Intent

Our WFPS Design & Technology curriculum enables our children to develop the design expertise they need in the world they live in so that they can flourish and reach their potential. It encourages children to become independent, creative problem solvers and thinkers as individuals and as part of a team. Our children are given every opportunity to build their substantive knowledge (factual content) and disciplinary knowledge (the skills) in all elements of the Design & Technology curriculum as they master the skills of how to be successful citizens in our rapidly changing word; they are encouraged to develop their design, practical and evaluation skills to help in the world of further education, work and in their future lives. They may be inspired to pursue further study and career paths in Design & Technology. Design & Technology has deep links with Maths, Science and Computing, forming a key component of the STEM curriculum. Children will recognise how some disciplinary knowledge is transferable and can help them to solve problems across these subject areas. The curriculum has been carefully constructed to ensure children obtain a solid understanding of key Design Technology skills, concepts and knowledge. We aim to offer rich and vibrant opportunities within the curriculum which draw upon meaningful real-life experiences.

Implementation

Design & Technology is designed and taught with an understanding that the working memory is limited and that we can aid learning and the acquisition of the long term memory with regular repeated learning experiences over time.

The following high-dividend concepts have been identified as an integral part of the Design & Technology curriculum: Structures, Food, Mechanisms and Mechanical Systems, Textiles, Programming and Electrical systems. The disciplinary skills, which are progressive, are Designing, Making and Evaluating; these skills are broken down into small steps and frequently revisited and built upon in units across the year group and key stage. Teachers will make explicit reference to where children have met these concepts previously in the curriculum.

Through the Design & Technology curriculum, children will be taught the National Curriculum objectives thoroughly, ensuring that each year group builds on previous learning so there is clear progression. Through this diversity of creative and practical activities, pupils should be taught the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in an iterative process of designing and making. They will also work in a range of relevant contexts. During Design & Technology units, pupils will have the opportunity to design, make and evaluate a product, as well as gaining technical and health and safety knowledge.

The WFPS Design & Technology curriculum is based on KAPOW. Children engage in alternate terms of Design & Technology which is taught weekly. The WFPS long term plan visits each Design & Technology element once in KS1, Lower KS2 and Upper KS2 building on prior learning. KAPOW units have been chosen to follow a chronological and progressive pathway ensuring all important skills and understanding are developed continually.

During EYFS, children will begin to develop their substantive, disciplinary and conceptual knowledge through playing, building blocks, junk modelling, weaving, cutting and sticking, exploring materials, healthy eating and mechanisms. They can underpin this understanding with the KAPOW EYFS units which introduce the high-dividend concepts of Design & Technology.

During KS1, with reference to the National Curriculum, children will develop their knowledge, understanding and skills, through a variety of creative and practical activities. These skills will help them to learn how to design, make and evaluate products for a particular purpose, using a range of tools and equipment, materials and ingredients. The following units of work have been selected to build upon the experiences in EYFS: Baby Bear’s Chair (Structures), Smoothies (Food), Puppets (Textiles), Making a Moving Monster (Mechanisms), Pouches (Textiles), Eating Seasonally (Food)

During Lower Key Stage 2 the following units of work have been selected to build on the KS1 units: Cushions (Textiles), Pneumatic Toys (Mechanical Systems), Pavilions (Structures), Wearable Technology (Digital World), Torches (Electrical Systems), Adapting a Recipe (Food).

During Upper Key Stage 2, the following units of work have been selected to build upon lower KS2: Bridges (Structures), Fastenings (Textiles), Gears and Pulleys (Mechanical Systems), Developing a Recipe (Food), Steady Hand Game (Electrical Systems), Digital World (Navigating the World).

By the end of KS2, with reference to the National Curriculum, through a variety of creative and practical activities, children will develop their knowledge, understanding and skills. These skills will help them to learn how to research and develop design criteria, to inform the design of innovative, functional, appealing products that are fit for purpose, to generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through discussion, diagrams, sketches, protypes and CAD. They will be able to select from a wide range of tools, materials and equipment and investigate, analyse and evaluate products against their own design criteria, understanding how to improve their work and understanding how individuals in Design & Technology have helped shape the world.

The Design & Technology curriculum and pedagogy will enable children to begin secondary school with a well-developed understanding of how to work collaboratively towards a common goal such as planning and developing projects. They will be able to share ideas, make comparisons, negotiate and offer each other feedback in order to ensure a high-quality outcome. They will become enthusiastic, motivated independent learners, with a real love of learning.

