Curriculum Overview 

Curriculum map

Intent: why do we teach what we teach? 

• In Design Technology, Food Studies & Food Preparation and Nutrition we want to encourage students to go on to develop and create solutions for our fragile planet and develop culture, wealth and the well-being of the nation.

• In Design Technology, Food Studies & Food Preparation and Nutrition we deliver a broad and balanced curriculum. That enables students to move onto both GCSE FPN, GCSE DT and A-level Product Design.  

• Develop the creative, technical and practical expertise needed to perform everyday tasks confidently

• Students 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 knowledge and draw on cross-curricular disciplines such as mathematics, science, engineering, computing and art and put this into practical applications. 

• 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.

• Students learn how to take risks, become resourceful and innovative using methods such as collaboration, user-centred design, a systems approach, iterative design and avoiding design fixation, becoming enterprising and capable citizens.

• Students develop a critical understanding of the social, moral and ethical impact we have on daily life, the environment and the wider world i.e The 6R’s, Food Provenance. 

• Instilling a love of cooking in students will also open a door to one of the great expressions of human creativity. 

• Students Learn how to cook as this is a crucial life skill that enables pupils to feed themselves and others affordably and well, now and in later life.

• Upon completion of this curriculum, students will be qualified to go on to further study, or embark on an apprenticeship or full-time career in the wide variety of catering, food, design, and manufacturing industries.

IMPLEMENTATION: HOW DO WE TEACH WHAT WE TEACH? 

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 [for example, biomimicry and user-centred design], 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 [for example, circuits with heat, light, sound and movement as inputs and outputs]  

• apply to compute and use electronics to embed intelligence in products that respond to inputs [for example, sensors], and control outputs [for example, actuators], using programmable components [for example, microcontrollers].

Cooking and nutrition

• 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. 

KS3 Projects:  

• Yr.7 DT Wooden Pull Along Animal 

• Yr.7 Food: Introduction To Food Studies 

• Yr.8 DT: Textile Monster

• Yr.8 Food: Nutrition and Dietary Needs   

• Yr.9 DT: Passive Amplifier 

• Yr.9 Food: International Food

GCSE: Food Preparation and Nutrition skills core topics:

• Food, nutrition and health

• Food science

• Food safety

• Food choice

• Food provenance

GCSE: Design and Technology core topics:

• Core technical principles

• Specialist technical principles

• Designing and making principles

A Level: Design and Technology: Product Design 

• Technical principles

• Designing and making principles