Design & Technology

Design & Technology Intent Statement

Our Design and Technology curriculum develops pupils’ skills in designing, making and evaluating as well as teaching technical knowledge for the relevant subject areas of: Structures, Mechanisms, Textiles, Electrical Systems and Food Technology. We also consider key events and individuals within Design and Technology through several of our topics.

Design and Technology requires our pupils to think creatively in order to solve problems both individually and as part of a team. To solve problems, whilst considering their own and others’ needs, the pupils must apply a range of transferable skills from across the primary curriculum; such as mathematics, science, computing and art. Finally, throughout the pupils’ learning in D & T, they are encouraged to take risks which helps build resilience and enables the children to be reflective – evaluating their work and knowing that not all products are perfect.

Design and Technology is taught during dedicated weeks – one each term – where the children are taken through the process of researching, designing, making and evaluating their products. Whilst each Design and Technology subject area (Structures, Mechanisms, Textiles etc.) is not covered in every year group, skills are built on progressively throughout a pupil’s time at St Mark’s.

Cross-curricular links are found throughout Design and Technology. Transferrable skills from Mathematics include using a ruler to measure and draw different lengths accurately as well as measuring out ingredients in food technology. Market research may also be presented in the form of a table. Pupils are taught to write success criteria, instructions and evaluations which links to links to English. Science links to projects involving electrical components in KS2 where the children can apply their knowledge of circuits. Computing skills are used through the varying stages of D & T be it for research, presenting data, designing or programming a product.

Each Design and Technology project allows the pupils to produce a final product which showcases the skills that they have learned. Skills are built on throughout the school and it is possible to see the progression of skills through the complexity of the products produced from EYFS to Year 6. Our pupils are encouraged to take risks and make choices with their products meaning that our pupils become confident, thoughtful and reflective learners, all of which are traits that will serve them well in the future and in the wider world.

Design & Technology Policy, Plans & Maps
File Type	Subject	Date Posted
	Design & Technology Curriculum Map	Spring 2024
	Design & Technology Long Term Plan	Spring 2024

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Design and Technology Projects – Autumn Term 2023

Nursery and Reception

Whilst learning about The Gingerbread Man, the children in EYFS made Gingerbread Men and designed their toppings. They tasted toppings and talked about the ones that they did and didn’t like before designing the toppings for their own gingerbread men thinking about healthy and unhealthy foods. Their favourite thing was of course eating their creations!!

In the build up to Christmas, the children designed and made their own decorations. They thought about how they would make their decorations look good and the materials that they would use.

Year 1

For DT Week, Year 1 made fruit Kebabs. During the week, they tasted different fruits to see which ones they liked; investigated the class favourite fruit, which was watermelon and discussed how to be safe when using knives.

After designing their kebab, they had to cut each piece of fruit and slide it onto the kebab stick. This was sometimes tricky because the fruit was very slippery! Finally, they got to taste and evaluate their products – they were extremely tasty and the children would love to make them again!

Year 2

The children were learning about the Coronation of the Queen and made cupcakes to eat at the celebration. They tasted different toppings and found which was the class favourite as part of their market research. They thought about how to be hygienic before making and decorating their cakes according to their design.

Having eaten their creations, they evaluated their work, thinking about how it tasted and looked.

Year 3

The children in Year 3 needed to design something to hold the organs of the Egyptians when they were mummified. They investigated shell structures and made their boxes different shapes depending on what they were going to contain. The children used CAD to help them to design their boxes and to create the nets.

Year 4

Tasked with designing something to carry a Grecian’s money, the children in Year 4 designed a bag or purse. They used pattern pieces to draw and cut out the required materials and used their sewing skills to attach the different pieces. The children used their knowledge obtained from market research to decide on the features that they would like to use such as a strap or a button. Their products were then evaluated against the design criteria.

Year 5

The children in Year 5, needed to find a way to cross a river which would also let large ships pass. They made bridges, learning how to use triangulation to make their designs as strong as possible and then bringing their designs to life using woodwork and hydraulics. Their moving structures were very impressive to see in action.

Year 6

Having been learning about WWII during their history lessons, the children in Year 6 needed to create a meal for families during the war when they were restricted by rationing. They learned about the meals eaten during the war and how these were impacted by rationing. They then thought about the seasonality of vegetables and the countries where they are grown.
The children chose the vegetables that they were going to use to produce their own take on the wartime favourite Woolton Pie. As you can see the children really enjoyed their creations!

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