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The Wavell School

Year 7 Design & Technology


Design and Technology is an exciting and valuable subject which covers a wide range of material specialism’s and students are exposed to a wealth of resources within Design and Technology. 

In Year 7, students can expect to cover Textiles, Multi Materials, Electronics and Graphics. Students have full access to all the resources in the Faculty and are taught how to operate them safely. Design and Technology provides important opportunities for students to problem-solve, develop lateral and creative thinking skills, self-manage resources as well as being able to utilise their Maths and Science knowledge in a practical way.

How will my child be assessed and how will I know how well they are doing in D&T in Year 7?

  • Student’s work is assessed throughout the term with a formal assessment grade at the end of the project. 

What homework will my child be expected to do in Year 7 in D&T?

  • Homework is set every fortnight in Design and Technology.  The homework is a task uploaded onto Satchel One (Show my Homework).

How can I support my child to do well in D&T during Year 7?

  • Students should be encouraged to use a wide range of sources including books, the internet and magazines when conducting research tasks.  These tasks may involve accessing the internet (this can be done in school or at the local library), conducting questionnaires, looking at books and magazines. 

  • Students should be encouraged to study the products around them and examine them to discover how they have been made and develop an understanding of the materials that have been chosen. 

  • Parents should encourage their child to discuss their design ideas for their work at home to help develop their design thinking. 

  • Where students have access to digital cameras, desktop publishing software, or technical drawing and 3D modelling computer packages, parents should encourage their child to develop their skills and understanding of these pieces of software.

  • The Design Museum in London is worth a visit to explore design thinking and products and to widen their design experience and knowledge of product design. The Science Museum is a valuable place to learn about materials and new technology. The Victoria and Albert Museum often has exciting exhibitions about Fashion and Textiles and designers.

  • If you are able to access the internet the website www.technologystudent.com has a wealth of resources, information and Design and Technology based activities for students.  

What equipment may my child need in addition to the standard school equipment?

  • Aprons and goggles are provided for students in Design and Technology. 
  • Students must attend all lessons with pencil, ruler, rubber, sharpener and colouring pencils. 
  • Students with long hair will need to have their hair tied back during Design and Technology lessons. 
  • For Health and Safety reasons, it is essential that students wear black leather shoes for all Design and Technology lessons. We cannot allow students into the workshops in canvas shoes or trainers.

By the end of the year, what would an 'expert' be able to do in D&T?

  • Understand the role of the designer and the responsibility a designer has to integrate maintenance into their designs. They have a basic understanding of how global production effects culture and people. 
  • Students are able to develop design solutions that consider some SMSC issues and they are able to justify the choices they have made.
  • Students can apply their knowledge of a small number of modern and smart materials and technical textiles and suggest suitable designs for products that integrate these technologies.
  • Students are able to identify a relevant stakeholder for their work. They are able to analyse the design context and identify relevant research to collect which in turn is used to write a specific and relevant design context.
  • Students are able to generate different ideas to solve a given problem. They annotate their ideas to indicate how the prototype will function; the materials it will be made from and to indicate techniques that will be used to make it which have been acquired through modelling.  The ideas developed will satisfy the problem set out in the design context.
  • Students are able to use the available tools and machinery with a degree of accuracy and independence to make a prototype which has an intermediate level of demand taking into the account the quality of finish.
  • Students are able to plan how the majority of a simple prototype will be made.
  • Students are able to indicate a range of elements in their work that are successful and need further development relating to the stakeholder. They are also able to evaluate the impact technical difficulties have had on their work.
  • Students are able to follow a range of H&S rules for the equipment and machinery they are using and are able to explain why they are important within the environment they are working in.

My child is struggling during the course, what additional help is available to help them keep up?

  • If your child is struggling in D&T, please ask them to be pro-active during the lesson and speak to the teacher directly for support. We also run after school clubs that can benefit any student that wants additional help.
 

Updated October 2021