Design Technology
At Brierley, Design and Technology gives children opportunities to imagine, design, make and improve purposeful products. Through practical, hands-on learning, pupils develop creativity, problem-solving, perseverance and increasingly precise practical skills. They learn to consider who a product is for, what it needs to do and how materials, structures, mechanisms, electrical systems and food can be used effectively. We want children to enjoy the challenge of turning an idea into something that works. Children learn to share ideas, persevere when something does not work first time, believe in their own creativity and take pride in making the best product they can.
Strong Foundations from the Beginning
The foundations of Design and Technology begin in Little Bears Nursery and Reception. Children explore materials, construction resources and simple tools through purposeful play and adult-led experiences. They learn to choose resources, join materials, cut, shape, build and talk about what they are making.
In Little Bears, children work with mixed media, make models, practise joining and develop early food preparation skills by making a fruit kebab. In Reception, children make models linked to stories, explore joining techniques, create puppets and develop cutting skills. They also prepare a fruit yoghurt pot, practising cutting, chopping, peeling and mixing. Children are encouraged to explore how things work, make choices about materials and begin solving practical problems. These experiences develop the fine motor control, creativity and independence that provide strong foundations for Design and Technology in Key Stage 1.
How We Teach Design and Technology
Children learn that designing and making is a process. They investigate existing products, consider who they are designing for, develop ideas, choose appropriate tools and materials, make their product and evaluate how successfully it works. Evaluation is not something that happens only at the end. Children are encouraged to test ideas as they work, notice problems and make changes where these will improve their product. Teachers explicitly model tools, techniques and processes before pupils practise with support and increasingly work independently.
Our teaching follows the principle of I do, We do, You do. Children see techniques modelled clearly, practise them safely and then apply their growing knowledge to their own designs. We want pupils to make decisions rather than simply reproduce something an adult has designed for them.
Designing, Making and Evaluating
Children develop increasing independence as designers. Younger pupils communicate ideas through talk, drawings, simple models and templates. As they progress, designs become more detailed and purposeful. Children learn to consider the user, purpose, function, materials and appearance of a product. During making, pupils learn to measure, mark, cut, shape, join and finish using an increasingly wide range of tools and materials. They are encouraged to ask whether a product works, whether it is strong enough, whether it is suitable for the intended user and what could be changed to make it better. By Upper Key Stage 2, children are expected to explain their design choices, test their products and use feedback and evaluation to suggest improvements.
Structures, Mechanisms and Systems
Technical knowledge develops progressively across school. Children begin by exploring simple structures and how they can be made stronger, stiffer and more stable. In Year 1, pupils design and build windmills and explore levers and sliders through their Caterpillar on a Leaf project. Year 2 develops mechanisms through Tudor Fire Engines, where children work with wheels and axles and construct a working vehicle. In Year 3, children investigate pneumatic systems through the design and construction of a pneumatic toy. They learn how air can be used to create movement. Year 4 develops pupils' understanding of shell structures through biscuit boxes, including how structures can be strengthened and reinforced. In Year 5, pupils investigate bridges, electrical systems through Doodlers and mechanisms through a pop-up book using levers and linkages. By Year 6, children draw together their technical knowledge through programming a Microbit activity counter and designing an automata toy using cams. This progression helps children understand not simply how to make something, but why and how it works.
Textiles
Children develop textile skills progressively through practical projects. In Year 2, pupils design and make hand puppets, using templates and developing their ability to cut and join fabric. Year 3 develops greater control through making cushions and using a range of stitches. In Year 4, children make book sleeves and investigate different types of fastening, considering which are most appropriate for the purpose of their product. Across these projects, children become increasingly confident in choosing materials, joining textiles accurately and making decisions based on function as well as appearance.
Cooking and Nutrition
Cooking and nutrition are an important part of Design and Technology at Brierley. From the Early Years, children develop practical food preparation skills and begin making healthy and informed choices. In Year 1, pupils explore fruit and vegetables and design and make smoothies. Year 2 pupils develop their understanding of a balanced diet while making healthy wraps. In Year 3, children prepare a healthy savoury dish and develop their understanding of seasonality and where ingredients come from. Year 4 pupils make a healthy oat snack and develop greater independence in following recipes and using food preparation techniques. By Year 6, children research, design and prepare a three-course meal, applying their knowledge of healthy eating, cooking techniques, seasonality and the journey of food from farm to fork.
We are also fortunate to have access to food technology facilities at a nearby high school. These additional experiences complement our planned cooking and nutrition curriculum and give children opportunities to work in a specialist environment, use appropriate equipment and apply their cooking skills in a different setting. Pupils have enjoyed practical experiences including making pizzas and apple crumble.
Aspens, our in-house school meals provider, has also supported children's learning through practical food workshops. These experiences help pupils make connections between nutrition, ingredients, food preparation and the work of people involved in preparing food professionally.
Throughout cooking and nutrition, children learn to work safely and hygienically and become increasingly independent when selecting ingredients, following recipes and using equipment.
Digital Design and Technology
Technology can also form part of designing and making. Children encounter computer-aided design where appropriate and learn that digital and electrical systems can be incorporated into products. In Year 5, children develop their understanding of electrical systems through their Doodlers project, using components within a functioning circuit. In Year 6, pupils apply their Computing knowledge when programming and controlling a Microbit activity counter. These opportunities provide meaningful connections between Design and Technology and Computing while keeping the purpose and function of the product at the centre of learning.
