Our Intent

We teach Design and Technology to enable all pupils to combine practical skills with an understanding of aesthetic, social and environmental issues, as well as functions and industrial practices. Design and Technology is the process of designing, making and evaluation products fit for a purpose or improving, refining and extending the use of existing products. It involves the creative application of the principles of science to solve practical problems.

We aim to ensure that every child has the opportunity to:

• Create record and evaluate their own original designs.
• Develop imaginative thinking so they can both talk about what they like and dislike when investigating and evaluating their own designs and those of others.
• Use appropriate vocabulary to convey their ideas about how things work.
• Develop and practice specific skills and knowledge.
• Apply and relate their skills across the curriculum.
• Develop an understanding of the way things work for their intended purpose.
• Encourage the selection of appropriate tools and techniques for making a product, whilst following safe procedures.

Through a variety of creative and practical activities, our pupils should be taught the knowledge and skills needed to engage in the process of designing and making. They should be introduced to a range of relevant contexts such as the home and school, gardens and playgrounds, leading up to the local community, industry and the wider environment. This should be carried out through a mixture of whole class teaching and individual/group activities. 

We have carefully considered chronology in our planning that builds progressively on pupils’ knowledge and skills from Nursery to Year 6. We use the National Curriculum as a basis for our planning and personalise and extend it to suit our specific context.

 When designing and making, our pupils should be taught to:

Design purposeful, functional and appealing products for themselves and for others and be taught the skills to generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through talking, drawing, templates, mock-ups and, where appropriate, computing.

Make a product by selecting from a range of tools and equipment and materials, including construction materials, textiles and ingredients, and be able to carry out practical tasks such as cutting, shaping and joining to finish their product.

Evaluate their product by exploring and evaluating how it can be made stronger and more stable, taking into consideration what materials they have used and whether other materials would have been more beneficial for the finished product.

Cooking and Nutrition

As part of their work with food, our pupils should be taught how to cook and apply the principles of nutrition and healthy eating. Instilling a love of cooking in pupils will also open a door to one of the great expressions of human creativity. Learning how to cook is a crucial life skill that enables pupils to feed themselves and others affordably and well, now and in later life. In KS1 our pupils should be taught to use the basic principles of a healthy and varied diet to prepare dishes and understand where food comes from.

The Federation encourages the development of skills, knowledge and understanding to help children in  the Early Years Foundation Stage make sense of their world. We relate design & technology to the Expressive Arts and Design area of the EYFS guidance, and interweave children’s learning experiences with all other areas of the EYFS curriculum for children aged three to five. This learning forms the foundations for later work in Design and Technology. These early experiences include asking questions about how things work, investigating and using a variety of construction kits, materials, tools and products, developing making skills and handling appropriate tools and construction material safely and with increasing control.

In Key Stage 1 and 2, Design Technology is taught throughout the curriculum. Units are planned to coincide with whole school initiatives. The pupils are given both planned and pupil-led opportunities for leaning, which relate to their individual experiences at school, at home and in the community.

Below are some examples of our KS1 making sandwiches and picture frames projects and our KS2 making flatbread and bridges projects.

Teachers assess pupil’s work in DT by making assessments as they observe them working during lessons. They record the progress that children make by assessing the children’s work against the learning objectives for their lesson. The DT subject leader will monitor teachers planning and pupil’s work samples.

Staff in the EYFS assess children’s progress against the Development Matters (DM) statements for each of the 7 areas.  At the end of the Reception year, teachers assess pupils against the Early Learning Goals and complete the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP).

The Profile provides parents and carers, practitioners and teachers with a well- rounded picture of a child’s knowledge, understanding and abilities, their attainment against expected levels, and their readiness for year 1.  Year 1 teachers are provided with a copy of the profile report to inform their transition into Key Stage 1.