Add National Curriculum for Keystage Three and Four here.

Teaching and Learning Styles

Staff should adopt appropriate teaching and learning styles. These may include:

Group work / discussion and feedback,
Class discussion and questioning,
Individual pupil tasks,
Information technology (including - ICT, video, tapes etc... where appropriate),
Worksheets,
Written and practical tasks,
Utilisation of the problem solving process,
and differentiation.

Add departmental Schemes of Work here.

Differentiation

This Department believes in planned intervention in the classroom to maximise pupil potential based on individual needs. Differentiation will not just happen but it has to be part of a planned process.
All teachers know that there is a great variation in:

- The amount of work pupils complete in a lesson
- The amount of homework they do
- Their ability to work co-operatively
- Their ability to work independently
- Their listening skills
- Their presentation skills.

Teachers in the Department are aware of the fact that allowing these differences to show themselves is not what differentiation is about. Differentiation is about intervening to make a difference. Maximising potential is central to the notion of differentiation and is the aim of intervention. It is not the differences between pupils, these will show themselves anyway. It is the difference between where a pupil is now and where he or she has the potential to be. The Differentiation Sheets will aid this process.

The Technology Department has found that the National Curriculum has been helpful in the following ways:

- It enables assessment of what each pupil knows, understands and can do;

- Staff can use their assessments and programmes of study to identify the learning needs of individual pupils;

- Teachers can then plan programmes of work, which take account of their pupils’ achievements and allow them to work at different levels;

- The Department can ensure that all pupils achieve their maximum potential.

The Department recognises that pupils have different ways of getting from where they are now to where they could potentially be.

The Technology Department realises that differentiation is not a single event, it is a process. The tasks that are set for pupils have been designed to enable pupils to acquire knowledge and understanding as well as developing competencies. While working at tasks the pupils have the support of staff that guide and help them through this process.

When pupils produce work it is the duty of staff to provide feedback to them by correcting and marking that work and commenting on how it can be improved. In giving different comments and advice to different pupils according to their strengths and weaknesses, each pupil will be provided with a response.

Differentiation by Resource

The Department already has resources that enable pupils to learn the content of the subject. These sources are selected using the following criteria:

1. Selecting resources for:
- Appropriate readability levels,
- Ease of use,
- Good layout i.e. DTP.

2. Replacing text taken from inappropriate text books with carefully constructed text (such a worksheet)

3. Use of technology:
- Video recordings of key concepts in the design process and of subject content,
- Use of ICT.

4. Use of study guides (i.e. Systems course information).

5. Well managed book resources and other research materials.

6. Pupil preparation, i.e. detailed discussion of projects with the full class and individuals, where necessary.

Differentiation by Task

Pupils work in a variety of ways and bring their different abilities and aptitudes to that work. One form of differentiation is to provide a variety of tasks that cover the main content area in order to cater for the variety of individuals in the class.

This Department usually provides pupils with the need or situation and the pupils devise their own Design Brief. In this way they naturally differentiate. The following guidelines help staff in the presentation of tasks:

- Providing an appropriate task(s),
- Matching tasks to pupils abilities, aptitudes and interests,
- Find mechanisms to ensure pupils stay on the task,
- Identification of the outputs tasks lead to,
- Provide a range of tasks to allow choice.


Differentiation by Support

Some pupils need more help than others to complete a given task and if we provide help we are also providing differentiation by support. Below are guidelines for the Department on how differentiation by support may be given more systematically:

- Support from other adults and pupils;
- Individual support by the teacher;
- Support from carefully selected systems and technology;
- Celebration of achievement;
- Co-operative teaching;
- Small group tutoring.

Differentiation by Response

Even when pupils work on a common task, the outcomes / products of any group exhibit differences. This is what we mean by differentiated outcomes. Each individual has a unique combination of strengths and weaknesses and so the work of each pupil will need to be responded to differently. There are a number of guidelines that members of the Department should be aware of:

- Making course objectives accessible;
- Making assessment criteria explicit;
- Individual action plans;
- Pupils responding to one another’s work;
- Ensuring that the response reflects what the pupil has achieved.

Pupils are constantly assessed throughout a project and differentiation by outcome soon becomes apparent. Appropriate teacher action can then be planned.

Our aim is to introduce the “Planning for Differentiation Sheet” by September 2000. This will help the Department plan differentiation for the following year and improve schemes of work.

