DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY
Creating Innovators, Problem Solvers and Successful Designers
At Shamblehurst Primary School, Design and Technology is an inspiring, practical and creative subject that enables children to become confident designers, makers and innovators. Through a carefully planned curriculum, pupils learn to identify problems, generate solutions and create purposeful products that improve and enrich everyday life.
Our Design and Technology curriculum is firmly rooted in the expectations of the National Curriculum, which states that pupils should develop the creative, technical and practical expertise needed to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world; design and make high-quality products for a range of users; evaluate and improve their ideas; and understand the principles of nutrition and cooking.
We teach children to think and work like designers by following an iterative design process of:
Research → Design → Make → Evaluate → Improve
Through this process, pupils develop resilience, creativity, critical thinking and independence whilst learning that successful design often requires testing, adaptation and refinement
At Shamblehurst, we believe every child is a designer.
Our ambitious curriculum enables pupils to:
Develop creativity and imagination through designing and making.
Solve real and relevant problems linked to meaningful contexts.
Build secure knowledge of structures, mechanisms, textiles, electrical systems and cooking and nutrition.
Develop technical knowledge alongside practical skills.
Understand how design and technology influences the modern world.
Learn from significant designers, inventors, engineers and makers.
Evaluate products critically and use feedback to improve outcomes.
Become resourceful, innovative and enterprising learners.
Design and Technology is carefully connected to our wider curriculum, allowing children to apply and deepen learning from history, geography, science, mathematics, computing and art. From designing Roman onagers and Egyptian shadufs, to constructing Mars rovers and exploring Maya textiles, pupils learn that design is shaped by culture, history, technology and human need.
Our curriculum is built around the key National Curriculum strands:
Design
Children research existing products, investigate user needs and develop design criteria. They communicate their ideas through discussions, annotated sketches, prototypes, exploded diagrams and models.
Make
Pupils progressively develop practical skills as they select materials, tools and equipment to construct high-quality products safely and accurately.
Evaluate
Children analyse existing products, test their own designs and evaluate effectiveness against design criteria. They learn that evaluation is an essential part of improving a product.
Technical Knowledge
Pupils progressively develop knowledge of:
Structures
Mechanisms
Textiles
Electrical systems
Mechanical systems
Cooking and Nutrition
As children move through the school, they encounter increasingly complex design challenges, developing the knowledge and confidence needed to work with greater independence and precision.
Design and Technology makes a significant contribution to pupils' Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural development.
Spiritual Development
Children reflect on creativity, innovation and human achievement. They experience curiosity, wonder and pride in transforming ideas into finished products.
Moral Development
Pupils consider ethical choices when selecting materials, reducing waste and designing products that meet the needs of others. They learn responsibility when considering sustainability and environmental impact.
Social Development
Design projects require collaboration, discussion and teamwork. Children learn to listen to different viewpoints, share ideas constructively and solve problems together.
Cultural Development
Pupils explore how design is influenced by different cultures, traditions and historical periods. Through projects such as Maya textiles, Viking food, Ancient Egyptian engineering and international space exploration, children develop an understanding of the diversity and richness of human creativity.
By the time pupils leave Shamblehurst Primary School, they are confident, reflective and capable designers who can:
Research and identify user needs.
Design purposeful products using detailed design criteria.
Select appropriate materials and tools.
Apply technical knowledge to solve problems.
Create, test and refine products independently.
Evaluate products critically using technical vocabulary.
Understand the role of design and technology in shaping the world around them.
Most importantly, our children leave primary school with the creativity, resilience, practical skills and problem-solving mindset needed to thrive in the next stage of their education and in an ever-changing technological world.