Curriculum - D&T and Engineering

Cultural Capital

Design and Technology is creating and using the world around you.

Research: Looking at existing products and designers and taking influence from them. Seeing trends in diverse areas like Architecture, Graphic Design, Product Design, Food Trends etc.

Analysing: Materials and manufacturing understanding, how the world has been shaped by industry and manufacture. How the history of design relates to current trends, culture and sustainability. How products & their materials have changed the world.

Designing: Creative thinking and problem solving. Expressing a point of view through drawing, using modern technology like CAD as a visual form of communication.

Curriculum Journey

This is a map to show the learning journey in Product Design from year 6 through to further education and possible careers.

DT Curriculum Journey.pdf

Overview of the learning journey in Design & Technology and Engineering

Year 7

DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING & TEXTILES

Projects: Students will learn skills to produce high quality, handmade products such as a wooden spatula and a usable tie dye bag.

Health and Safety: Students study Health and Safety in the workshops before using tools for practical activities.

Tools and Equipment: Saw, file, sandpaper, sewing machines

Design: Ideas taken from a 2D format and created into 3D.

Knowledge and Understanding: The properties of materials and sustainability.

Year 8

DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING & TEXTILES

Projects: Students will learn skills to produce a high quality, handmade aluminium keyring and Textile project.

Health and Safety: Students study Health and Safety in the workshop before using any new tools for practical activities.

Tools and Equipment: Pillar drill, scribe, punch, saws, files, LED’s, batteries, sewing needles.

Design: Drawing conventions and technical design is used to accurately measure out with links made to Engineering and Maths. 2D designs are created into 3D.

Knowledge and Understanding: Working with metal whilst learning about the properties and finish. Wearable electronics are introduced by producing an electronics circuit.

DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY & GRAPHICS

Project: Students will extend and learn skills to produce a high quality, handmade, Art Deco style clock. In Graphics students will study advertising and branding with a focus on detailed design.

Health and Safety: Students study Health and Safety in the workshop before using any new tools for practical activities.

Tools and Equipment: Computers, saws, files, drill

Design: Computer Aided Design programmes are used to aid the design process along with new techniques.

Knowledge and Understanding: Designing in 3D, a variety of wood joints, learning about a variety of materials including plastics and sustainability, CAD and presentation skills.

Year 9

Year 10

The Design and Technology Department offers courses in Engineering and Design & Technology at GCSE level. Design & Technology is a GCSE subject. Engineering is a Level 1 / 2 award, which is equivalent to a GCSE.

Engineering: In Engineering students learn and investigate materials and tools used in the manufacture of products. They learn through practical tasks, followed by relevant theory. Students make a variety of projects in Year 10 to improve their practical skills, mostly metalwork, but also wood and plastic projects.

Technical Drawing skills are practiced by hand and using Computer Aided Design (CAD), student must be able to read a Technical Drawing to pass the course.

Design & Technology:

Year 10 is around 50% practical tasks and 50% theory.

Students will complete projects in Wood, metal and plastics using a wide variety of skills, machinery and tools.

During Year 10 students work on a variety of short projects needed to create a thorough understanding of materials and manufacturing techniques which are needed for the exam in Year 11 and also to enable them to have the skills needed for the coursework section in Year 11.

Engineering: The course is around 50% practical work and 50% theory and written coursework.

There are two parts to the written coursework, called Unit 1 and Unit 2. This coursework makes up the majority of the marks for the course and consists of practical tasks, written up along with the theory of what the student’s method and research into the tools and materials they are using.

Unit 3 is a written exam and includes the theory of Engineering, materials, tools and how they are used to manufacture products. It includes elements on Sustainable Design and modern materials and methods including CAD/CAM.

Mathematics - Practical mathematics skills are an essential part of the Engineering course. In the written exam students are given real life questions, like working out the volume of a piece of metal needed to make a sign. Understanding who to calculate the scale of a drawing is needed.

Design & Technology: The course consists of one large piece of coursework and an exam in Year 11.

Coursework: Students investigate Designers and analyse products, materials and their manufacture. Students are taught how to design and make their own products, following a design brief. Students complete research and gather data before undertaking their own design during Year 11 to produce a comprehensive coursework project. Students then decide on a single project in Year 11 which they then prototype and build, producing the coursework to back-up their design work.

Exam: The written exam requires a large avout of subject information on how products are designed and manufactured. The theory which is worked on practically and with research in Year 10 makes up a large part of this learning. Students need a thorough understanding of design, materials and manufacture to pass the exam.