Meeting The Needs Of All Pupils

Pupils will only obtain the maximum benefit from Technology if;

1. The work is challenging and yet achievable,
2. Tasks are structured so that pupils with special needs can achieve success
3. Teachers expectations are appropriate,
4. Pupils successes are recognised.

The Technology staff are aware that pupils must understand the vocabulary of Design Technology and to this end careful explanation of all the terminology is at the core of all teaching. Pupils are encouraged to use dictionaries to help in the design process.

Although some pupils may lack co-ordination in the cutting of materials this restriction may not be the case in Food where a pupil might separate dough into pieces for making buns. Physical disabilities will not, of themselves, prevent pupils engaging in design activities.

A note to each Attainment Target states,

"Pupils unable to communicate by speech, writing or drawing may use other means including the use of technology or symbols as alternatives".

Consequently statements of attainment, which require pupils to ask or discuss, can be satisfied by pupils who can only communicate with the assistance of a computer, or by signing.

Within the Department provision is made for pupils to use jigs as guides for tools and individual attention by specialist teaching staff is always available.
Pupils with special needs are identified in a number of ways;

Work is regularly marked / assessed and pupils having problems are usually identified through this method.

Often the standard of practical work suggests that a pupil has had difficulty with comprehending and understanding instructions. Sometimes it is the manipulation of tools and equipment that identify the pupils as requiring extra help.

The diagram clearly shows the overall role that the Department plays within the structure of the school

The Department takes into account the sections in this document regarding S.E.N and Differentiation when planning any schemes of work, assessment and recording.

A copy of the schools SEN Register is kept securely in the Department and is available to all staff.

Gifted and Talented Pupils

All schemes of work include extension work for each stage/lesson. Teachers clearly identify gifted and talented pupils in their mark books/registers. It is the responsibility of the class teacher to ensure that these pupils attempt the extension work in and outside lesson time. G and T pupils falling behind or producing work below the standard that is necessary must report this to the Head of Department so that steps can be taken to resolve the situation. If necessary the G and T Coordinator will be notified. Staff can identify pupils they feel should be on the G and T list and this information will be passed on to the G and T Coordinator.

Homework Policy

Homework is looked upon as an essential aspect of worked carried out by this Department. Consequently it will be set and marked on a regular basis.

Homework increases the amount of work that can be completed during a course and this is especially important when short courses or a modular approach is introduced. The shortfall in time can only be made up by work done at home or in a school resource centre.

It has been the unwritten policy of this Department to run clubs in the evenings and dinner times. This supplementary time will be available in the future, depending on staff commitments and workload. This is an open door policy in that all pupils are invited, not only those who show interest and enthusiasm during in class time. Indeed it is often beneficial to those pupils who have special educational needs to attend as they can often receive help on a one to one basis. Disruptive or even timid children find it beneficial to attend extra lessons, as they can progress more rapidly.

Literacy and Numeracy

The department will contribute where possible to the delivery of literacy and numeracy. Both opportunities for the delivery of literacy and numeracy are outlined in the detailed schemes of work provided with this document.

Literacy - pupils will be encouraged to read and write where appropriate within technology lessons/schemes and also to discuss outcomes and processes. Key words will be stressed and many displayed in the technology rooms to encourage familiarisation to the pupils. Strategies such as reading aloud, listening to fellow pupils and teachers read, reading instructions, listening to videos/tapes and computer audio/visual clips will be used by staff. Writing will be encouraged through the use of writing frames and examples (see schemes of work). Pupils will present written work carefully through the use of word processing software or more traditional methods such as printing in block capitals, between guidelines. Where necessary pupils will be encouraged to 'rough out' written work first. Almost every lesson should include literacy as an important aspect.

Numeracy - Pupils will be encouraged to involve numeracy in their project work. Numeracy should have a role in virtually every lesson (as outlined in the schemes of work) even in simple ways such as measurement, scales or basic addition. More complex numeracy such as formulas, ratios etc... are supported in the upper school.

Pupils should feel that both numeracy and literacy are interlinked with design and technology lessons and that they are not a separate entity.

Rewards and Sanctions

Pupils actively respond to rewards and sanctions. The Department policy is to follow explicitly the school policy. Pupils will be dealt with first by the class teacher and if it is felt necessary, the Head of Department. As a final step pupils will be referred to form teachers and Year Tutors. The aim of this Department is to be ‘firm but fair’.

