Curriculum Intent:

Design and Technology (DT)

The national curriculum for design and technology aims to ensure that all pupils:

• develop the creative, technical and practical expertise needed to perform everyday tasks confidently and to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world
• build and apply a repertoire of knowledge, understanding and skills in order to design and make high-quality prototypes and products for a wide range of users
• critique, evaluate and test their ideas and products and the work of others  understand and apply the principles of nutrition and learn how to cook.

EYFS:

Expressive Arts and Design is part of the curriculum in Reception.

Exploring media and marks:

Children safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, form and function.

Being Imaginative:

Children use what they have learnt about media and materials in original ways, thinking about uses and purposes.

They represent their own ideas, thoughts and feelings through design and technology and art.

Key Stage 1:

Through a variety of creative and practical activities, pupils should be taught the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in an iterative process of designing and making. They should work in a range of relevant contexts (for example, the home and school, gardens and playgrounds, the local community, industry and the wider environment).

When designing and making, pupils should be taught to:

Design

• design purposeful, functional, appealing products for themselves and other users based on design criteria
• generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through talking, drawing, templates, mock-ups and, where appropriate, information and communication technology

Make

• select from and use a range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks (for example, cutting, shaping, joining and finishing)
• select from and use a wide range of materials and components, including construction materials, textiles and ingredients, according to their characteristics

Evaluate

• explore and evaluate a range of existing products
• evaluate their ideas and products against design criteria

Technical knowledge

• build structures, exploring how they can be made stronger, stiffer and more stable
• explore and use mechanisms (for example, levers, sliders, wheels and axles), in their products.

Key Stage 2:

Through a variety of creative and practical activities, pupils should be taught the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in an iterative process of designing and making. They should work in a range of relevant contexts (for example, the home, school, leisure, culture, enterprise, industry and the wider environment).

When designing and making, pupils should be taught to:

Design

• use research and develop design criteria to inform the design of innovative, functional, appealing products that are fit for purpose, aimed at individuals or groups
• generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through discussion, annotated sketches, cross-sectional and exploded diagrams, prototypes, pattern pieces and computer-aided design

Make

• select from and use a wider range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks (for example, cutting, shaping, joining and finishing), accurately
• 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

Evaluate

• investigate and analyse a range of existing products
• evaluate their ideas and products against their own design criteria and consider the views of others to improve their work
• understand how key events and individuals in design and technology have helped shape the world

Technical knowledge

• apply their understanding of how to strengthen, stiffen and reinforce more complex structures
• understand and use mechanical systems in their products (for example, gears, pulleys, cams, levers and linkages)
• understand and use electrical systems in their products (for example, series circuits incorporating switches, bulbs, buzzers and motors)
• apply their understanding of computing to program, monitor and control their products.