D.T. & Art | Chandler's Ford Infant School

D.T. & Art

Design and Technology

Approaches to learning: Design and Technology

“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn” Benjamin Franklin.

At Chandlers Ford Infant School Design and Technology is a vital component of our curriculum which brings learning to life. It is a subject area that gives all children the opportunity to design and construct but it also encourages them to become independent, creative problem-solvers and thinkers. Design and Technology prepares children to deal with tomorrow's rapidly changing world and it helps them to become astute and informed future consumers and potential innovators.

The Design and Technology experiences that the children undertake at our school have been carefully designed. Each project ensures that the children engage in authentic problems which have a clear purpose, user and functionality. We know that children love making decisions for themselves and learning through practical experiences. We ask our children to make their own design decisions and we encourage them to be innovative and original in their thinking;creating products that they can see, touch and even taste. Each project has strong links to the topics being covered in class and also draws upon many other areas of the curriculum including science, maths, literacy and art. Whenever possible we try to take our learning outside and this year we created a whole school weather station where every class investigated, designed, made and evaluated a piece of equipment that could measure the weather.

During their time at Chandlers Ford Infant school all children will get to acquire and practically apply their knowledge and understanding of materials and components, mechanisms and structures, existing products and health and safety.

In KS1 our children are taught to:

Use a range of materials creatively to design and make products
develop the creative, technical and practical expertise needed to perform everyday tasks successfully in an increasingly technological world
build and apply a repertoire of knowledge, understanding and skills in order to design and make high-quality prototypes for a wide range of users
critique, evaluate and test their ideas and product and the work of other
understand and apply the principles of nutrition and learn how to cook

Each project develops a progression of skills these are:

Technical knowledge
Designing
Making
Evaluating
In addition to this each year group undertakes a cooking and nutrition project

Here are some web sites you might like to use at home:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/shows/do-you-know

https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/shows/bitz-and-bob

https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/subjects/zb9d7ty

https://www.data.org.uk/

https://www.stem.org.uk/audience/primary

Design and Technology Long Term Plan and Progression of Skills

Art, Craft and Design

Approaches to learning: Art, Craft and Design

At Chandlers Ford Infant School we pride ourselves on our creativity and our Art, Craft and Design curriculum has been designed to engage, inspire and challenge all pupils.

We believe that children have wonderful imaginations and that it is important to allow them to express their ideas and experiences. We understand that art, craft and design is a unique medium for listening to the voices of children and recognise its benefits towards good mental health. Whenever possible we take our learning outside and use nature as both a resource and inspiration for our work.

Each unit of work that we deliver has been carefully put together to ensure that its content is relevant and has strong links to topics, so memorable connections are made. We use a process based approach to our learning journeys where children experiment, invent and design in their own sketch books. We teach and equip them with a range of knowledge and skills that are based on different artistic techniques and our children are then encouraged to apply and use these in their own chosen way. As our pupils progress, they think more critically and develop a deeper understanding of art, craft and design. They also develop knowledge of how art and design both reflect and shape our history. In Year 1 we take the children to Southampton Art Gallery.

We like to provide lots of opportunities for the children to share and celebrate their thoughts and ideas with peers as this further develops their skills and confidence. Each year we hold a whole school art exhibition where every child has their work exhibited and we are very proud of the creative abilities of our amazing children.

In EYFS and KS1 our children are taught to:

Use a range of materials creatively to design and make products
Use drawing, painting and sculpture to develop and share their ideas, experiences and imagination
Develop a wide range of art and design techniques in using colour, pattern, texture, line, shape, form and space,
Learn about the work of a range of artists, craft makers and designers, describing the differences and similarities between their different practices and disciplines, and making links to their own work.

Each unit develops a progression of skills these are: