Design & Technology/Food
To view our curriculum plans, please click the following:
Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Year 11 Year 12 Year 13
To view the Design & Technology Department Feedback Policy, please click here.
Intent
Design & Technology
Design and Technology should be an inspiring, rigorous, academic and practical subject that facilitates an environment in which creativity, innovation and problem solving skills can flourish. In the context of the 21stCentury, we look to develop socially conscious designers who are mindful of the impact of their work on the world around them. We look to embrace new technologies and be able to justify their use, taking into account the effects of such on our local, national and international communities. We aspire to nurture the skilled workforce of tomorrow who are intrinsically motivated to improve the quality of life of others, as well as inquisitive and informed consumers.
Food & Nutrition/Hospitality & Catering
Food and Nutrition will instil a love of cooking in pupils that will enable them to develop crucial life skills creatively. Pupils will be informed consumers who are able to develop a healthy and varied diet relative to a range of economic circumstances. Students will explore a range of cultures, nationalities, diets and beliefs to enrich their cultural capital and, in doing so, develop a passion for food. Students will look to execute a range of skills that facilitate competence, curiosity and experimentation within a kitchen environment, both domestically and professionally.
Implementation
Overview
Working from the National Curriculum as a foundation, and with the vision to be a progressive department who look to embrace technological development, we have developed a curriculum that meets the needs of our students at St Hilda’s. We have sought to prepare students for life beyond the classroom with real life skills as well as ensuring that we enrich the cultural capital that is vital to fuelling the vivid imagination and creativity as we move forward in the 21st Century. Our timetable is sequenced to develop and enhance skills; each previous year provides the building blocks from which they have the opportunity to flourish in subsequent years. We have a curriculum that provides opportunities relevant to learners of all abilities and skill sets; irrespective of their background. We have developed a curriculum that opens doors to careers in STEM related industries, as well as ensuring those who wish to progress into other routes understand that the skills they acquire are transferable into other disciplines.
KS3 curriculum
Year 7, 8 and 9 students have 2 lessons per fortnight of each discipline (Food/D&T) which rotates midway through the year. Skill sets are distributed evenly across each discipline to ensure that none of the key criteria of the national curriculum are left untouched.
We have clear curriculum plans which detail the content and skills covered written by subject leads. As we are a relatively small department, we work with partner schools across the city and country to ensure that we gain the valuable input necessary to ensure we are reflective and continuously looking to improve. Our curriculum evolves with our students year on year relative to the changing world around them.
Our assessment plan is clear and ensures we have every opportunity to leave no student behind.
KS4 curriculum
Year 9, 10 & 11 classess have 5 lessons per fortnight of their chosen option. We have two routes of KS4 study: WJEC Level 2 Vocational Award Catering, and AQA GCSE Design & Technology. Each discipline has curriculum plans based on the solid foundation provided by KS3, combined with their relative specification, to ensure previous knowledge, key ideas and knowledge retention runs throughout. Each course maintains an appropriate balance of practical skills and academic rigour and were chosen on the basis of such; whilst ensuring that our provision enriches the cultural capital and prepares them for KS5 study or a route into work.
KS5 curriculum
Year 12 and 13 have the opportunity to study AQA A-Level Design and Technology through the medium of Product Design. The product design course provides students with versatile skills that are transferable into a range of different design disciplines. It provides an ideal platform for students to succeed in gaining entry to higher education or industry pathways. Students have 9 lessons per fortnight and have access to their own designated design, prototyping and study suite. We look to our KS5 students to provide an example to our younger D&T students as well as another point for support and advice, given the benefit of their previous study experiences. We look to develop designers who are ready for the world of work, but also to engender a sense of responsible design and an understanding that the skills they pick up in A-Level D&T are lifelong skills that will support them well, whatever future they choose for themselves.
Success in D&T/Food
We believe real success will be when students consider themselves the designers, engineers and food professionals of the future. We look to engender enthusiasm, confidence and fluency in each discipline we teach. Students will understand the challenges of tomorrow and will be equipped to adapt to develop the skills necessary to face them. Students will be socially conscious consumers and professionals who consider the world around them, as well as the effects of their own actions upon themselves.
Students will be able to articulate the issues covered clearly, and will have informed opinions as to how to move forward as a society. They will be capable of using the skills acquired to support themselves in the future, as well as to the benefit of others. Each student will have a balance of practical expertise, creative flair and academic rigour to take forward into their chosen pathway. Students will not be afraid of change, challenge or difference, and will be adaptable.