Curriculum

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Key Stage Three

Design and Technology is an inspiring, rigorous and practical subject. Using creativity and imagination, students design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts, considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values. They acquire a broad range of subject knowledge and draw on disciplines such as mathematics, science, engineering, computing and art. Students learn how to take risks, becoming resourceful, innovative, enterprising and capable citizens. Through the evaluation of past and present design and technology, they develop a critical understanding of its impact on daily life and the wider world. High-quality design and technology education makes an essential contribution to the creativity, culture, wealth and well-being of the nation.

In KS3 students work on a rotation. Students have a double lesson of DIT a week. This covers the areas of: Design Technology, Food Preparation and nutrition and IT. Students will complete two 6 week rotations in each subject a year. To see the DIT group rotations click here.

The national curriculum for design and technology aims to ensure that all pupils:

• develop the creative, technical and practical expertise needed to perform everyday tasks confidently and to participate 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 and products for a wide range of users
• critique, evaluate and test their ideas and products and the work of others
• understand and apply the principles of nutrition and learn how to cook.

The following should give students and parents an idea of what students should be capable of doing or understand to achieve the various National Curriculum levels throughout Key Stage 3.

When designing and making, students will be taught to:

Design

• use research and exploration, such as the study of different cultures, to identify and understand user needs
• identify and solve their own design problems and understand how to reformulate problems given to them
• develop specifications to inform the design of innovative, functional, appealing products that respond to needs in a variety of situations
• use a variety of approaches, to generate creative ideas and avoid stereotypical responses
• develop and communicate design ideas using annotated sketches, detailed plans, 3-D and mathematical modelling, oral and digital presentations and computer-based tools

Make

• select from and use specialist tools, techniques, processes, equipment and machinery precisely, including computer-aided manufacture
• select from and use a wider, more complex range of materials, components and ingredients, taking into account their properties

Evaluate

• analyse the work of past and present professionals and others to develop and broaden their understanding
• investigate new and emerging technologies
• test, evaluate and refine their ideas and products against a specification, taking into account the views of intended users and other interested groups
• understand developments in design and technology, its impact on individuals, society and the environment, and the responsibilities of designers, engineers and technologists

Technical knowledge

• understand and use the properties of materials and the performance of structural elements to achieve functioning solutions
• understand how more advanced mechanical systems used in their products enable changes in movement and force
• understand how more advanced electrical and electronic systems can be powered and used in their products
• apply computing and use electronics to embed intelligence in products that respond to inputs

Cooking and nutrition

As part of their lessons with food, students will be taught how to cook and apply the principles of nutrition and healthy eating. Instilling a love of cooking in students will also open a door to one of the great expressions of human creativity. Learning how to cook is a crucial life skill that enables students to feed themselves and others affordably and well, now and in later life.

Students will be taught to:

• understand and apply the principles of nutrition and health
• cook a repertoire of predominantly savoury dishes so that they are able to feed themselves and others a healthy and varied diet
• become competent in a range of cooking techniques [for example, selecting and preparing ingredients; using utensils and electrical equipment; applying heat in different ways; using awareness of taste, texture and smell to decide how to season dishes and combine ingredients; adapting and using their own recipes]
• understand the source, seasonality and characteristics of a broad range of ingredients.