D&T

Design and Technology (D&T) is a practical subject that inspires our pupils to be creative and solve real world problems.  It enables them to use their imagination, extend their knowledge and skills to make products which solve a design criteria. Design and Technology education involves two important elements – learning about the designed and made world and how things work and learning to design and make functional products for particular purposes and users.

Design and Technology is taught through the DT Assocation’s ‘projects on a page’ in three half-termly units of work each year built around a teaching sequence of researching, designing, making and evaluating a product.  Each unit is introduced with a design criteria to be solved, and pupils critique, test and evaluate their ideas and products in relation to this criteria. Children acquire and apply knowledge and understanding of materials and components, mechanisms and control systems, structures, existing products, quality and health and safety. In addition, each year children have a unit of work on cooking and nutrition. As well as learning the basic skills of food preparation and the cooking of savoury dishes it also forms part of the school’s promotion of health eating.

Each unit of work is built around the six principles of D&T: user, purpose, functionality, design decisions, innovation and authenticity.

The skills learned in D&T also help with learning across the curriculum. Knowledge about the properties of materials helps in science and the practice of measuring accurately helps in maths. These skills help in IT through the children’s use of computer control and, naturally, in art and design.

Design and Technology education helps develop children’s skills through collaborative working and problem-solving, and knowledge in design, materials, structures, mechanisms and electrical control. They are encouraged to be creative and innovative and are actively encouraged to think about important issues such as sustainability and enterprise.