With regards to rewards, the system already in place including merits will be utilised fully. Again the school policy on merits will be followed. Often rewards come in the form of simply commenting positively on a pupils work or including positive references when comments are written as part of normal marking. Positive comments often enthuse pupils to push themselves further and harder, whereas a thoughtless negative comment can cause immense damage to a pupil’s attitude towards any subject.

Equal Opportunity In Technology

All studies in Technology have highlighted the fact that there has been a very low representation of girls in examination entries at 16 in Technology related subjects and boys in Food related subjects . Since 1975, however, the Sex Discrimination Act has theoretically guaranteed access to all subjects offered to all pupils in secondary schools.

Creating a favourable organisational environment is one major step to the removal of barriers. Content, teaching methods, learning resources, and the hidden curriculum, provide a further challenge which Technology Departments should not dismiss. Projects are chosen carefully by all subjects in Technology to interest both boys and girls. Positive discrimination is encouraged where appropriate.

At Darwen Comprehensive R.C. School the classes for DT in the upper and lower school are mixed.
 

Health and Safety Policy

The Design and Technology Department regards Health and Safety as a very important aspect of teaching in the workshop. Risk Assessments are regularly undertaken to ensure that staff and pupils have a safe working environment. This Department takes as its standard the Safety Booklet produced by The Education Authority in relation to the use of equipment and machinery. Each member of staff has a copy and should refer to it at all times and know its constraints and apply it in full.

Regular checks are made by staff and the Technology Technician - with regards to equipment such as:

All staff are aware of the location of Health and Safety booklets and information such as COSHH, risk assessments information, CLEAPSS, and in particular the Local Education Authority Safety Booklet. Staff have attended, or are in the process of attending, Health and Safety courses which lead to DATA core accreditation.

Health and Safety features as a regular component of Departmental meetings. Staff are required to read the LEA Health and Safety Document and ensure that procedures for the use of all machines are followed.        

All accidents must be recorded in the school accident book.

Risk Assessments

All lessons / schemes have a Risk Assessment that has been carried out by a competent and suitably qualified technology teacher. The Department follows the WATT Risk Assessment System, which ensures that risk is minimised in all elements of teaching and learning in the workshop - without reducing the effectiveness of lesson delivery. The procedure for drawing up Risk Assessments is outlined below.

The Department uses WATT Risk Assessment Sheets and the WATT Grading system.

Display

The Technology Department regularly changes its displays. It is the responsibility of individual members of staff to organised and arrange displays within their particular room.

Displays should reflect current work attempted by all years and also good examples from previous years. It is essential that not only the best examples are on display but also the work of pupils who have tried hard but not necessarily produced a high quality (when compared to their fellow pupils). This ensures that all abilities have an equal chance of having their work displayed.

The display should be arranged carefully reflecting the planning and organisation that is expected to be seen in pupils’ work/projects. Where appropriate marks and teacher comments should be clearly seen.

Department Assessment Procedures/Records of Achievement

The departments assessment policy is in accordance with the school's mission statement and is committed to the highest standards of education for all pupils. Each pupil project work that challenges the pupil and informs them and his/her parents of their academic progress.

The assessment procedure must be:

Fair to all pupils.

Be an integrated part of lessons.

Be manageable for staff and pupils/students.

Include academic, social, and moral learning.

Be central to communication between teachers, pupils/students and their parents.

Set pupil/student targets and identify weaknesses.

Ensure consistent standards of monitoring and assessment.

Clearly link learning with a criteria for success.

Involve pupils/students as active participants.

Be presented in a clear and understandable format.

Support teaching and learning.

Support and continuous evaluation of the curriculum.

Assessment and Classroom/Workshop Practice

The recording/monitoring of pupils will:

Use a wide range of evidence collected in all areas of the Design and Technology.

Emphasise learning processes and outcomes.

Identify individual pupil/student strengths and weaknesses.

Continuously inform the pupil/student and teacher of academic progress in relation to National Curriculum levels.

Set targets for academic improvement and progress.

Directly involve pupils/students

Be an important part of most lessons with pupils being clearly informed of progress.

All records of progress should be openly accessible to pupils/students and parents.

A copy of pupil progress should be regularly updated and centrally located.

