Design and Technology

Our Design and Technology Policy follows the National Curriculum and aims to ensure that:

Key Stage 1 pupils are taught

- through a variety of creative and practical activities 

- knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in an iterative process of designing and making

- in a range of relevant contexts [for example, the home and school, gardens and playgrounds, the local community, industry and the wider environment].

- how to design purposeful, functional, appealing products for themselves and other users based on design criteria

- to generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through talking, drawing, templates, mock-ups and, where appropriate, information and communication technology

- to select from and use a range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks [for example, cutting, shaping, joining and finishing]

- to select from and use a wide range of materials and components, including construction materials, textiles and ingredients, according to their characteristics

- to explore and evaluate a range of existing products

- to evaluate their ideas and products against design criteria technical knowledge

- to build structures, exploring how they can be made stronger, stiffer and more stable

- to explore and use mechanisms [for example, levers, sliders, wheels and axles], in their products.

Key Stage 2 pupils are taught:

- through a variety of creative and practical activities

- knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in an iterative process of designing and making

- in a range of relevant contexts [for example, the home, school, leisure, culture, enterprise, industry and the wider environment]

- to use research and develop design criteria to inform the design of innovative, functional, appealing products that are fit for purpose, aimed at particular individuals or groups

- to generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through discussion, annotated sketches, cross-sectional and exploded diagrams, prototypes, pattern pieces and computer-aided design

- to select from and use a wider range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks [for example, cutting, shaping, joining and finishing], accurately

- to select from and use a wider range of materials and components, including construction materials, textiles and ingredients, according to their functional properties and aesthetic qualities

- to investigate and analyse a range of existing products

- to evaluate their ideas and products against their own design criteria and consider the views of others to improve their work

- to understand how key events and individuals in design and technology have helped shape the world

- to apply their understanding of how to strengthen, stiffen and reinforce more complex structures

- to understand and use mechanical systems in their products [for example, gears, pulleys, cams, levers and linkages]

- to understand and use electrical systems in their products [for example, series circuits incorporating switches, bulbs, buzzers and motors]

- to apply their understanding of computing to program, monitor and control their products.

 

As part of their work with food, pupils are taught;

- how to cook and apply the principles of nutrition and healthy eating

- that learning to cook is a crucial life skill that enables pupils to feed themselves and others 

 

In Key stage 1, pupils are taught to:

- use the basic principles of a healthy and varied diet to prepare dishes

- understand where food comes from. 

In Key stage 2, pupils are taught to:

- understand and apply the principles of a healthy and varied diet

- prepare and cook a variety of predominantly savoury dishes using a range of cooking techniques

- understand seasonality, and know where and how a variety of ingredients are grown, reared, caught and processed.

 

This curriculum is delivered through discrete and sequential lessons, in which pupils have the opportunity to practise skills and build upon existing skills.