SCHOOL POLICY FOR DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY
1. Design and Technology involves applying knowledge and skills when designing and making
products. The activities undertaken will enable our children to consider the needs of individuals and
society within a caring community. Undertaking design and technology activities in school will give our
children opportunities to use a range of materials and processes, and to work independently or as
part of a team. We would hope that the activities undertaken here in Cheadle Primary School will also
reflect the children's local environment and support them in the wider world.
2. Our work reflects the National Curriculum requirements for Design and Technology:
The order states the importance of design and technology:Design and technology prepares pupils to participate in tomorrow’s rapidly changing
technologies. They learn to think and intervene creatively to improve quality of life. The
subject calls for pupils to become autonomous and creative problem solvers, as individuals
and members of a team. They must look for needs, wants and opportunities and respond to
them by developing a range of ideas and making products and systems. They combine
practical skills with an understanding of aesthetics, social and environmental issues, function
and industrial practices. As they do so, they reflect on and evaluate present and past design
and technology, its uses and effects. Through design and technology, all pupils can become
discriminating and informed users of products, and become innovators.
'Pupils should be taught to develop their design and technology capability through combining their
designing and making skills with knowledge and understanding, in order to design and make products'
The order describes one attainment target for design and technology :Designing and Making
These are found within a single programme of study (PoS) for each key stage.
Approach to D&T (planning and organisation)
Design and technology is taught in KS1 and KS2 as an integral part of topic work, where appropriate.
Focused practical tasks are also planned by the class teacher to develop and practise particular skills
and acquire knowledge.
Meaningful assignments set within familiar contexts are used by class teachers. Where appropriate
they are also linked to other subjects e.g. history, science.
As teachers we consider:1. Design and technology opportunities arising within the curriculum and how they can link with other
subject areas and bodies of knowledge;
2. How we present the teaching of new skills to the children, i.e. group based, class taught or at an
individual level;
3. The role of design and technology in the teaching and learning process throughout the curriculum;
4. How to encourage children to produce work of quality;
5. How to encourage the safe, economic and appropriate use of materials, tools and equipment;
It is important that the tasks presented to pupils help them make progress in D & T. The sequence of
tasks and assignments should be planned so that there is progression in what is taught, as identified
in the D&T programme of study (PoS). The school, through discussion and prior experience, has
arranged D&T skills, concepts and techniques into a scheme of work based on Steps To Progression
and Totally Topical Technology. These skills, concepts and techniques will form an integral part of the
planning and be incorporated into the lessons enabling progression to take place over both key
stages.
Aims
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To provide a range of structured and differentiated activities which develop breadth and
progression. Where possible these will relate to the interest and everyday experiences of our
children
To develop knowledge and teach skills in order to design and make products successfully.
To help children become aware of and investigate simple products by disassembly and
evaluation.
To provide adequate time, access to information, skills and resources to make a good quality
product.
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To motivate pupils by providing interesting and stimulating experiences.
To provide equal opportunities and develop the qualities of individual pupils.
To enable children to use design and technology to solve a range of problems.
Objectives
Pupils should have opportunities to:
1.1 develop realistic outcomes to assignments.
1.2 take increasing responsibility for their own work.
1.3 critically evaluate their work and the work of others and suggest improvements.
1.4 work individually and in teams, groups, partners or pairs.
1.5 work with a range of materials and to use them appropriately.
1.6 use a variety of tools safely and correctly.
1.7 communicate ideas in a variety of ways.
1.8 develop skills and apply knowledge and experience when working on an assignment.
1.9 develop the ability to solve problems.
1.10 research and record relevant information where appropriate.
1.11 examine and evaluate design features in simple products including their historical development.
3.0 Whole School Policy
The D & T curriculum has been developed to ensure it is an integral part of the "whole school"
approach to children's learning.
4.0 Equal Opportunities
The full range of activities in technology will be made available to all children, irrespective of race,
gender or physical disabilities.
5.0 Assessment
Teacher assessment is used to inform future planning and to review children’s capability. Design and
technology assignments are used throughout the key stages to assist with formative and summative
assessment . Children are encouraged to make an oral or written evaluation of their work in
technology throughout the key stages. Where appropriate children will use design sheets or booklets
to plan, record, assess and evaluate their work.
6.0 Recording
Coverage of the programmes of study is mapped by individual teachers against their D&T activities
over the year, and monitored by the co-ordinator. Evidence of this is retained in the main planning file.
