Interested in joining Goodwin Academy's Sixth Form in September 2025? Visit our Admissions page for more details or email us at admin@goodwinacademy.org.uk if you have any questions. 

Design & Technology

Learning in Design and Technology

In Design and Technology, we aim to create independent, divergent thinkers, who seek challenges and push the boundaries of their technological knowledge. Our fundamental desire is to help students understand how the world around them works, and to prepare them for a technological world that is constantly evolving.

Students achieve this through a range of practical and academic challenges taught across the three subject disciplines of Graphics, Photography and Food Technology.

Curriculum Intent

Design and Technology allows students to develop practical skills and knowledge that they can transfer into the world of work. They become independent thinkers who are capable of identifying their own strengths and weaknesses and can think outside the box. Students are able to evaluate real life contexts and make reasoned choices, which will then help in all aspects of life.  Through their engagement with a variety of social contexts, students will gain a greater understanding of other cultures and ways of life.  A real sense of achievement and pride in their work can be demonstrated through a concrete end product.

KS3, Years 7,8 & 9 Design and Technology

To ensure all students leave school with a variety of skills, they will experience time in each of the subject disciplines (Graphics, Food Technology and Photography) throughout Key Stage 3.

The aim of Design and Technology is to provide students with the opportunity to combine practical and technological skills with creative thinking and to design and make products and systems that meet human needs.

Students are taught to use new technologies and the impact of future technological developments. Students learn to think creatively and intervene to improve the quality of life, solving problems both as individuals and as members of a team.

To support all students, including SEND we focus on effective teaching principles that include the sequencing of skills and knowledge.  Previous knowledge is built upon, whilst introducing new ideas and concepts that still allow student creativity.  All students will undertake, and be expected to complete, the same learning journey, with additional support, scaffolding and challenge provided according to their needs.

Graphics

Year 7, 8 and 9 pupils will l how to create visually appealing products that convey certain messages or information.  They will learn how to focus on branding, typography, layout, and the overall principles of design composition.

Photography

Year 7, 8 and 9 pupils will explore producing images using digital methods of development and production to create static or moving images.  They will learn how ideas, themes, subjects and feelings can inspire creative responses informed by different styles, genres and aesthetic considerations of an individual's distinctive view of the world.

Food Technology

Year 7, 8 and 9 pupils will experience a wide range of activities, aimed at inspiring a love of food whilst acquiring the theoretical knowledge and practical skills to gain success at Food Preparation and Nutrition 9-1 GCSE.  Students are helped to explore ways in which the aesthetic, economic, environmental, ethical and social aspects of food production shape our choices.

Pupils will know how to produce a wide range of dishes, following the rules of food safety and utilising labour - equipment. They will be taught how to adapt recipes to suit various end users and the importance of eating healthily.

Across all three disciplines, pupils will learn about the environmental issues involved with the production of their products. Pupils understand how the wider world has evolved in the manufacturing industry with the ultimate goal of becoming a designer of the future.

Click to view curriculum overview grids:

KS4, Year 11 Design and Technology

In Key Stage 4, pupils in Year 11 study Eduqas Design Technology GCSE and/or OCR Food Preparation and Nutrition GCSE.   In Year 10 pupils can study OCR Food Preparation and Nutrition GCSE.

The aim of both courses is to provide students with the opportunity to combine practical and technological skills with creative thinking to design and make products and systems that meet human needs.

To help all students, including SEND, access GCSE in a manner suitable for their needs, we focus on high quality teaching and the provision of appropriate resources.   This includes teacher customised material from the exam boards, structured answers, exemplar material and a major focus on literacy skills to enable decoding of exam questions.

Using carefully planned retrieval questioning, we aim to build student confidence over time and develop understanding as well as retrieval of facts. This will enable students to interpret and link information on a cross curricular basis, especially with mathematics and science.

Where exam arrangements are required, including readers, scribes and word processing, we work closely with relevant departments to ensure this provision is provided across the technology department.

Design and Technology – WJEC Eduqas

This course will prepare learners to become creative and critical thinkers, developing skills to design and deliver prototypes that solve real and relevant problems.

