Design and technology at St John XXIII Catholic Primary School

Welcome to the Design and Technology page of St John XXIII Catholic Primary School. At our school, we are dedicated to providing a robust curriculum that integrates Kapow, an innovative program designed to enhance learning in design and technology. Our approach ensures that students not only grasp the theoretical aspects of the subject but also apply their knowledge to real life scenarios, fostering both creativity and practical skills.

Our curriculum is tailored to inspire and challenge our pupils, encouraging them to engage in projects that solve real problems and meet genuine needs. Through our Design and Technology lessons, students learn to think critically and develop solutions that have a meaningful impact on their surroundings. We believe in preparing our children for a future where they can contribute positively and confidently in a rapidly evolving world.

Intent

At St John XXIII, Design & Technology inspires creativity, practical problem-solving and purposeful innovation. Guided by Pope Leo’s Maps of Hope, we support every child on a journey of design, creation and improvement, developing skills that will prepare them for life in a changing world. 

Our Design & Technology curriculum is carefully sequenced so that knowledge and skills build progressively from Early Years to Year 6. Children are taught to design, make and evaluate products using a range of tools, materials and techniques. Through repeated practice and reflection, pupils develop technical skills, creativity and confidence. 

We place strong emphasis on design thinking and vocabulary, ensuring children can explain their ideas clearly and evaluate their work thoughtfully. Design & Technology is taught through practical, hands-on learning where pupils are encouraged to take risks, solve problems and refine their work based on feedback and testing. 

We hold high expectations for all learners. Through inclusive teaching and appropriate challenge, every child is supported to succeed and to develop their creativity and independence. Our aim is for pupils to leave St John XXIII as confident designers and makers who can apply their skills with ambition and purpose. 

Through Design & Technology, our pupils will: 

• Communicate with confidence and clarity, using design vocabulary to explain their ideas and justify their choices. 
• Journey as resilient learners, problem-solving, adapting and improving their work with perseverance and hope. 
• Recognise their God-given dignity and potential, understanding that creativity and innovation are for everyone. 
• Step forward with ambition and purpose, designing and making products that are functional, creative and relevant to the world around them. 

Implementation

Children cover the strands of food technology, mechanisms, electrical systems, structures ,textiles the digital world throughout their key stage. Each year builds upon the skills they developed in the previous year to ensure that they build a repertoire of techniques which increase in complexity.

There is a STEAM day every term where children have a day devoted to STEAM and by the end of the day they have designed, made and evaluated their final product.

Teachers are provided with half termly planning that they should implement through knowledge and skills based, weekly lessons. Lessons will vary between mostly practical and some theory based work. Each half term will contain the following:

• A knowledge organiser which outlines knowledge (including vocabulary) all children must master;
• A cycle of lessons for each topic, which carefully plans for progression and depth. This is presented in the form of a topic overview, which shows the series of lessons within a topic.
• A self-assessment is provided on the lesson overviews for pupils to assess their competence in each lesson.
• A means to display and celebrate the pupils’ work in their class and around the school.
• We draw on the expertise of specialist subject organisations such as STEM learning and the National Curriculum to support our curriculum planning

Inclusion

We aim for all children to participate in mainstream lessons.  Work is differentiated and extra support is in place for children with S.E.N.  Where it is felt necessary, a pupil is withdrawn from class to receive specialist help from school devised intervention programmes, or support from the Language and Communication Service. We aim to provide a range of resources that reflect the diversity of culture and language within our school community and the wider local community.

Impact

Our DT Curriculum shows a progression of skills and aims to build upon prior learning. Our Curriculum is well thought out and is planned to introduce and develop skills that can be applied to everyday life. If children are keeping up with the curriculum, they are deemed to be making good or better progress. In addition, we measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:

In Class Feedback

We understand that feedback is linked to progress and has to be timely to make an impact. In class feedback is used to support teacher’s workload, ensure it is as immediate and timely and specific as possible, and leaves the teacher time to focus on individual identified needs. (see our Feedback policy 2019) We use verbal feedback whereby the pupil receives immediate feedback and are able to respond to it during the lesson. Sharing work and ideas within class is championed and pupils are encouraged to be able to constructively criticise and act on peer feedback. At the end of each lesson an assessment is carried out on the overview by the teacher, teaching assistant or it is self-assessed to determine whether the objective of the lesson has been met.

 Corrective Teaching/ Summative Assessment:

Most of our work is evidenced through the use of individual sketchbooks. All teachers provide next steps based on pupils’ work in these sketchbooks and this feedback may be delivered verbally (VF) or written into the overview of lessons at the beginning of each unit. Wherever possible, it is encouraged that teachers provide immediate feedback to pupils and misconceptions are addressed during the lesson. When a pupil has not met the learning objective there is timely support so they are able to continue on the learning journey with their peers. Teachers adapt their planning for the next lesson to ensure there is time to address these misconceptions. It may be addressed in the next lesson, by a Teaching Assistant, in small groups in the lesson. The misconceptions may be addressed through verbal feedback or with the use of mini plenaries.

Monitoring

Subject leaders carry out termly book looks to ensure high quality, practical lessons are being delivered. Pupil discussions through pupil voice is carried out every half term where they talk about their learning; which includes discussion of their thoughts, ideas, processing and evaluations of work. Lesson observations are carried out to ensure a high standard of teaching and learning.

Assessment and Recording in DT

DT evidence is recorded in Sketch books and on display around the school. We encourage staff to take photographic evidence e.g. in workshops or trips. Teachers assess children’s knowledge, understanding and skills in Art and DT subjects by making observations within class and by analysis of their written evidence. As part of our assessment for learning process (and in line with our school’s assessment policy), children will receive high quality verbal feedback in class. Children are also encouraged to be critical of their own work, highlighting their own next steps. Assessment is carried out through pupil voice, book looks, and lesson participation. The DT Leader will then analyse this data in order to inform and improve future

Pre Teaching/Pre Assessment

All teachers must be aware of the pupil’s prior attainment. Through sketchbooks ‘following’ the pupil throughout the years, we aim to pre-empt the difficulties for some pupils. We analyse previous learning and plan according to individual needs and cohorts.

We also aim to ensure that our pupils are proud of their work and have opportunity to see it on display, shared with others in the school and with their families. We hope that as pupils move on from us to further their education and learning that their curiosity, creativity and passion for Design Technology will continue to grow.

Design and Technology Long Term Curriculum and Progression of Skills Map 

Design and Technology Long Term Curriculum and Progression of Skills Map