Lilliput Church of England Infant School

Subject leader

Linked governor

Laura Hill

Reverend Tom Pelham and Fay Perrins

Intent

To encourage children to understand that  by exploring their own choices when designing  and making they will be able to bring their ideas to life, making a product fulfil a specification. They will learn to evaluate process & technique to develop their own knowledge and understanding in order to empower the choices they make.

What do we expect pupil to know by certain points?

Please see the CLP D&T curriculum document outlining what we expect pupils to know by certain points in the year, in line with the Early Learning Goals and National Curriculum.

EYFS – Exploring, Using Media and Materials

Children  safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function.

EYFS – Being Imaginative

Children use what they have learnt about media and materials in original ways, thinking about uses and purposes.

They represent their own ideas, thoughts and feelings through design and technology, art, music, dance, role play and stories.

Links to EYFS – Physical Development & Understanding the World

NC - KS1 – Design and Technology

When designing and making pupils should be taught to:

Design

design purposeful, functional, appealing products for themselves and other users based on design criteria

generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through talking, drawing, templates, mock-ups and, where appropriate, information and communication technology

Make

select from and use a range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks [for example, cutting, shaping, joining and finishing

select from and use a wide range of materials and components, including construction materials, textiles and ingredients, according to their characteristics

Evaluate

explore and evaluate a range of existing products

evaluate their ideas and products against design criteria

Technical knowledge

build structures, exploring how they can be made stronger, stiffer and more stable

explore and use mechanisms [for example, levers, sliders, wheels and axles], in their products

Key driver for 2020/21 is CPD development to ensure that all teachers are accurate in their teaching delivery & assessment and that our moderation process in design and technology is beneficial,  manageable and effective.

What is the clear sequence in which the children will encounter the curriculum?

Is it logical?

Does each year build on the last/prepare for the next (including Year 3?)

The CLP D&T curriculum shows clear structure and guidance as to the progressional expectations from Early Years to year two and up to year 6. There will be a clear aim to minimalise the repetition of activities unless this is absolutely necessary or as part of a skill enhancement process. This will be monitored across the key stages to ensure progression within a year group. A medium term plan for KS1 will clarify previous year group learning & the following year’s expectations.

Link to Unit covers to be added here

Why have we chosen to teach this and not alternatives?

We have made these decisions based on our topic based approach to teaching and learning. We will follow the EYFS, NC & CLP curriculum guidance to provide progressive, meaningful and purposeful learning experiences in design and technology.

How will we monitor that the teaching planned matches the content?

This year,learning outcomes will be monitored to ensure that they are in line with planning. The whole class assessment documents will also be monitored to ensure differing capabilities are acknowledged & documented at the end of a topic. Topic based learning will be planned for, understood and resourced by the year teams to provide the best opportunities to meet the expectations of the EY, NC & CLP guidance.

Is there clear progression of skills considering prior learning (revisiting previously taught knowledge including linking with other subjects), which takes into account what will be taught in the next school.

All year groups will spend time revisiting skills previously taught to consolidate skills if needed. The subject lead will liaise with junior schools to identify the key skills required for children to be successful in moving on.

Have we carefully considered why work has been placed in specific year groups including Reception and at particular points in the year.

Subject leads and CLP working party have spent time looking at progression of skills across EYFS,  KS1 and KS2. This is to ensure each stage prepares the children effectively for the next steps in their learning. 

Does the teaching planned match the content?

This year learning outcomes will be monitored to ensure they are in line with planning. The whole class assessment document will also be monitored to ensure differing capabilities are acknowledged & documented at the end of a topic. Topic based learning will be planned for, understood and resourced by the teaching staff to provide the best opportunities to meet the expectations of the EY, NC & CLP guidance.

Implementation

The curriculum is ambitious and meets the needs of all pupils including disadvantaged and SEND.

All children are carefully tracked and monitored with a specific focus on disadvantaged and SEND.  Subject lead to check these children are receiving quality first teaching and additional support.

Does teaching include key elements such as explanation, modelling, scaffold, practise?

