Intent

At Langer Primary Academy, we have a real passion for creativity and aspire for pupils to master Design and Technology, teaching teaching to successful think, work and communicate like a designer. We do this through effective, quality teaching of the key areas:

• Designing 
• Making 
• Evaluating 
• Application  

Our pupils are taught design and technology through a progression of skills, building on their previous learning and ensuring progress is made. The cyclical curriculum ensures that knowledge is retrieved and built upon through units, and across year groups. The blocked curriculum teaches a variety of disciplines, including: 

• Food and nutrition 
• Structures
• Mechanisms 
• Textiles 
• Systems
• Electrical systems 

Our Design and Technology teaching and learning, using the CUSP curriculum, allows children to design, make and evaluate work they are proud of, within a unit of work that is centered on voluntary and oracle to build key knowledge. 

Vertical progression in each discipline has been deliberately woven into the fabric of the curriculum so that pupils can revisit 

key disciplines throughout their Primary journey at increasing degrees of challenge and complexity. Pupils are able to express 

their opinions of design, makes and apply these to real world applications. History of design and the context of application is key to pupils understanding the relevance of their learning, building cultural capital and supporting them to transition through education as aspiring designers. 

Implementation

At Langer Primary Academy, Design and Technology is taught across each year group in blocked modules that enable pupils to study in depth the key skills, understanding and vocabulary. Each module aims to activate and build on prior learning, including EYFS, to ensure better retention of knowledge and skills. Each module is carefully sequenced to allow for prior learning to be built upon and skills to be practiced and advanced as the pupils move through the school. 

To support pupils in their acquisition of new knowledge and skills in line with each learning objective, units have dual coded  knowledge notes. These contain key vocabulary, information and key facts which can be referred to throughout the learning modules. Key vocabulary is explicitly taught at the beginning of each unit, and repeatedly referenced throughout teaching, with oracy being central central pupils’ success. Children are encouraged to use this vocabulary in their discussions, responses and written work. 

Each unit has quizzes for pupils, assessing their understanding and knowledge of new vocabulary and skills gained within the unit. This informs teachers assessment for learning and allows gaps in knowledge to be addressed before new knowledge is introduced. 

Impact

Our pupils leave Langer as confident, creative individuals with a secure knowledge base in design to transition them onto their next stage of education. They recognise the importance of design and its application across a multitude of disciplines, and have the skills in the key areas of design to inform their own creations. Assessment, conducted through a combination of teacher assessment, quizzing and self and peer assessment, informs next steps in learning and allows teachers to identify gaps in knowledge as appropriate before the next stage in the pupils’ learning.