Design and Technology

 Our design and technology subject leaders is Miss Bonner

Design and technology is an inspiring, rigorous and practical subject. Using creativity and imagination, pupils design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts, considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values. They acquire a broad range of subject knowledge and draw on disciplines such as mathematics, science, engineering, computing and art. Pupils learn how to take risks, becoming resourceful, innovative, enterprising and capable citizens. Through the evaluation of past and present design and technology, they develop a critical understanding of its impact on daily life and the wider world. High-quality design and technology education makes an essential contribution to the creativity, culture, wealth and well-being of the nation.

A: Our design and technology curriculum is ambitious, achievable and accessible for all – it enables our learners to aim high and persevere. As children progress through the school they experience a wide diet of design and technology and develop their knowledge and skills in a range of concepts.

S: Our design and technology curriculum is carefully sequenced to ensure that children build upon their prior learning. In Early Years, children learn the foundation of this subject discipline through developing their knowledge of tools and materials and being given the freedom to develop their innovative designing skills. From Year 1, children experience three units per year (one per term) and these have been carefully mapped out to ensure regular repetition and development of key concepts in the subject. Units begin with a recap of prior knowledge and learning. 

P: Children develop a real passion and enthusiasm for learning in design and technology as they explore real life projects and see how their learning has relevance to the real and wider world around them. Our curriculum encouraged curiosity and for children to ask deep and meaningful questions about the design world. Children are taught and enabled to evaluate existing products and explore how these could be enhanced or further developed. Children see that design and technology is a constantly developing subject and one that they can aspire within – making changes to world.

I: Children are encouraged to develop independence of thought and application in design and technology through being investigative and making links in their learning. 

R: Through our design and technology curriculum, children learn about DT as a global subject. They explore great designers of the world and the impact that inventions and design can have globally.

E: Reading is encouraged and promoted with design and technology. Children learn about the value of research and learning about DT through different texts. Children communicate their ideas, findings, design and evaluations in different ways.

There are six essentials of good practice in D&T. These need to be in place in teachers’ planning to ensure children’s learning is genuinely design and technology on nature. These six areas should be addressed in every D&T unit (once a term):

1. User – children should have a clear idea of who they are designing and making products for, considering their needs, wants, interests or preferences. The user could be themselves, an imaginary character, another person, client, consumer or a specific target audience.

2. Purpose – children should know what the products they design and make are for. Each product should perform a clearly defined task that can be evaluated in use.

3. Functionality – children should design and make products that function in some way to be successful. Products often combine aesthetic qualities with functional characteristics. In D&T, it is insufficient for children to design and make products which are purely aesthetic.

4. Design Decisions – when designing and making, children need opportunities to make informed decisions such as selecting materials, components and techniques and deciding what form the products will take, how they will work, what task they will perform and who they are for.

5. Innovation – when designing and making, children need some scope to be original with their thinking. Projects that encourage innovation lead to a range of design ideas and products being developed, characterised by engaging, open-ended starting points for children's learning.

6. Authenticity – children should design and make products that are believable, real and meaningful to themselves i.e. not replicas or reproductions or models which do not provide opportunities for children to make design decisions with clear users and purposes in mind.

Each unit of learning contains three types of activity in line with National Curriculum expectations:

• Investigative and Evaluative Activities (IEAs) where children learn from a range of existing products and find out about D&T in the wider world;
• Focused Tasks (FTs) where they are taught specific technical knowledge, designing skills and making skills;
• Design, Make and Evaluate Assignment (DMEA) where children create functional products with users and purposes in mind.

To assist with the planning, delivery and sequencing of our design and technology curriculum we use the DT Association ‘Projects on a Page’. These are aligned to our knowledge, skills and concepts progression outlined below.