We have carefully considered why work has been placed in specific year groups and at particular points in the year. We will aim for the curriculum to be well organised and to meet the needs of all pupils including disadvanateged and SEND. Teaching will need to be adapted as skills sets are taught. Children can and will differ in strength within each unit of work taught. Modelling and scaffolding can be suggested when planning but will need to be adaptable depending on design plans. Children will be encouraged to explore, practise and evaluate a particular skill to enable them to find the best design for their idea. This can be monitored during lesson observations & annotation on assessment sheets. 

Can you articulate why teachers are teaching your subject in a particular way?

EYFS, NC & CLP curriculum guidance will provide progressive structure and skill development opportunities. Teachers will need to explore skills, techniques, tools and materials previous to them teaching the lesson taught. This will ensure their personal subject knowledge and understanding is clear. Children will be taught by seeing, modelling, discussing , exploring and evaluating. Children will be given the opportunity  to learn through  guided activities as well as individual experimentation and evlautaion time.

Impact

How do you know that the children have learnt the things that we expect them to learn?

End of topic assessment will take place and be monitored by the subject lead as well as across year teams to highlight similar misconceptions and/or areas of excellence. A sample of children’s learning outcomes will also be monitored against the planning to ensure consistency across year teams. The subject lead will be looking for CPD opportunities for staff to participate in to support confidence in the teaching of DT, if as a staff we feel it appropriate & beneficial . The subject lead will monitor whether children have learnt what was taught and their knowledge and understanding of this against the curriculum expectations. Children’s questionnaires will be devised for this.

SLT to maintain clear oversight – dates for reports/meeting to be set/subject leader time to be allocated half termly

What do we do if the children haven’t learnt them?

During the topic teachers will become aware of areas of difficulty that need to be revisited. Planning can be adapted to revisit learning if needed before moving skill sets on. There is room for movement over the year groups if this is needed. A brief summary will be devised by the subject lead at the end of each academic year to alert the next year group of this is this the case. Children who are not meeting expectations will be identified. This could be variable throughout skills being taught. Misconception/difficulty will be monitored by class teachers and patterns in achievment levels will be acknowledged. This will be identified by the subject lead when end of topic assessments are handed in. This can be addressed accordingly as to whether it is individual or whole class/year group. If individual we can address the specific area and revisit the previous learning if needed. We will be aware of specific issues needed, e.g. SEND support required or teaching guidance shared. If whole class/year group then we may need to plan in a time to revisit the skill. It may be that as a staff we decide we need further guidance and a CPD focus in this area.

Are there regular opportunities for retrieval practise?

Lessons will provide links to previous work taught (if appropriate) and the following planning to allow for progression over time. Lessons will be planned with a specific learning outcome and success criteria. Acknowledgement of achievement will need to be clear before moving learning along.   Misconceptions will need to be addressed during  the topic if possible within time scales. Skills can be revisited to offer opportunities to consolidate understanding. Year leads can advise the subject lead/next year lead if they feel they need to revisit skills to consolidate understanding.

Please see topic overview and CLP document for a break down and how skills are revisited but also built upon.

How can we see that children’s fluency and mastery is incrementally improving?

If we can see/evidence this we can demonstrate IMPACT

Assessment should be accurate and effective. Ongoing teacher assessment will be updated to recognise specific areas of impact. Clear evidence will be required. Additional support/CPD will be put in place where required.

CPD

How do you identify the CPD needs of staff? What are this year’s priorities? How do you identify your own SL needs?

Where do you get your insitation/advice?

A staff questionnaire will be issued with a focus on DT skills, use of technique, tools, materials and confidence in delivery (Autumn1 2020).

The children will be asked how/what they like to learn in DT and areas/experiences that they feel are missing.

Children may be asked at the end of topics how they feel their learning experiences were for them. This will allow the subject lead to understand the effectiveness of teaching and learning in DT at Lilliput.

Any of the above that need to be addressed will be done so with a priority order decided by the subject lead and SLT.

These will be shared with the link governors for DT.

Subject lead needs will be directed by the outcomes of the above. This will enable the subject lead to better support the staff at Lilliput and to help implement a successful DT curriculum. Inspiration and advice will be found in other professionals and reseach projects both in and out of the CLP.