Design and Technology
DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY PROGRESSION MAP – click here
The aims of Design and Technology teaching at Highfield Primary School are:
– To stimulate the children’s curiosity about how everyday objects, mechanisms and products work, from food and packaging to buildings, toys, clothes and vehicles.
– To encourage thinking about how these objects, mechanisms and products are all created to serve a purpose.
– To build and apply a repertoire of knowledge, understanding, technical terminology and skills in order to design and make high-quality prototypes based on these products for a wide range of users.
– To foster enjoyment, satisfaction and the use of imagination and creativity when designing and making.
– To develop the practical and technical skills needed to perform Design and Technology related tasks confidently, from scissor skills in EYFS, to weighing/measuring/chopping ingredients in KS1 and lower KS2, to using computer aided design technology.
– To understand and apply the principles of nutrition and learn how to cook.
– To develop pupils as active learners by promoting investigation, experimentation and evaluation skills.
– To encourage the children to productively critique and evaluate their ideas and products, and the work of others, providing them with the opportunity to test them out.
– To develop interpersonal learning skills, such as speaking and listening, collaboration and compromise, and to experience taking different but equally valuable roles in group work.
– To prepare children for adult life by helping them to understand the contribution of Design and Technology to different areas of future employment.
– To enrich and support other areas of the curriculum.
Design and Technology Programme of Study: Click here
EYFS Design and Technology Coverage: Click here
Design and Technology 2023-2024 Long Term Plan: Click here
Home STEM Challenges: Click here
Books: Click here
Fun ways to develop your child’s Design Technology Skills
Upcycling
Encourage children to design and make their own products using recycled materials found at home. This will encourage them to experiment with different ways of joining materials together and has great links to geography and looking after our environment.
Take a trip to the Design Museum
Explore inventions both past and present! For the first time the Design Museum currently has a permanent installation and they have free bookable sessions, perfect for a day trip filled with fun. For further details see: http://designmuseum.org/things-to-do/families
How do things work?
Go on a walk around your local area and see whether you can determine how different objects were made and how they work. Share your experiences of how inventions (like the telephone or car) have changed in your lifetime.
Ready. Steady. Cook!
Have your own bake off, design and make a picnic or make a family favourite. This is a great way to develop mixing, measuring and cooking skills with your child.
Lego Challenge
Challenge your child to use a modelling material like Lego to build a structure. This can include recreating a famous London Landmark or building the structure of your dreams.