Key Design & Technology vocabulary is specified and explicitly taught as part of the Design & Technology Curriculum. The development of vocabulary progresses throughout the Design & Technology curriculum.

Impact

Pupil voice interviews

What our children say:

WFPS Modern Foreign Languages Spanish

‘Learning a foreign language is a liberation from insularity and provides an opening to other cultures. A high-quality languages education should foster pupils’ curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world.’

The National Curriculum 2014 - KS2 PoS for Languages – Purpose of study

Language is an essential means of everyday communication and interaction. Learning another language raises awareness of the multi-lingual and multi-cultural world in which we live. It introduces an international dimension to children’s learning, giving them an insight into their own culture and those of others.

Intent

At Weston Favell CE Primary School, we use the Language Angels scheme of work and resources to ensure we offer a relevant, broad, vibrant and ambitious foreign languages curriculum that will inspire and excite our children, using a wide variety of topics and themes. All children will be expected to achieve their full potential by encouraging high expectations and excellent standards in their foreign language learning – the ultimate intention is that they will become life-long language learners.

Our curriculum intent for Spanish is based on the following key principles:

1. Language Acquisition: We aim for all children to make significant progress in the acquisition of Spanish language skills, enabling them to communicate effectively and confidently in both spoken and written forms.

2. Cultural Awareness: We believe that cultural understanding is an integral part of language learning. Our intent is to create opportunities for children to learn about the culture and traditions of Spanish-speaking countries, fostering an appreciation for diversity and global perspectives.

3. Progressive Learning: We strive to ensure that our Spanish curriculum enables children to build upon their knowledge and skills progressively. Language Angels uses retrieval and small steps to ensure all children make progress.

4. Inclusion: Our intent is to provide a language learning environment that is inclusive and caters to the needs of all children. We recognise and value the diverse backgrounds and abilities of our children and aim to create an atmosphere where everyone feels valued and supported.

5. Links and Transitions: We are committed to establishing strong links and smooth transitions between primary and secondary language education. Our intent is to equip children with the skills and knowledge necessary for them to continue their language learning throughout their educational journey.

Implementation

Our Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) curriculum is delivered using the Language Angels scheme of work which is taught in weekly lessons of 30 minutes across KS2, throughout the year.

The scheme is structured to progressively develop knowledge and skills in Spanish across each year and is designed to build on prior knowledge from units previously studied. We chose this scheme as the underlying principles matched our curriculum philosophy and ethos.

The Language Angels scheme of work and resources offers a wide variety of topics and themes. This will ensure that the foreign language knowledge of our children progresses within each academic year and is extended year upon year throughout the primary phase and, in so doing, will always be relevant and in line with meeting or exceeding national DfE requirements.

We will teach these skills through our MFL curriculum:

• Oracy
• Literacy
• Intercultural understanding and two ‘cross-cutting’ strands:
• Knowledge about language
• Language learning strategies

Children follow the scheme working towards the learning objectives outlined in the KS2 Framework for Languages as set out within the National Curriculum. All lessons have a sound-filed PPT to accompany and support delivery and the content is designed to motivate the children right from the start.

The scheme proposes the use of various resources to enrich the learning experience, including music and song, fiction and non-fiction stories, games and practical activities. These activities support the 5 key areas of language learning:

• Listening
• Speaking 
• Writing 
• Reading 
• Grammatical understanding.

We aim to ensure that children of all abilities develop solid foundations in these key language learning skills – properly preparing them for the next stage of their language learning journey. These skills will develop children’s ability to understand what they hear and read and enable them to express themselves in speech and writing. Their knowledge of how language works will be extended, and the children will explore the similarities and differences between the foreign language they are learning and English. We will also help strengthen their sense of identity through learning about culture in other countries and comparing it with their own.

Lessons are mainly practical in focus at early KS2 and build progressively on previous knowledge, learned over the four years of study, to a more formal approach by the end of KS2 in preparation for KS3.

Impact

We measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:

• Observing children speaking and listening in Spanish
• Children’s engagement in lessons
• Children self-marking and correcting their work within lessons
• Ongoing assessment through learning during lessons
• Interviewing children about their learning (pupil voice)

The impact of MFL teaching on the children’s learning will be monitored by the MFL subject lead. This will ensure the progress of knowledge and skills being taught and that this is retained by the children. This will be revisited to check that the children are able to apply the skills taught in a variety of contexts, showing

independence with their learning. Impact will also be measured through key questioning skills built into the lessons of the MFL scheme.

What our children say: