Design Technology

Design technology is irresistible! Taking an idea and producing a physical result with which every child has the chance to say ‘I made that’, confers self-esteem unlike any other subject.

Of course, children need to enjoy evaluating, designing prototypes and building, but it is important that they also retain knowledge too. The skills children require for design and making proficiently, inherently co-exist with learned facts and concepts, be it how to stabilise, join, cut or evaluate.

There are key themes which thread through every year group and they are revisited to help children build skills and knowledge. 

These skills are: designing, making, evaluating with a variety of materials along with all the skills needed in cooking and nutrition.

Every year, children will make or cook food, learning about taste and nutrition. They might for example make fruit kebabs or sandwiches in Sapphire before moving into more adventurous creations like scones or pizzas in Amethyst. Children learn to cut safely and prepare tasty treats, meals or snacks.

Children have the opportunity to plan and build prototypes, eventually in 3D as well as looking at a range of products to say what they like or don’t like, whilst exploring ways in which they could personalise or improve products for others.

What the children learn and do, feeds into subsequent units of work, which might be assessed using quizzes, longer investigations, mind maps or direct questioning.

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