7.0 Resources
The school has a range of resources and each class teacher is responsible for these. There is a DT
resource storage room located next to the main office and all staff have a responsibility to ensure it is
maintained in good order; any missing resources are ordered by co-ordinator when requested.
8.0 Special Needs
Any children who are identified as having "special needs" are given the help they require. Where
children have a degree of physical, sensory or behavioural difficulties in the making of products they
should be encouraged to participate in such activities with help from others.
9.0 Differentiation
A range of approaches will be used and incorporated into our D&T activities. This will allow all
children to develop their potential according to age and ability.
10.0 Role of the Co-ordinator
The co-ordinator works with the whole staff to develop a cohesive design and technology experience
throughout the school. The co-ordinator will also:
support colleagues in their development and understanding of detailed work plans and
implementation of schemes of work and in assessment and record keeping.
take responsibility for the purchase and organisation of resources for D&T
keep up to date with developments in D&T.
monitor delivery throughout the school.
11.0 Planning
It is our aim that children work through activities that are based on our programme of themes and or
focused activities as described in our long term plan. This plan will ensure all aspects of the D&T POS
are covered during KS1 and KS2..
12.0 Health and Safety
A set of safety guidelines for design and technology are on the schools policy document folder (see
below), a copy is also displayed in the design and technology resource room.
This policy statement will be reviewed and modified as and when necessary.
Code of Practice for Health and Safety in Science and Design and Technology in Primary
Schools in Staffordshire LEA
Intended audience for this code of practice
This Code of Practice is concerned with health and safety when teaching science and design and
technology in primary schools, including nursery, infant and junior schools, some middle schools and
special schools with primary-age pupils (or with secondary-age pupils where the type of work is more
comparable to that carried out in primary schools). A characteristic of the schools covered by this
Code is that science and design and technology are generally taught in ordinary classrooms, largely
by non-specific staff.
Scope of this code of practice
This Code of Practice should read in conjunction with the Staffordshire Education Authority Health
and Safety Policy (issued 1998), the school’s own Health and Safety Policy and any other relevant
Codes of Practice that the authority may issue from time to time, as part of the LEA index.
This Code is not concerned with the teaching of health and safety, although that is a requirement of
the National Curriculum Programmes of Study.
Advice on health and safety matters
The Director of Education’s designated representatives for giving advice on health and safety in
teaching science/technology in primary schools is the Science Inspector/Design and Technology
Adviser and the Safety Officer. In addition, the education authority maintains a subscription to the
CLEAPSS School Science Service, Brunel University, Uxbridge UB8 3PH (Tel: 01895 251496; Fax:
01895 814372; E-mail: science@cleapss.org.uk) for the purpose of obtaining model (general) and
special risk assessments under the COSHH Regulations and the Management of Health and Safety
at Work Regulations and general advice on health and safety matters in science and design and
technology. In an emergency, advice can be obtained by contacting the CLEAPSS School
Science Service. About 3 or 4 weeks after the start of each term the CLEAPSS Primary Science and
Technology Newsletter is despatched to primary (and relevant middle/special) schools from the
authority’s mail room. If you are not receiving the Newsletter regularly contact the Science Centre at
Seabridge. Headteachers should ensure that copies are passed on to their science co-ordinators,
who should in turn circulate them amongst staff.
Safety booklets
This education authority’s health and safety policy for teaching science and design and technology in
primary schools is largely contained within:
Be safe! Some aspects of safety in school science and technology for key stages 1 and 2 (2nd
edition, 1990, Association for Science Education (ISBN 0 86357 081 X).
Make it Safe! (Safety Guidance for the teaching of Design and Technology at key stages 1 and 2)
NAAIDT Publications, DATA 1992, (ISBN 0 90645707).
All schools should have at least one copy of each booklet (and larger schools will need several
copies) and all teachers must be made aware of their existence and reminded of them from time to
time. They should be kept in a readily accessible place so that teachers may easily use them in
planning their science and design and technology activities. Where relevant guidance cannot be
found staff should consult CLEAPSS (see section 3).