Students will develop and understanding of:

  • The concepts of innovation and iterative design
  • The process of “explore > create > evaluate”

Students began their GCSE study of Design and Technology in Year 10 where they covered the following components:

  • Developing a range of practical skills
  • Applying design knowledge
  • Looking at STEM subjects and their interaction with Design Technology
  • Undertaking trips to industries
  • Exploring the manufacturing world.
  • Investigating and working with smart and modern materials
  • Looking at new and upcoming technologies
  • Researching and analysing designers old and new.
Unit 1Design and Technology in the 21st Century.

 

Written examination: 2 hours

External Assessment

 

50%

Unit 2This is internally assessed and consists of a task set by the exam board.  Students complete a detailed portfolio and make a prototype of their final design.Controlled Assessment (NEA)

 

50%

Food Preparation and Nutrition – OCR

Students develop a wide range of practical skills as well as ICT skills.  The course is designed to encourage them to become an independent learner, team worker as well as being a creative thinker.

Students begin their GCSE study of Food Preparation and Nutrition in Year 10 where they will cover the following components:

  • Food nutrition and health
  • Food provenance and food choice
  • Cooking and food preparation
  • Skills – preparation and cooking techniques

Skills developed will include:

  • Practical food skills
  • Knowledge of how nutrition and health are linked
  • Knowledge of culture and other factors that help decide our food choices
  • Food product design through adapting existing recipe ideas and designing our own ideas

Assessment

Year 10 is the building ground for Year 11. In Year 11, students will be expected to sit a written exam and complete two tasks (NEAs) set by the exam board.  Task 1 consists of a scientific report including photographic evidence, whilst task 2 is a portfolio with a timed practical assessment and photographic evidence.

Unit 1

Written paper 1 hour 30 minutes.

Question format – closed short answer, structured and extended response.

External Assessment 

50%

Unit 2This is internally assessed and consists of two tasks.

 

Task 1 involves food investigation looking at the working characteristics, functional and chemical properties of ingredients. (15% of total marks).

Task 2 is a food preparation assessment requiring candidates to prepare, cook and present a final menu of three dishes within a single period of no more than three hours. A portfolio of planning in advance of how this will be achieved is also required. (35% of total marks).

Controlled Assessment

 

(NEA1 and NEA2)

50%

 

Careers

British Values in Design and Technology

Democracy

Taking the views and opinions of others into account, particularly when considering the ethics of child labour, the food chain and world food problems.

Rule of Law

Understanding the importance of safety rules when working in a practical environment.

Tolerance

The development of new technologies and the ability to pose possible solutions to world food problems have come from different cultures and religious beliefs. Developments such as veganism, stem not only from a moral belief based on different types of reasoning, but also a religious belief.

Mutual Respect

Working as a team during practical work. Discussing the work of others, sharing ideas and offering support and advice to peers. Accepting that there are differing views, but considering individual actions, for example, when selecting materials to work with that would contribute to the sustainable use of the Earth’s resources.

Individual Liberty

Being able to make individual choices when planning and making linked to individual circumstances, but also being informed before making choices that can affect or offend the wider community, such as the production and choice of food linked to religious beliefs.

Useful links

Images

Links

Oak Academy

Design & Technology lessons for Key Stage 3 students - Oak National Academy (thenational.academy)

Technology Student

ENGINEERING - DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY (technologystudent.com)

 

 

 

Seneca Learning

Seneca - Learn 2x Faster (senecalearning.com)

 

Carousel Learning

https://www.carousel-learning.com/

BBC Bitesize

GCSE Design and Technology - BBC Bitesize

 

Further Reading

Images

Links

Engineers Making a Difference

by Dr Shini Somara (Author),
Manuel Šumberac (Illustrator),
Adam Allsuch Boardman (Illustrator)

 

Design Thinking Basics: an introduction to the DTMethod

 

How Technology Works: The facts visually explained (How Things Work)

by DK (Author)

 

The Design of Everyday Things

Donald A. Norman

Design is Storytelling Paperback

by Ellen Lupton (Author)