At St Francis, we use the Kapow scheme of learning because it develops innovative and creative thinkers who understand the design cycle and appreciate the impact of design on everyday life. Pupils engage in hands-on projects, collaborative work, and problem-solving, encouraging them to take risks, model ideas, test concepts and reflect on their own and others’ work. The curriculum incorporates the design process - design, make, evaluate - underpinned by technical knowledge and cooking and nutrition. Through a spiral approach, key areas such as textiles, structures, mechanisms, electrical systems, and cooking are revisited with increasing complexity, ensuring pupils build confidence and mastery over time.

Design and technology intent and implementation at St Francis School is through discovery, awe and wonder, using problem solving skills and creativity and imagination to design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts. Our aim is to make the learning journey of DT purposeful, considering others needs, wants and values. Our DT, where possible, is cross curricular, allowing the children to develop their knowledge of a topic they are learning about and provide deeper learning experiences.

Through DT, we enable the children to apply learning from across the curriculum, including opportunities to apply maths, science, computing, art, communication, team work and motor skills. Children are able to take risks and to be resourceful.

Through communication, trial and error, learning from our mistakes and our successes the children evaluate their own and others work, deciding if products that already fit a desired spec are suitable or considering their own design to be more efficient. They develop the ability to analyse and make decisions that have an impact on the wider world. 

Our Design and Technology curriculum is sustainable, economical and resourceful in its aim to provide high quality DT without having a large impact on our planet and the carbon footprint we create. We aim to use recycled products and we learn how to use these with care so that we can share, reuse and recycle.