Design and Technology at Anton Junior School

Design and Technology Intent

Design and Technology at Anton Junior School aims to develop and inspire children to apply a vast range of skills within relevant practical experiences, where they are able to create innovative designs to solve real problems within a variety of different contexts. Children are excited to gain confidence, are encouraged to identify problems to solve, to critically evaluate existing products and then take risks and be innovative when designing and creating solutions to the problems.

As part of the design and making process, time is built in to reflect, evaluate and improve on prototypes using design criteria throughout, to support the planning and making of products. Opportunities are provided for children to evaluate key events and individuals who have helped shape the world, showing the real impact of design and technology within the wider environment and other cultures, helping to inspire children to become the next generation of innovators.

What Does DT look like at Anton Junior School?

Through revisiting and consolidating technical skills, our lessons help children build on prior knowledge alongside introducing new skills, knowledge and challenges. The revision and introduction of key vocabulary is built into each lesson and through our Design and Technology lessons, we value active learning opportunities to immerse children fully into their first-hand, practical experiences. Children are inspired to develop a love of Design and Technology and see how it has helped shape the ever-evolving technological world they live in. Careful planning ensures cross-curricular links, where possible.

Impact

We aim to encourage independence and an enquiring mind together with a thirst for learning. There is regular monitoring across the school and pupil voice is a key part of this process. Whole-school and parental engagement is supported using some design and technology home learning tasks and opportunities provided in lessons. Design and Technology is loved by children across school, and they are encouraged to want to build on their wealth of skills and understanding, through practical activities which progress across the key stage. Impact can also be measured through key questioning and observing skills learned in lessons. Children also evaluate their own work against that of other crafts makers and reflect on how they can make improvements in the future. Assessments aim to target next steps in learning.