Design & Technology

Using the National Curriculum and our selected Cornerstones topics, we aim to embed design and technology across the curriculum. Children encounter practical and creative experiences which enable them to design real life and purposeful products which cater for the needs and requirements of target audience or an identified gap in the market. Through the design process, existing products will be considered and a broad range of possible materials are explored and tested. In design technology, children learn to problem solve and to make their own justified decisions based on their sound knowledge of materials and processes. Carefully selected topics, provide children with the freedom to risk take, evaluate and critique ideas, enabling them to become enterprising, imaginative and capable designers.

Children will learn to:

Develop the creative, technical and practical skills needed to perform everyday tasks successfully in an increasingly technological world.

Build and apply their knowledge, understanding and skills in order to design and make purposeful products.

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.

How You Can Support at Home

When supporting your child at home, try to explore a range of construction materials to build with such as Lego, Knox, Mechano. Junk modelling materials from your recycling bin are perfect for practising to join pieces together. Try to offer a range of options for joining pats such as masking tape, mod-roc, glue or cello tape.

When designing or constructing, encourage your child to explore different ways of approaching the task, so that they can put their evaluative judgements to good use. What worked best? How could they improve their model? Which materials served the purpose that was intended? Pinterest and programs such as ‘Mr Maker’ and CBeebies are online websites which provide mini projects, challenges and ideas. There are also exciting programs explaining how things work such as ‘Do you know?’