To provide all children with a broad and balanced curriculum which prepares them for life beyond primary education. We encourage children to use their creativity and imagination, to design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts, considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values. We actively encourage our children to be critical thinkers, forward planners and effective problem solvers. We also teach our children to be able to work as capable individuals and as part of a valuable, productive team. Resilience is a key theme running through our DT curriculum, and the children are encouraged to become innovators and risk takers.

Expressive Arts and Design
ELG: Creating with Materials
Children at the expected level of development will:
– Safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques,
experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function;
– Share their creations, explaining the process they have used;
– Make use of props and materials when role playing characters in narratives
and stories.
ELG: Being Imaginative and Expressive
Children at the expected level of development will:
– Invent, adapt and recount narratives and stories with peers and their teacher;
– Sing a range of well-known nursery rhymes and songs;
Perform songs, rhymes, poems and stories with others, and – when
appropriate – try to move in time with music.

Wow! Have a look what our reception class has been up to this term. They have been designing and making kites. They have been reading traditional tales in class and some children have made houses for the little pigs and built the giant’s castle from Jack and the Beanstalk. They have also been junk modelling in provision. We are super impressed!

Cooking and Nutrition

As part of their work with food, pupils should be taught how to cook and apply the principles of nutrition and healthy eating. Instilling a love of cooking in pupils will also open a door to one of the great expressions of human creativity. Learning how to cook is a crucial life skill that enables pupils to feed themselves and others affordably and well, now and in later life.

Key Stage 1

Pupils in Key Stage 1 should be taught to:

 use the basic principles of a healthy and varied diet to prepare dishes
 understand where food comes from.

Children in year 1 have been making fruit sticks for a snack around the fire at Forest School. They had to think about how they could carry the fruit down there. They decided on sticks to hold everything in.

They discussed that they are the user so they could choose fruit they liked after having a taste test.

The fruit sticks have been planned and evaluated with a simple ‘My product was good because…., Next time I will …..’

Key Stage 2

Children in Key Stage 2 should be taught to:

 understand and apply the principles of a healthy and varied diet
 prepare and cook a variety of predominantly savoury dishes using a range of cooking techniques
 understand seasonality, and know where and how a variety of ingredients are grown, reared, caught and processed.

In our Year 6 D.T lessons we learnt about the Greek diet, how it is generally very healthy and includes lots of fresh vegetables- this was linked to the Eatwell plate guide. Children then designed their own Greek salads that could include a wide variety of ingredients such as feta cheese, halloumi, capers, and boiled eggs. We had lots of fun making our salads and eating them too!

Process

Through a variety of creative and practical activities, pupils should be taught the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in an iterative process of designing and making. They should work in a range of relevant contexts [for example, the home and school, gardens and playgrounds, the local community, industry and the wider environment].
When designing and making, pupils should be taught to:

Key Stage 1

Design

design purposeful, functional, appealing products for themselves and other users based on design criteria
generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through talking, drawing, templates, mock-ups and, where appropriate, information and communication technology

Make

select from and use a range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks [for example, cutting, shaping, joining and finishing]
select from and use a wide range of materials and components, including construction materials, textiles and ingredients, according to their characteristics

Evaluate

explore and evaluate a range of existing products
evaluate their ideas and products against design criteria

Technical Knowledge

build structures, exploring how they can be made stronger, stiffer and more stable
explore and use mechanisms [for example, levers, sliders, wheels and axles], in their
products.

Year 2

The children began their learning by exploring a variety of puppets, their features and what they are used for. They used this information to create beautiful front covers for our topic.The children went on to learn sewing skills such as threading needles, tying knots and creating a running stitch. During this time, the children were showing amazing resilience and teamwork skills too. The children went on to design and make their own glove puppets. They had to use a template to create the shape, use the running stitch to secure the edges and add the details needed to match their design. The children spent time evaluating their puppets and comparing them to their original designs. The children were super excited to use their puppets, to help create an amazing puppet show the children wrote their own puppet stories including their puppet character and a puppet character belonging to someone else in the class.

To consolidate our learning, we were joined by Alice, a professional puppeteer from Burnley Youth Theatre. She amazed us with her puppets and taught us new skills to help us to perform. She involved us in activities which helped us to learn how to work as a team to move larger puppets. She also gave us the opportunity to make another puppet and create our own puppet shows with our teams. We had lots of fun and there were lots of laughter!!

Key Stage 2

Design

use research and develop design criteria to inform the design of innovative, functional, appealing products that are fit for purpose, aimed at particular individuals or groups
generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through discussion, annotated sketches, cross-sectional and exploded diagrams, prototypes, pattern pieces and
computer-aided design.

Make

select from and use a wider range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks [for example, cutting, shaping, joining and finishing], accurately
select from and use a wider range of materials and components, including construction materials, textiles and ingredients, according to their functional properties and aesthetic qualities

Evaluate

investigate and analyse a range of existing products
evaluate their ideas and products against their own design criteria and consider the views of others to improve their work
understand how key events and individuals in design and technology have helped shape the world

Technical Knowledge

apply their understanding of how to strengthen, stiffen and reinforce more complex structures
understand and use mechanical systems in their products [for example, gears, pulleys, cams, levers and linkages]
understand and use electrical systems in their products [for example, series circuits incorporating switches, bulbs, buzzers and motors]

apply their understanding of computing to program, monitor and control their products.

Year 3

The children researched Anderson shelters using Ipads and drawing what they found. The children then they had to design their own. They were asked to add dimensions to their plans and annotate drawings to show what they would add, how to colour and what colours to use. Some ch used tissue paper to create flowers or veg such as carrots and cabbages. Other ch used card to create sandbags or scrunched paper to create bushes.

The children evaluated their final products at the end of the project.

Year 4

Last half term, children in year 4 investigated alarms. They incorporated their learning from science to design and create their own alarm products. Children created their alarms to catch those naughty elves! Some alarms used buzzers and others used a range of lights. All the children created their own switches to trigger their alarms.

This half term, year 4 are putting their sewing skills to the test! We have been looking at pencil cases for our product. We have been looking at the different features, what the purpose is and what they need to be like to be a good pencil case. We have learnt how to create different fastening and we have been practising different sewing techniques such as a back stitch, running stitch and a whip stitch. Later this term, children will design and create their own pencil cases.