Design & Technology is a practical, creative and purposeful subject where children learn to design, make and evaluate products that solve real problems. DT encourages pupils to think like engineers, inventors and designers, combining creativity with technical knowledge. While DT often connects meaningfully with wider curriculum themes, particularly in the humanities, it remains a subject with its own clear disciplinary skills and processes.

Our DT Curriculum

Our curriculum follows the National Curriculum’s key principles:

• Designing purposeful, functional and appealing products
• Making using a range of tools, materials and components
• Evaluating ideas and final products, improving and refining
• Technical knowledge including structures, mechanisms, textiles, electrical systems (KS2) and cooking & nutrition

Projects are carefully sequenced across the school to build skills in a structured and progressive way.

What Children Learn

Across Early Years, KS1 and KS2, pupils experience a broad range of DT disciplines, including:

• Mechanisms (levers, sliders, wheels & axles, cams, linkages)
• Structures (frame structures, shell structures, architectural structures, CAD modelling)
• Textiles (templates, pattern pieces, combining fabrics)
• Electrical systems (simple programming, sensors and alarms – KS2)
• Cooking & Nutrition (food preparation, Eatwell guidance, world cuisines)

Each unit follows a consistent design‑make‑evaluate cycle, enabling children to develop independence, resilience and problem‑solving skills.

Cross-Curricular Links

Where appropriate, DT connects to themes in history, geography and science, for example, designing bridges while studying local landscapes, or creating packaging linked to a trade and enterprise topic. These links enrich learning while ensuring DT’s core disciplinary knowledge remains central.

Practical Skills and Technical Understanding

Children learn to:

• Use tools safely and accurately
• Measure, cut, join and finish materials
• Apply understanding of mechanical and electrical systems
• Develop technical vocabulary
• Make informed choices about materials and methods

These skills develop progressively so pupils become more precise, reflective and independent over time.

Cooking and Nutrition

Cooking forms an important part of our curriculum. Pupils learn about healthy eating, food groups, seasonal ingredients and simple cooking methods. Cooking units, such as “Food for me and you,” “Cooking around the world,” and “Healthy eating in action” help children understand how to prepare food safely and make healthy choices.