Revisiting and Remembering
We know that practical and technical knowledge needs to be revisited if children are to remember it and use it confidently. DT lessons regularly include opportunities to recall previous vocabulary, techniques and technical knowledge before children begin a new design challenge. Knowledge develops cumulatively. Early understanding of joining and simple structures prepares children for stronger and more complex structures. Levers and sliders lead towards wheels and axles, linkages, pneumatics and cams. Early cutting and joining of fabrics develops into stitching and increasingly purposeful textile construction.
Cooking skills also build over time, from simple cutting, peeling and mixing towards following recipes and preparing increasingly complex dishes.
Our teaching follows the principle of I do, We do, You do. Teachers model a tool, technique or process, children practise with support and then increasingly apply it independently. Retrieval, questioning, practical demonstrations and evaluation help teachers identify what pupils remember and what needs further practice.
A Sequenced Curriculum
Our Design and Technology curriculum builds progressively from the Early Years through to Year 6. In the Early Years, children explore materials, joining, construction and early food preparation. In Year 1, pupils design and build windmills, make smoothies and explore levers and sliders through a Caterpillar on a Leaf. In Year 2, children develop cooking and nutrition through healthy wraps, mechanisms through Tudor Fire Engines and textiles through hand puppets. Year 3 introduces pneumatic mechanisms, develops textile skills through cushions and extends cooking through a savoury healthy dish. Year 4 develops shell structures through biscuit boxes, textiles through a book sleeve and cooking and nutrition through a healthy oat snack. Year 5 brings greater technical challenge through bridges, electrical systems and Doodlers, and mechanisms through pop-up books using levers and linkages. Year 6 brings previous learning together through a three-course meal, programming a Microbit activity counter and designing an automata toy using cams. As children move through school, they use an increasingly wide range of tools, materials and techniques with greater precision, independence and understanding.
Supporting Every Child
Design and Technology is for every child. The practical nature of DT gives pupils different ways to demonstrate creativity, knowledge and problem-solving. Teachers anticipate barriers and make adaptations where needed. These may include visual or step-by-step instructions, vocabulary support, additional modelling, adapted tools, supported practice or adjustments to the size and complexity of materials.
For children learning English as an additional language, demonstrations, models, diagrams, practical experiences and explicit teaching of technical vocabulary can be particularly valuable.
Adults provide support while still allowing children to do as much of the designing and making for themselves as possible. Our aim is to remove barriers while developing independence and maintaining ambitious expectations for every pupil.
Assessment and Feedback
Assessment takes place throughout the design and make process. Teachers consider how well children can use previous knowledge, explain their ideas, choose suitable tools and materials, work safely and accurately, solve problems and evaluate their product. The finished product is only one part of the evidence. The decisions a child makes, the techniques they use, the problems they solve and the improvements they suggest are equally important. Feedback is often immediate so that children can act upon it while they are designing and making.
Design and Technology Beyond the Classroom
We want children to understand that Design and Technology has real applications beyond school. Our links with a nearby high school give pupils opportunities to use specialist food technology facilities and experience working in an environment designed specifically for practical food education. Children have enjoyed preparing foods including pizzas and apple crumble, developing practical skills while applying their learning in a new environment.
Our partnership with Aspens, our in-house school meals provider, also gives children opportunities to take part in food workshops and learn from people who work with food professionally. These experiences help bring learning about ingredients, nutrition, food preparation and cooking to life. They also help pupils see how the skills developed through Design and Technology can connect with real workplaces, careers and everyday life.
Connections Across the Curriculum
Design and Technology makes meaningful connections with other areas of learning. Mathematics supports measuring, accuracy and shape. Science contributes knowledge of materials, forces, electricity and nutrition. Computing is used when programming or digital systems form part of a product.
There are also opportunities to make purposeful connections with History, English and Art where these strengthen the design brief. For example, Year 2's Tudor Fire Engine connects naturally with historical learning, while Year 6's Microbit work draws directly on Computing. These links enrich learning without losing the distinctive purpose of Design and Technology.
How You Can Help Your Child at Home
Design and Technology can be explored easily through everyday activities.
You can help your child by:
encouraging them to build and create using recycled materials
asking what they are making, who it is for and what it needs to do
allowing them to practise safe cutting, measuring and joining
looking together at how everyday products work
cooking together and talking about ingredients and healthy choices
encouraging children to follow simple recipes
asking what they would change if they made something again
providing opportunities to repair, adapt or improve simple objects
celebrating perseverance when a first idea does not work
The process matters as much as the finished product. Asking "How could you make that stronger?" or "What might you change?" can help children think like designers.
Useful Design and Technology Resources
BBC Bitesize provides child-friendly resources covering designing, materials, mechanisms, structures, food and technology.
BBC Bitesize Design and Technology https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zyr9wmn
Families can also develop DT skills simply through building, cooking, making, repairing and investigating how everyday objects work together.
Knowing Our Curriculum Is Working
Our Design and Technology Subject Leader works closely with staff to make sure that knowledge and practical skills develop progressively. Children's designs, products, discussions, evaluations and practical work help us understand what pupils know and can do. We consider whether children can explain the purpose of a product, make informed choices about tools and materials, use technical knowledge, work with increasing accuracy and evaluate how successfully their design works. We also look at whether pupils can draw on previous learning when faced with a new design challenge. We want to know not simply that children have made a product, but that they understand the thinking, knowledge and practical processes behind it.
Creative and Resourceful Designers
By the time children leave Brierley, we want them to see themselves as capable designers and makers. We want pupils to approach practical challenges with curiosity, creativity and perseverance, use tools and materials safely and confidently and understand that successful products are designed for a purpose and a user.
We want children to be willing to test their ideas, learn from things that do not work and make improvements rather than giving up. We aim to develop creative, resourceful and increasingly independent young designers who can turn ideas into purposeful products and are ready to build on these skills at the next stage of their education.
