Curriculum Lead: Aaron Short
Being an Engineer:
Intent:
At Bridge Learning Campus, we dare to children to think creatively to solve problems both as individuals and as members of a respectful team. The children are also given opportunities to reflect upon and evaluate past and present design technology and different tools. Children are empowered to use different strategies and evaluate their work to become true innovators.
Implementation:
Engineering is taught within the enquiry curriculum. Children are taught new skills before being given the opportunity to practice. In many enquiries, children will create a final product or design, which they then evaluate.
Engineering knowledge and skills are taught within the following enquiries:
- Y1 – What is my hat made of?
- Y2 – What could my classroom be made of?
- Y2 – How will we get around in the future?
- Y3 – How can you feel the force?
- Y4 – How can we switch off?
- Y4 – What is the difference between noise and sound?
- Y5 – How can science help the homeless?
- Y5 – What do forces actually do?
- Y6 – Who were the greater engineers, Ancient Britons or Victorians?
Impact:
We know that we have inspired successful engineers if children can confidently demonstrate the skills needed to design and create a variety of structures and models. Children support each other to recall key knowledge relating to mechanical and electrical systems, and background knowledge about engineers through history.
Children should be able to critically evaluate products and suggest improvements through their written work and oracy.
Progression of skills for Engineering
- Link to curriculum enquiry overview
- Link to Progression in Engineering
Video link of photo to show learning across EYFS – Y6
How we build the Engineering curriculum:
- Links to prior learning (year 3, 5, 6 child voice video, photo to show progression of map skills from floor book)
- Learning Journeys (all with DT as main or supporting state)
- Knowledge Organisers (all with DT as main or supporting state)
- Explicit vocabulary teaching – EYFS and Y1 bucket time (video), learning walls (photos), definition sheets (link to documents)
- Oracy – sentence stems (photos from classrooms), talk opportunities (videos year 1, 2, 4)
- Experiences (screenshots from dojo)
- Retrieval quizzes (photos from books)