Design and Technology In St Michael in the Hamlet
Intent
At St Michael in the Hamlet School, it is our intent for Design and Technology to prepare children to take part in the development of tomorrow’s rapidly changing world. Through a variety of creative and practical activities, children are taught the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in a process of designing and making, whilst drawing on subjects such as mathematics, science, engineering, computing and art.
We will offer children the chance to develop creative and critical thinking and encourage them to make positive changes to their quality of life. We will encourage children to become autonomous and creative problem-solvers, both individually and as part of a team. Children will learn how to take risks, becoming increasingly resourceful, innovative, enterprising and capable members of our community, who can reflect on and evaluate present and past design and technology, its uses and its impacts. We introduced the PlanBee Curriculum for Design and Technology, as a basis for our Design and Technology lessons from years 1 through to 6. These topics are currently being reviewed and adapted to create our own, bespoke SMITH curriculum for Design and Technology.
The Design and Technology policy document can be found by clicking on the following link.
Design and Technology Subject Overview
An overview of the topics taught across each year group can be found by clicking on the following link – DT Subject Overview 2024 – 2025. In years 1 to 6, the subject is taught during one half term within each term. Our EYFS children will encounter the subject throughout the year, as staff develop and carry out our flexible EYFS Curriculum. This takes account of the Prime and Specific Areas of Learning, after looking at the individual needs and interests of our children, taking into account their different starting points.
Coverage of the Design and Technology National Curriculum Objectives can be found by clicking below…
- Key Stage 1
- Key Stage 2
- In EYFS, DT skills are mainly developed through the ‘Expressive Arts and Design’ and ‘Physical Development’ Areas of Learning. The children are offered a variety of experiences involving different media and materials and are taught to use a selection of tools correctly and safely. They are then encouraged to explore what they have learned within the setting.
Progression of Knowledge and Skills encountered in each area of Design and Technology can be found by clicking the following link – Progression of Knowledge and Skills
WINNER!! Food For Thought Chef Competition 2024
Food for Thought (who provide dinners in over 90 schools around the city) hold an annual competition to find a budding chef who could devise a recipe for a healthy and nutritious new dish for their menu. This year, once again, we have a success! One of our Year 5 children has managed to win one of the runner-up prizes!
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Last year, 3 children from our school were successful! Have a look at the entries below from the overall winner (from Year 4) and our 2 runners up.
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We hold Design and Technology Family Learning sessions, where families can work together with their children tackling different design challenges.
Below are some pictures from our latest session, where families were tasked with designing and making a prototype for an enclosure for injured animal of their choosing!
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Click on the images below to link to Padlets of pictures from some of our other sessions!
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Examples of work happening across the school.
Children in EYFS explore a range of materials and tools, both in their independent learning and related to the stories they have been sharing.
In Nursery, the children focus on the 3 Little Pigs, using a range of construction materials, and Goldilocks and the 3 Bears, exploring, making and evaluating porridge and its ingredients!
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In Reception, we focus on The Gingerbread Man – investigating ingredients, combining them, using kitchen utensils to roll out our the mixture and cut shapes into it, then evaluating our finished gingerbread men in terms of appearance and taste!
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In Key Stage 1, Year1 learn how to cut and prepare food safely in their healthy food topic.
Year 2 look at different puppets and then sew and decorate their own animal puppets, whilst developing their sewing skills as part of their textile topic.
Year 2 also make their own moving vehicles, learning about how to successfully incorporate wheel mechanisms into their creations.
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In Lower Key Stage 2, Year 3 explore the direction of movement in different mechanisms in pop-up books, as part of their topic focusing on levers and linkages. They then design and make their own moving picture book. Here are a few examples of their amazing paper engineering…
Year 3 also explore the seasonality of foods, developing their knowledge of food preparation to prepare a a healthy seasonal dish!
In their Year 4 textile project, after investigating a range of existing stockings and evaluating them in terms of their visual appeal and functionality, children plan and create their own Seasonal Stockings, using a range of joining stitches and embellishment techniques.
Year 4 investigate, design and create light-up signs, whilst incorporating their scientific knowledge of electrical circuits.
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Year 4 then go on to investigate the design of greenhouses, before they go on to create their own mini-greenhouses…
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In Upper Key Stage 2, Year 5 enjoy a bridge-building topic. After first investigating different types of bridges and seeing how much weight they could carry, they work collaboratively to create amazing structures.
Year 6 children cook up a storm, creating a range of delicious burgers, including vegetarian and vegan options, as well as using different varieties of meat, dressings and flavourings. The whole upper corridor smells incredible!
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The children in Year 6 also enjoy creating strong and stable wooden frameworks for their birdhouses, before turning their attention to the aesthetics. Don’t they look amazing?
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