Staff hold regular standardising sessions to ensure that all marking is to the correct level and is consistent. A section in this policy document shows in detail the marking / assessment sheets and how Levels and Programmes of Study are recorded. It is essential that regular marking takes place and grades are kept in the staff record books. Absences are to be recorded and an effort will be made to ensure pupils catch up with missed work.

Staff carry out marking on a regular basis using the departmental marking scheme / level conversion chart as the basis for all assessment in the Lower School. (See below). Upper school marking is assessed in line with GCSE grading, A* to U. The Lower School grading system is displayed for pupils to see in every technology room.

Assessments are to be made on a regular basis and will take two forms; regular marking and evaluation of homework / classwork and yearly reports following examinations.

Pupils in the Lower School use the Level Record Sheets to record the National Curriculum Levels they are working towards. This is glued in the front of their books/folders and they convert their grades to levels using the grade conversion chart. There are separate Level Record Sheets for Years 7, 8 and 9.

Project Level Sheet

Example of Year 7 Grade to Level Conversion Chart
 

At the routine Departmental meetings assessment will be discussed and pupil records shared. Any problems relating to assessment / record keeping can be aired and with co-operation, solved.

In general, almost every piece of work (where realistic) will be marked and teacher comments relating to possible improvements and good aspects of each piece of work will be written on the pupils work (Lower School). In the Upper School the ‘Technology Assessment Sheet’ will be utilised with the teacher completing the grade section and the pupil / teacher writing down staff comments. It is hoped that this will contribute to the further development of R.O.A. in the Technology Department. Grades will also be recorded in the teacher record books and monitoring sheets.

After the completion of a design and make project, in the Lower School, the pupil and teacher will complete the ‘Design Technology Pupil Review Sheet’. The pupils will write a comment in which targets will be specified and use the ‘Interim Report’ scale of grades to grade their work. Final grades on this sheet are awarded according to the two Attainment Targets, ‘Designing’ and ‘Making’, made by staff at the end of the year.

In the Lower School the R.O.A. will report on the D.T. and Food aspects of Technology. In both the Lower and Upper School the Department will use SIMS System.
 

Group/Banding Arrangements

Year Seven:
Taught as six groups (blocked timetable), based as far as possible on forms.

Year 8:
Based on population ‘A’ and ‘B’. Eight groups receiving four lessons of Technology each week.

Year 9:
Based on population ‘A’ and ‘B’. Eight groups receiving four lessons of Technology each week.

See Rota sheet.

Year Ten:

Pupils had a free option.

Year Eleven:

Pupils have a free option.

Links with other educational establishments.

The department is proud of its links with local colleges of further education (list colleges) in particular the link with __________ college. The department organises and co-delivers GNVQ Manufacturing. The department is responsible for delivering the theory and administrative aspects and  __________ college delivers the practical aspect. Fortnightly meetings take place between the head of departments of both establishments.

Each term the college careers staff deliver induction courses to pupils in Year 9 who have shown an interest in Part One GNVQ.

Include all links with further education.

Links with the community.

The department has thriving links with the local community. Local industrialists regularly visit the school giving talks to KS3 and 4 pupils and advising pupils on career choices. Year 10 Resistant Materials pupils are set a project by a local company who specialise in storage units. The project is accessed by trainee company staff. Pupils are required to give a presentation to the group as well as company representatives.

Feeder primary pupils visit the school for regular lessons within curriculum time. Two lessons a week are set aside for this purpose and hi-tech facilities and technology staff are available. This has helped raise levels of achievement at KS2. Primary staff also benefit from INSET training delivered by technology staff.

Delivery of Citizenship in the Design and Technology Department

The schemes of work clearly state the place of citizenship in Design and Technology lessons. Pupils are given opportunities across schemes of work  to:

Learn about the importance of ;

• Listening to the views of others - through questionnaires, surveys and discussions.

• Taking part in open discussions and respect for the views of others,

• Being aware that the views of others are important and should be considered,

• Critical evaluations,

• The contribution of cultures both ancient and modern have made to our society,

• Team work and collaborative work,

• An understanding of environmental and business/industrial needs,

• The accurate promotion and advertisement of designs and manufactured items,

• The organisation of business and industry (modern production methods) and the effects on the workforce through aspects such as health and safety.

• The role of the community in the development safe and environmentally friendly designs (for example, recycling),

• The role of government bodies and educational establishments in the promotion of innovation and good design.