Design Technology
Intent
At JWPS, our intent is to inspire children to become the innovators, engineers, and designers of the future. We believe that Design and Technology is an inspiring, rigorous, and practical subject that encourages children to think creatively to solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts.
Our curriculum is designed to be ambitious and inclusive, ensuring that all pupils—regardless of their starting point—develop the "technical muscle" and manual dexterity required for success. We intend for our children to:
Think Critically:
Develop the ability to critique and evaluate products, including their own, understanding that "failure" is a vital step in the iterative design process.
Build Resilience:
Encourage a "can-do" attitude when faced with technical challenges, fostering the persistence needed to refine and improve prototypes.
Master Skills:
Acquire a broad range of subject knowledge and draw on disciplines such as mathematics, science, engineering, computing, and art to create functional products.
Understand Nutrition:
Develop a crucial understanding of where food comes from, how it is grown, and the principles of nutrition and healthy cooking.
Through our DT curriculum, we aim to provide children with the cultural capital and technical vocabulary they need to understand how design and technology have shaped the world and how they can contribute to its future.
Implementation
Our DT curriculum is carefully sequenced using a "Design, Make, Evaluate" model, ensuring that skills are built upon year-on-year, moving from simple explorations in EYFS to complex engineering projects in Year 6.
The Design-Make-Evaluate Cycle
Design:
Children are taught to research and develop design criteria to inform the design of innovative, functional, and appealing products. They communicate their ideas through annotated sketches, cross-sectional diagrams, and prototypes.
Make:
We provide access to a wide range of high-quality tools and materials. Children are explicitly taught the technical skills required to work with textiles, wood, mechanisms, electrical systems, and structures. Safety and precision are prioritized in every practical session.
Evaluate:
Evaluation is ongoing and central to our teaching. Children test their products against their own design criteria and the needs of the intended user, considering the views of others to improve their work.
Technical Knowledge and Progression
Mechanisms and Structures:
From sliders and levers in KS1 to pulleys, gears, and cams in KS2, children explore the "physics of making" to create moving products and stable structures.
Electrical Systems:
In Upper KS2, children incorporate series circuits, switches, and sensors into their designs, bridging the gap between DT and Computing.
Cooking and Nutrition:
Each year group participates in food technology units. These focus on healthy eating, seasonal produce, and the practical skills of food preparation (such as peeling, chopping, and baking) without relying purely on pre-processed ingredients.
Inclusive and High-Quality Delivery
Scaffolded Learning:
For pupils who require additional support, we provide adapted tools and simplified design briefs to ensure they can achieve high-quality outcomes alongside their peers.
Vocabulary Focus:
Key technical terms are introduced at the start of every unit and revisited through "Knowledge Organisers," ensuring children can articulate their learning with professional precision.
Authentic Briefs:
Projects are linked to real-world problems or cross-curricular themes (e.g. entering our DT competition where pupils come up with an idea then make a poster explaining how their ideas can improve life ), giving the learning purpose and urgency.
Impact
The impact of our DT curriculum is seen in:
Confident 'Makers' and Fixers:
Pupils who can handle a range of tools and materials—from wood and textiles to electronic components and food—with technical proficiency, safety, and precision.
The Iterative Mindset:
Children who understand that the first attempt is rarely the final one. They demonstrate the resilience to test, critique, and "fail forward," refining their designs based on functional testing.
Technical Vocabulary and Literacy:
Pupils who can articulate their design decisions using specific terminology (e.g., reinforcing, prototype, aesthetics, pulley, pivot) to explain how their product meets a specific brief.
Critical Evaluators:
Children who can look objectively at their own work and the products of others, identifying successes and areas for improvement with reference to the original design criteria.
Real-World Application:
Pupils who recognize that DT is a response to human needs and problems, developing an understanding of how design shapes the world around them—from the nutrition in their meals to the mechanics of their environment.
We measure impact through:
Design Portfolios and Final Products:
Regular review of the "Design-Make-Evaluate" cycle captured in books and through the physical durability and functionality of the finished pieces.
Skills Competency Mapping:
Ongoing teacher observation to ensure that children are meeting the age-related milestones for tool use (e.g., measuring accurately in Year 3, using a junior hacksaw in Year 5).
Pupil Voice and 'Show and Tell':
Strategic conversations with pupils where they demonstrate their products and explain the "why" behind their material choices and construction techniques.
Photographic and Video Evidence:
Using digital platforms to document the process of making—capturing the "Implementation" in action to show progress over time.
Subject-Specific Reviews:
Learning Walks to ensure the DT curriculum is being delivered with high expectations for finishing and aesthetic quality across all year groups.
By the time children leave Jubilee Wood Primary School, they have developed the creative, technical, and practical expertise needed to perform everyday tasks confidently and to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world.
