Design and Technology

Do not seek to change what has come before. Seek to create that which has not.

David Airey

 - a brand identify designer with experience of working with clients across the globe. 

 "We are learning about fruits and vegetables. How we keep our bodies healthy."

"I learnt how to make puppets, how to sew, how to draw a mythical creature and how to make my own mask."

"We learnt how to make healthy sandwiches and we learnt about healthy diets. I have also learnt that different people have different preferences."

"In DT we have been learning how to make torches, pop up books and stitching."

"We learnt about the different types of shelters for example, a picnic shelter and an igloo. In the same topic, we made our own shelter using materials from around our home such as a card board box. We also learnt about the different types of fairground rides and we could identify the different parts of it. We were able to make our own rides and make them move using a motor. We looked at the different types of breads and investigated where they came from. Examples of breads are: naan bread from Asia, baguettes from France, bagels from Israel, Hardo (hard dough) bread from Jamaica and pitta bread from the Middle East. We were also able to make our own bread by using the ingredients of white flour, salt and yeast."

-Pupils' Views

Design and Technology prepares children to take part in the development of tomorrow's rapidly changing world. Creative thinking encourages children to make positive changes to their quality of life. The subject encourages children to become autonomous and creative problem-solvers, both as individuals and as part of a team. It enables them to identify needs and opportunities and to respond by developing ideas, and eventually making products and systems. Through the study of design and technology, they combine practical skills with an understanding of aesthetic, social and environmental issues, as well as of functions and industrial practices. This allows them to reflect on and evaluate present and past design and technology, its uses and its impacts. Design and technology helps all children to become discriminating and informed consumers and potential innovators.

Our objectives in the teaching of design and technology are 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.

The school uses a variety of teaching and learning styles in design and technology lessons. The principal aim is to develop children's knowledge, skills and understanding in design and technology. Pupils design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts, considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values. Teachers ensure that the children apply their knowledge and understanding when developing ideas, planning and making products, and then evaluating them. We do this through a mixture of whole-class teaching and individual or group activities. Within lessons, we give children the opportunity both to work on their own and to collaborate with others, listening to other children's ideas and treating these with respect. Children critically evaluate existing products, their own work and that of others. They have the opportunity to use a wide range of materials and resources, including the use of computers.

Please click here for this year's overview.