Intent

At Sudbourne we are designers!   

Design and technology (DT) is a growing and integral part of our lives; our children will be the innovators and designers of the future so our CUSP DT curriculum requires children to show innovation, creativity and to develop specific skills. We aim to give children the opportunity to have the innovation of a designer. Teaching them how to talk and think like a designer would. We do this by covering a range of topics with opportunities to develop each skill further as they progress through the school.

Implementation

Cumulative progression and coherent substantive concepts 

The CUSP DT curriculum is organised into blocks with each block covering a particular set of disciplines. Vertical progression in each discipline has been deliberately woven into the fabric of the curriculum so that pupils revisit key disciplines throughout their journey at Sudbourne with increasing degrees of challenge and complexity. We believe that food and nutrition is crucial and is covered in two units throughout the year to give our children the best chance to grow up understanding the importance of a healthy and balanced lifestyle.

Substantive knowledge concepts - CUSP has defined substantive concepts that are the suggested vehicle to connect the substantive knowledge. Prior knowledge is taken into consideration of a new task, to ensure that pupils build upon their prior learning. 

Disciplinary knowledge

In addition to the core knowledge required to be successful within each discipline, CUSP DT outlines key aspects of ‘Working like a Designer.’  Each module will focus on promoting different aspects of these competencies. 

Vocabulary 

Central to the learning modules are activities designed to develop pupils’ oracy and vocabulary skills to enable them to use the language associated with design and technology meaningfully when talking about their work and the work of others. Technical vocabulary is identified and defined to ensure a coherence of definitions, as children progress through the school. Carefully chosen tasks that encourage thinking use the language of design and technology requiring pupil to explain techniques, skills and processes and evaluate their own and others’ work. 

EYFS  

CUSP EYFS provides the foundational knowledge of DT through the expressive arts and design early learning goal. In the Early Years, children are given frequent opportunities to use a variety of construction materials. They can self-select tools such as scissors and tape needed to shape, assemble and join materials they are using.

Phase 1 - 3 

Our two-year cycle ensures that children meet all of the National Curriculum objectives by the end of the phase / key stage. Pupils are taught DT each half-term. The block is introduced with a learning question and this sets pupils off on a quest. Each block links core knowledge or skills to a design or designer for example: 

Our Design and Technology overview can be found below.