills of joining materials together are learnt in year 2 where children design and make puppets, and theses skills are useful in year 3, where they link with geography and history to design and make Mayan head dresses and Ancient Egyptian sarcophagus. Children begin to assess their own and other’s designs in year 4, with a fashion show using research and showcasing Elizabethan clothing.
Year 5 take recycling seriously, designing and making dens and photo frames. Through their DT learning journey, Year 6 pupils can understand how key events and individuals in design and technology have helped shape the world, They then use research in their designing process to make items fit for purpose, fitting with their Roman topic.
Furthermore, children through school are taught cooking and nutrition in the curriculum and we provide a curriculum which enables children to make healthy eating choices. We believe teaching pupils to cook is an important part of promoting a whole school approach to health and wellbeing and attainment, helping us achieve high standards as a Healthy School. We have a dedicated, well resourced kitchen area that the children enjoy using as part of their cooking experiences, where they are taught safety aspects of cooking and to develop independence, cooking simple nutritious foods.
