Vision Statement
The vision of the Design and Technology department is aligned with the whole school vision, which is to become the best Design and Technology department in the country.
We are committed to delivering a curriculum that is accessible to all which provides the broadest possible range of opportunities for our students. One which will allow students to become self motivated and confident learners, who can work independently and as part of a team. We aim to ensure that learners develop technical and practical competencies as well as the wider knowledge valued by employers. Our main priority is for students to be problem solvers who are not afraid of making mistakes. We hope our students will become responsible citizens who make a positive contribution to society.
The Team
Mrs C Bowden – Teacher of Food and Nutrition
Mr A Colclough – Teacher of Design Technology
Ms E Langley – Teacher of Graphics & Textiles
Mrs M Longman – Teacher of Graphics
Mrs S Pattinson – Design Technology Technician
Mr P Dean – Teacher of the John Muir Award
Intent
The department firmly believes that students learn best by ‘doing’ and by allowing them to experiment and take risks, in a safe and positive learning environment. This is achieved through imaginative teaching that embraces new technologies and resembles modern industrial processes, whilst retaining the best of traditional practices. At the heart of this, is the desire to deliver a curriculum in which students produce high quality outcomes. Students must learn about the social and ethical responsibilities of designers and engineers and the importance of managing finite resources with care.
The main threads of the subject are to design, make and evaluate with each project sequenced to ensure coverage. Each project builds on from the previous one allowing students to transfer and apply knowledge, but projects also include challenging opportunities to develop new key concepts and understanding.
Implementation
KS2 is the starting point – building on the knowledge gained from year 6 but with ambitions to develop further understanding of design and making. The curriculum is reviewed regularly to ensure the context of KS3 is developed from the key concepts taught at KS2. To monitor the coverage of D & T at KS2 we:
- Regularly have taster days for KS2 students and their teachers
- Use Year 6 student questionnaire on prior learning/coverage
- Offer support to feeder schools on projects
We plan carefully, using the KS3 National Curriculum to ensure full coverage. This ensures curriculum breath. Projects are audited regularly to ensure relevance and up to date teaching.
At KS3, years 7-9 students are taught on a carousel system and study four specific technology areas – Food, Graphics, Product Design and Textiles. Each year group progresses from the previous year and is planned to include clear development and progress working towards KS4.
All year groups spend two 50 minute lessons a week in Technology. All students at KS3 study D & T and these lessons are organised as a double lesson to maximise practical activity.
At KS4, students who have chosen specifically Food or D & T spend three 50 minute lessons per week in Technology. The GCSE course is set up with 50% NEA completed during Year 11 and 50% examination completed at the end of Year 11.
The main concepts covered across the D & T curriculum are:
- Design, make and evaluate (self and peer)
- Problem solving
- Creating
- Research & analysis
- Responsible designing – environment, cultural, “real world” and user based.
These concepts are delivered through a range of projects. Every project will include design, make and evaluate while other projects and year groups will have a specific focus:
Year 7 – Tangram puzzle, popcorn, mediterranean tart, couscous and fruit crumble (creating).
Year 8 – Model Boat, upside down cake, pasta bake, sausage rolls, scone based pizza and shortbread (user based design with a focus on responsible designing and moral issues).
Year 9 – Mood lighting, muffins, vegetable curry, spring rolls and bread (problem solving and research & analysis).
Year 10 – Architectural design, LED light, 6 R’s, circular economy, systems, investigate pastries, bread, deboning a chicken, pasta, filleting fish and sauces.
Year 11 – Independent NEA coursework
Impact
As a result of the quality of the curriculum and teaching and learning in Design Technology and Food, we are proud to celebrate that students receive a truly outstanding education in our subject. Our results over time are illustrated in the table below.
Design Technology
| % 4 (standard pass) | % 5 (strong pass) | Progress 8 | Attainment 8 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 88% | 59% | +0.63 | 4.5 |
| 2020 | 83% | 50% | N/A | 4.8 |
| 2021 | 94% | 50% | N/A | 5.1 |
| 2022 | 100% | 95% | +1.84 | 6.4 |
| 2023 | 100% | 91% | +1.64 | 6.14 |
Food
| % 4 (standard pass) | % 5 (strong pass) | Progress 8 | Attainment 8 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 54% | 39% | -0.34 | 3.9 |
| 2020 | 79% | 55% | N/A | 4.8 |
| 2021 | 90% | 69% | N/A | 5.3 |
| 2022 | 83% | 70% | +0.37 | 5.2 |
| 2023 | 70% | 55% | +0.35 | 4.65 |
In addition to the outstanding outcomes achieved by our students, the experience in Design Technology is often long lasting. Post 16 a large number of students continue to pursue a path in Technology with many students going on to successful careers. One notable case is a student who is currently working for Triumph motorbikes in their development department.
Inspiration
We pride ourselves on enriching our curriculum through a range of clubs and activities, which have an extremely high uptake by our students. Example of this are:
- In Key Stage 3 an extremely well attended cookery club, where students with a passion for food can come and explore, create and develop their cooking skills.
- The Romero’s Bake Off Competition – where we pit staff and students together to test their cookery skills.
- We also run a number of House competitions linked to STEM such as a recycling project.