Risk assessment
Under the COSHH Regulations (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations) the
employer must carry out a risk assessment before micro-organisms (eg moulds) or hazardous
chemicals (including some “kitchen” chemicals) are used. Under the Management of Health and
Safety at Work Regulations the employer must carry out a risk assessment before hazardous
activities are undertaken. Following guidance in the Management Regulations Approved Code of
Practice, this education authority has adopted Be safe! and Make it Safe! as containing model risk
assessments for the activities normally undertaken in teaching science and design and technology in
primary schools. A school which follows guidance in Be safe! and Make it Safe! will be
complying with both sets of Regulations.
(For the purposes of model risk assessments this education authority also recognises a range of
CLEAPSS guides which give information on a more extensive range of activities than is covered in Be
safe! Examples include L5p The Safe Use of Household and Other Chemicals, L86p Electrical Safety,
L164a Heating in Primary Science (to be revised 1999) and L190 Studying Micro-organisms in
Primary Schools. In specialist areas, other guides may also be useful.)
If the proposed activities, chemicals or equipment are NOT covered by Be safe! or Make it Safe! (or
relevant CLEAPSS guides) so far as risk assessment is concerned then a Special Risk Assessment
must be obtained by contacting CLEAPSS (see paragraph 3).
When drawing up schemes of work and lesson plans, any relevant and important health and safety
information extracted from Be safe!, Make it Safe! or elsewhere should be noted down. This can be
very brief comments and will only be necessary for a few topics but will satisfy the requirement that
the “significant findings of risk assessment should be recorded” and demonstrate that
individualsacknowledge the risk involved.
Close supervision
On some occasions, Be safe! states that an activity should be carried out “under close adult
supervision”. This means that a small group of children (up to about 6) should have the undivided
attention of the supervising adult. Such adults need not be teachers, but if they are parents, welfare
assistants, etc, they must have been well briefed by the teacher in charge on the nature of the risk
before the activity and be aware of guidance in Be safe! etc.
Purchasing and storing resources
When purchasing equipment or materials, and especially mains-powered electrical equipment,
schools must ensure that it is safe and appropriate for use by children of the relevant age. The
CLEAPSS School Science Service (see section 3) produces a number of guides to particular types of
equipment. The guides in print change frequently, but a list of those currently available appears on the
back page of its termly Newsletter. CLEAPSS staff members are very willing to discuss other
equipment, not at present covered by guides. Copies of relevant guides can be obtained, free of
charge, by contacting CLEAPSS. A complete reference set of guides is also kept in the authority by
the Science Team at the Seabridge Centre. Schools should always consult the relevant guide (or
CLEAPSS itself) if they are considering purchasing mains-operated electrical equipment for use in
science and design and technology, and are advised to do so before purchasing any expensive item.
Similar considerations apply when equipment is given to schools, eg by parents, local companies, etc
or brought in from home. It may not be sufficiently safe for school use. Schools must check before
accepting such donations and are generally advised to refuse them. Any mains electrical equipment
donated or borrowed from home must undergo a portable appliance test before being used.
Equipment and materials must be stored safely. Chemicals and any other hazardous items must be
locked away from children.
Living organisms
Schools will often wish to keep animals, plants and micro-organisms in the classroom. They may
sometimes consider having animals as visitors, either through personal contacts or through more
formal “Visiting Animal Schemes”. All uses of living organisms in classrooms raise issues about the
health and safety of pupils and teachers (which are dealt with in Be safe! and other model risk
assessments) and, in the case of animals, about their welfare. Schools should seek advice from
CLEAPSS or consult any relevant guides.
Health and safety policies
This education authority does not require primary schools to have separate Science and Design and
Technology Health and Safety Policies. However the key features of this Code of Practice (and
especially the pivotal roles of the specified safety booklets – see Section 4, and the CLEAPSS School
Science Service) should be incorporated either into the school’s own Health and Safety Policy and
about good, healthy and safe practice in primary science and design and technology. The
headteacher and/or science/design and technology co-ordinator should ensure such training takes
place. Use of the INSET Pack Safety in Science for Primary Schools (ASE, 1994) is recommended.
Monitoring
The headteacher and/or science and/or design and technology co-ordinator is expected to monitor
that this Code of Practice is being followed. This may involve checking documentation, observing
lessons and joining in planning meetings. Suitable records should be kept, eg in the minutes of staff
meeting, in notes of lesson plans and schemes of work or of lesson observations.
The education authority, as the employer, has a responsibility to monitor that its health and safety
policies are being implemented. In the authority this monitoring will be carried out by the science
inspector/design and technology adviser/safety officer during routine visits to schools.