Intent, Implementation, Impact 

Intent

At Haslam Park Primary School, we believe Design and Technology (DT) is a vital subject that inspires creativity, curiosity, and problem-solving. Our curriculum is designed to engage, challenge, and prepare pupils to be innovative, resilient, and resourceful learners, ready for the next stage of their education and life in an ever-evolving technological world. We are ambitious for all pupils, including those who are disadvantaged or have SEND, ensuring equal access to high-quality, knowledge-rich, and skills-focused learning experiences. Pupils learn to explore, design, make, and evaluate products with real-world purpose, developing functional skills, aesthetic understanding, and creative problem-solving. By linking learning to local and wider contexts, pupils see themselves as active creators, capable of applying DT skills across subjects and in everyday life. Our intent is that by the time pupils leave Haslam Park, they will have developed technical and creative skills, confidence to reflect, critique, and adapt their ideas, and an understanding of the value of design and technology for personal, cultural, and societal development.

Implementation

At Haslam Park, we follow the Kapow DT scheme of work, ensuring full National Curriculum coverage and clear progression of knowledge and skills from EYFS to Year 6. Progression and sequencing: Units build on prior learning across key stages, revisiting core skills in Cooking & Nutrition, Mechanical Systems, Textiles, Electrical Systems, Structures, and the Digital World, allowing pupils to apply knowledge increasingly independently. Daily review and retrieval: Lessons start with short quizzes or knowledge checks to revisit and activate prior learning, including key vocabulary and concepts. Knowledge organisers support long-term retention, ensuring pupils can apply skills and understanding in new contexts. Practical skill development: Teachers model processes, then provide pupils with opportunities to experiment, practise, and apply techniques independently, including shaping, joining, assembling, and decorating functional products. Adaptations for inclusion: Lessons are differentiated and supported to ensure SEND and disadvantaged pupils can access learning, with scaffolds, prompts, visual aids, and adult support where needed. Step-by step sequencing prevents gaps and supports steady progression for all learners. EYFS: DT is integrated in Expressive Arts and Design, with continuous provision introducing designing, making, and evaluating skills through thematic, play-based activities. Health & Safety: Pupils are taught safe use of tools and equipment. All staff hold Level 2 Food Hygiene for Cooking & Nutrition units. Assessment: At the end of each academic year, pupils complete Mastermind quizzes, providing teachers with detailed information about knowledge and skill retention. Gaps identified through these assessments are addressed in the following autumn term through targeted teaching, ensuring all pupils consolidate learning from the previous year.

Impact

By the end of Key Stage 2, pupils:

• Are confident, independent designers and makers, applying skills across projects and subjects.
• Understand both functional and aesthetic aspects of products, using creativity to solve real-world problems.
• Reflect, discuss, and evaluate their own work and that of others, making informed improvements independently.
• Demonstrate practical skills in designing, shaping, joining, and decorating materials safely and effectively.
•  Recognise the value of DT in personal, cultural, and societal contexts, including potential careers.

Retention and progression: Daily review quizzes, knowledge organisers, and retrieval tasks ensure pupils retain key vocabulary and knowledge over time. Sketchbooks and practical outcomes evidence progression, experimentation, and refinement of skills. Mastermind quizzes at the end of each year capture retention, and any identified gaps are addressed early in the following autumn term, ensuring secure long-term learning. Leaders monitor curriculum impact through lesson visits, pupil voice, sketchbooks, and assessment data, ensuring consistent implementation and that all pupils, including SEND and disadvantaged learners, achieve well. Impact is further measured via our approach to foundation subject assessment which is designed to measure retention. Assessment follows a clear cycle of curriculum coverage, daily reviews, end-of-year ‘Mastermind’ quizzes, targeted teaching and retesting. Daily reviews support knowledge retention, while Mastermind quizzes identify gaps and misconceptions. Teachers address these through targeted teaching in the following autumn term, with spring retests used to evaluate the impact of this approach and check longer-term retention. Ongoing pupil voice, with targeted participation from SEND and disadvantaged pupils, provides further quality assurance of teaching, understanding and retention. As a result, pupils not only meet National Curriculum expectations but develop as innovative, reflective, and culturally aware individuals, equipped to succeed in future learning and real-world contexts.