Design and Technology Learning Journey

Our children are surrounded by things which are designed and made. Perhaps too often, products are bought and used without really understanding the design and technology which has gone on behind the product to make us purchase and use them. We want our children to question why things are made the way they are, to explore how structures are put together and to have opportunities to design and create individual pieces. We encourage our children to discover who a product is designed for and how it has been well made and attractively finished. Our children use appropriate vocabulary to generate designs for products with a purpose related to their topics in other subjects. They select and correctly use the right equipment for the task with increasing accuracy. We want our children to use a range of materials relating to food, textiles and construction, using skills they can take with them on their learning journey.

You can find out more about our vision for D and T here.

We use ©Focus Education to help children develop a set of skills, knowledge and understanding based on the National Curriculum. Over their time in school, children will have the opportunity of learning to:

• develop, plan and communicate ideas

• work with tools, equipment, materials and components to make quality products

• evaluate process and products.

We engage these skills with children though products and processes involving food (and nutrition), textiles, and electrical/mechanical components. Our long term plan for D and T is here.

In Early Years (the Reception year), the curriculum is organised along broad themes. You can see what D and T looks like in Class 1 here.

We use itineraries to help us focus on what we need to teach in KS1, Lower Key Stage 2 and Upper Key Stage 2. These also contain key words, curriculum links and opportunities for enrichment activities. We use these to help us see what our children are able to understand, know and do by the end of each two-year focus.

Key Stage 1 (Years 1 and 2)

Lower Key Stage 2 (Years 3 and 4)

Upper Key Stage 2 (Years 5 and 6)