Kings Hill School Primary & Nursery

Design & Technology

Intent

At Kings Hill School and Nursery, children will use creativity and imagination to design and make products that solve relevant and real problems within a variety of contexts. The intent of our DT curriculum is to:

• Develop the creative, technical and practical expertise needed to perform everyday tasks confidently and to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world.
• Build and apply a repertoire of knowledge, understanding and skills in order to design and make high-quality prototypes and products for a wide range of users.
• Critique, evaluate and test their ideas and products and the work of others.
• Understand and apply the principles of nutrition and learn how to cook.
• To develop the children’s knowledge of tools and to encourage children to select appropriate tools and techniques for making a product, whilst following safe procedures.
• To develop ICT skills to allow children to program and control products, to nurture their understanding of mechanical and electrical systems.
• To reflect on and evaluate present and past design and technology, its uses and effects.
• To promote pupils spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

Implementation

Throughout our DT curriculum, the children follow a design, make, evaluate model to develop their knowledge and skills.

Designing

• Annotate design ideas.
• Represent design ideas using a range of techniques including modelling and CAD.
• Use relevant research to inform and develop creative design ideas.

Making

• Work safely and independently using a range of tools and equipment to produce high quality products.
• Being confident cutting, bending, shaping and joining different types of materials. 

Evaluating

• Reflecting on their progress and ability.
• Analysing and evaluating the work of others to influence their own work. 

Technical Knowledge

• Understand the main categories and properties of common DT materials.
• To be able to identify the impact DT has on wider social, environmental and moral issues.

Impact

Throughout the school, Design and technology is documented through portfolios, these are kept as they progress throughout the school. The class teacher uses observations and questioning as an indication to assess whether the children are meeting the expected standard for their age.

This information is also recorded and kept as an indication to support future planning and the development of the DT scheme.

We also encourage the children to self and peer reflect by giving constructive criticism within the lessons. When assessing, teachers and children will consider vocabulary and the use of skills and knowledge.

At Kings Hill School we aim that, by the time they leave our school, our children will have a wide understanding which they will be able to use to create original, imaginative, inventive and distinctive designs and projects.

Design and Technology News

• Monday 18 December 2023 Year 6 DT Year 6 have been working on a textile project in DT this term. Our aim was to make a mobile phone case from a pattern that we made using computer-aided design. At the start of the half term, we researched which materials would be best and carried out market research in class. We then used digital callipers to measure different models of mobile phones, so that we would have an accurate set of data to take with us to the computer room. Before we did this, we also sketched out ideas for our phone case patterns. For two weeks, our DT lessons were in the computer room and we were helped by Mr Martin. We used Sketch Up to create our patterns. Once these had been made we went into the manufacture stage with an afternoon of cutting and sewing. The children found sewing really hard but persevered and created well-made and robust cases. Many children said how proud they were as they had not completed any sewing projects on their own before. In class, we evaluated our cases and said what we thoug
• Monday 18 December 2023 Year 5 DT In DT this week, the children were able to create the cushions they had designed. They started by collecting their materials and any decorative pieces they wanted to include, laying these out as they designed. We then looked at the different types of stitching and how these could be used for different purposes. Year 5 enjoyed making their final product and then evaluated their work.
• Friday 15 December 2023 Year 2 DT - Healthy Food Throughout this term, the children have immersed themselves in the creation of their very own healthy fruit plate in DT. They have diligently undertaken various forms of research, sketched out a diverse range of design ideas, gathered essential data and honed their practical skills in slicing, peeling, grating, and cutting different fruits. This week, the children applied their new found knowledge to craft their unique healthy fruit plate designs. The results were truly impressive, showcasing not only their creative abilities but also the practical skills they have developed throughout this project. We would like to thank parents for your support in providing some of the utensils required.
• Tuesday 10 January 2023 Roots to Food Children across the school have had a great start to the term and the New Year enjoying cookery workshops with Roots to Food.
• Monday 16 May 2022 Seasonal Food DT Project In DT, the children have been researching into different seasonal foods and how they are produced. This week, we have focused on identifying which fruits are currently in season and the children have carried out market research to find out which fruit would be the most popular to use for baking muffins. We are looking forward to coming up with a recipe and considering which equipment and ingredients we will need in order to bake and decorate our tasty treats.
• Friday 29 April 2022 Mechanical CAM Toys This week year 5 made the mechanical CAM toys they had learnt about and designed in their DT project. The children were all successful in creating a final product that moves using CAMS, followers and a handle. As well as using a variety of skills in the making of their toys, their designs were really impressive showing imagination and creativity. They also demonstrated maturity in the way they approached the task and their cooperation with each other. Well done year 5!
• Thursday 16 December 2021 Year 3 DT Making Purses Year 3 have been working incredibly hard in their DT work over the last few weeks. They have been designing and making coin holder purses. The children thought carefully about what material they should use, as well as what stitch would be best for their fabric. They showed lots of resilience when sewing and made some brilliant coin purses.