Design Technology

The teaching of Design Technology in our school will provide our pupils with a high quality education, in which they will gain knowledge and understanding of product design and how it impacts on work and life in the 21st century.

Through the teaching of Design Technology we will create opportunities for pupils to learn about design processes, the how and why products are created; developing design skills, creating real life products with an intended user and purpose. Teaching will equip pupils to become critical, analytical thinkers through the use of stimulating, challenging and practical lessons; drawing on disciplines such as mathematics, engineering, computing and art. The teaching of Design Technology in our school helps children to understand the iterative processes involved in design and the necessary steps required to undertake in order to get from design to final product.

Design Technology will inspire pupils’ curiosity to know more about the world they live in and to reflect upon the important role they play in it. Pupils will learn about how products have evolved throughout history and how they themselves as designers and users have influenced this. Pupils will be encouraged to reflect upon current world topics e.g. climate change, sustainability and be guided to create real products that solve real life problems. 

Topics are sequenced on a two-year basis to allow for progression of knowledge and skills within both Lower and Upper Key Stage 2. Each unit provides opportunities for children to plan, design, make and evaluate products; each concluding with a planned, purposeful assessment task at the end in which children will create their own product in line with a specific design brief. The placements of topics have been thought out to allow for children to be introduced to the skills and knowledge in Lower Key Stage 2 and then revisited, consolidated and further developed in Upper Key Stage 2.

Our DT curriculum topics are taught and developed following the structure:

•  Investigate & Evaluate – Researching and investigating existing products 
•  Design – Using their investigation of existing products to inform how something will look and function work through a design specification.
•  Make - Combining materials to create a real life product. 
•  Evaluate – Assessing the effectiveness of their products functionality and aesthetic quality against the design specification 

Woven throughout our Design Technology curriculum are golden threads which children will explore the concept of in relation to themselves and the world around them: 

• Cooking & Nutrition
• Culture
• Diversity
• Enterprise
• Industry
• Iteration
• Sustainability
• Technology