At St Willibrord’s, Design and Technology gives pupils opportunities to solve problems, develop practical skills and create purposeful products. Pupils learn to think carefully about who and what they are designing for, make informed choices about materials and techniques, and evaluate and improve their work.

Our Design and Technology curriculum is based principally on Kapow Primary and is organised so that pupils develop their knowledge and practical skills progressively from Year 1 to Year 6.

Our Design and Technology curriculum

Design and Technology is organised around four important elements:

• Design – researching, developing and communicating ideas for a particular purpose and user.
• Make – selecting and using appropriate tools, materials, components and techniques.
• Evaluate – testing, reviewing and improving products and considering existing designs.
• Technical knowledge – developing the knowledge pupils need to make increasingly successful products.

Cooking and nutrition is also an important part of the curriculum. Pupils develop practical food-preparation skills and learn about healthy eating, ingredients and where food comes from.

Across the school, pupils encounter a range of areas within Design and Technology, including:

• structures;
• mechanisms and mechanical systems;
• textiles;
• cooking and nutrition;
• electrical systems;
• digital design and technology.

These areas are revisited at increasing levels of complexity so that pupils can build upon their previous knowledge and experience.

Progression through the school

In Year 1, pupils begin to explore how structures can be made stable and strong. They develop early textile skills through simple stitching and investigate mechanisms by designing and making products using sliders.

In Year 2, pupils develop their understanding of mechanisms through levers, learn about balanced diets through practical food work and investigate how structures can be designed and made for a particular purpose.

In Year 3, pupils develop their understanding of structures through designing product packaging. They explore how digital technology can be incorporated into products through wearable technology and develop their knowledge of food and nutrition by working with seasonal ingredients.

In Year 4, pupils develop their cooking skills by adapting recipes for a particular purpose. They investigate mechanical systems through designing and making mechanical products and develop their understanding of electrical systems and how these can be incorporated into a functioning product.

In Year 5, pupils develop increasingly accurate textile skills through designing and making stuffed toys. During the year, they also investigate electrical systems, gears and pulleys and increasingly complex structures.

In Year 6, pupils bring together their design knowledge with digital technology through the Navigating the World unit. They develop more sophisticated textile skills through designing and making bags and apply their understanding of cooking and nutrition when planning and preparing food for others.

The design process

As pupils progress through the school, they increasingly work through a design process in which they:

• investigate existing products and identify their important features;
• consider the intended user and purpose of a product;
• generate and communicate design ideas;
• select suitable materials, components, tools and techniques;
• make products with increasing accuracy and independence;
• test whether their product works as intended;
• evaluate their work against the original design criteria;
• identify improvements and refine their designs.

Pupils are encouraged to recognise that designing is an iterative process. Designs can be changed and improved as problems are identified and new ideas develop.

Technical knowledge and practical skills

Through practical work, pupils develop increasing confidence in selecting and using equipment safely and appropriately.

They learn about areas such as:

• strengthening and stabilising structures;
• joining and finishing materials;
• sewing and textile construction;
• mechanisms and mechanical systems;
• electrical components and systems;
• incorporating digital technology into products;
• preparing and cooking food safely.

Vocabulary and technical knowledge become increasingly sophisticated as pupils progress through the school.

Cooking and nutrition

Cooking and nutrition enables pupils to develop practical skills while learning about healthy and varied diets.

Across the curriculum, pupils develop their understanding of ingredients, food preparation and cooking techniques. They learn to make appropriate choices about food and, as they progress through the school, take increasing responsibility for planning, preparing and evaluating what they make.

Inclusion

Our Design and Technology curriculum is ambitious for all pupils. Teachers adapt resources, equipment, instruction and support where necessary so that pupils can participate successfully in practical activities while continuing to develop independence.

Adaptations are made without unnecessarily reducing the important knowledge or practical experience pupils are expected to gain.

Our curriculum plans

Further information about the Design and Technology units taught in each year group can be found within our Curriculum by Year Group plans.

If you would like further information about our Design and Technology curriculum, please contact the school.