Implementation
Children cover the strands of Food, Construction and Textiles every year. 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 week every term where children have D&T lessons every afternoon and by the end of the week, they have made and evaluated their final product.
Each unit has a comprehensive planning document, which provides teachers with the following resources:
- A project brief
- Children’s prior knowledge and skills
- Resources needed
- Suggested science and maths learning
- Skills and knowledge to be developed in this project
- Precise, tiered vocabulary
- A suggested sequence of lessons to support the learning in this project
We draw on the expertise of specialist subject organisations such as The D&T association, STEM learning, New Hamilton Trust units, QCA and the National Curriculum to support our curriculum planning.
Impact
Children have cover sheets for each D&T strand in their science books, which outline the main skills and knowledge. These are phrased as learning check statements. Children self-assess whether they fully or partially met the learning check statement using the schools marking policy. A written self-assessment is then made by the children, which provides the children with an opportunity for a more detailed reflective response.
Teachers actively assess children throughout the practical processes of designing, making and evaluating their products and make judgements as to whether children are meeting year group expectations. Teachers can find the expectations for their year group on the cover sheets and on the STEAM curriculum map skills progression document. Using the school’s marking policy, teachers then assess whether children have partially or fully met the year group expectations on the child’s cover sheets in their science book. A class overview of designing, making, evaluating and technical knowledge is also kept in the back of the STEAM floor book.
At the end of each academic year, class teachers use the information from the cover sheets and finished products in order to make a judgement as to whether each child is working towards, at or above the expected standard.
