Design and Technology

Intent

At Kielder Primary School and Nursery, our Design & Technology (D&T) curriculum is designed to inspire creativity, develop practical and technical skills, and enable pupils to become confident designers, makers and problem-solvers. We aim to provide a stimulating, hands-on curriculum that allows pupils to design and make purposeful products, apply technical knowledge and evaluate their work with increasing independence and sophistication.

Our D&T curriculum is carefully structured to ensure that pupils build both substantive knowledge (understanding of materials, structures, mechanisms, food and nutrition, and systems) and disciplinary knowledge (the processes of designing, making, testing and evaluating). Pupils learn how products are designed for a user and a purpose, and how ideas are developed through modelling, prototyping and refinement.

A key strength of our D&T curriculum is its clear progression in practical skills, technical knowledge and vocabulary, from KS1 through to upper KS2. Pupils are taught to use increasingly precise technical language and to apply tools, techniques and materials with greater control, accuracy and independence over time.

Our D&T curriculum is ambitious for all learners and is designed to meet the needs of our mixed-age classes. It aligns closely with our Thrive and Excel @ Kielder Framework by developing pupils’ creativity, resilience, communication, problem-solving, reflection and innovation. Pupils are encouraged to persevere with challenge, take pride in high-quality outcomes and reflect critically on how their designs can be improved.

Implementation

Our D&T curriculum is delivered through carefully sequenced, practical units that provide pupils with rich opportunities to design, make and evaluate across a wide range of contexts, including structures, mechanisms, electrical systems, textiles and food technology.

Each unit clearly sets out:

• Core knowledge that all pupils are expected to learn and remember.

• Key vocabulary, including Tier 2 disciplinary vocabulary (e.g. design, plan, evaluate, prototype, function, user, structure, mechanism, system, process) and Tier 3 topic-specific vocabulary linked to each project.

• Progressive ‘I can’ statements that show increasing technical skill, independence and evaluative thinking across year groups.

• Planned opportunities to design, make, test and refine products, ensuring consistent development of practical and problem-solving skills.

This structure is clearly evidenced in both the KS1 and KS2 Design & Technology curriculum documents, which set out coherent progression in knowledge, skills and vocabulary across curriculum cycles.

Curriculum Structure, Sequencing and Mixed-Age Design

Units are mapped carefully across KS1 and KS2 to ensure full coverage of the National Curriculum without unnecessary repetition. Knowledge and skills are deliberately revisited and built upon so that pupils make meaningful connections between materials, structures, mechanisms and systems over time.

In our mixed-age classes, progression is secured through:

• Clear year-group-specific expectations within the same unit.

• Progressive ‘I can’ statements that show increasing complexity, control and independence.

• Long-term curriculum mapping that ensures pupils encounter and revisit key technical concepts (such as strengthening structures, mechanical systems and electrical control) in a logical sequence.

This ensures that learning is matched to pupils’ stage of development, rather than simply their chronological age, and that individual pupils build securely on prior learning across curriculum cycles.

Skills Progression and Technical Mastery

Across the school, pupils develop progressively in:

• Designing and planning purposeful products for a specific user and purpose.

• Using tools, equipment and materials safely and accurately.

• Constructing and joining materials to create strong, stable and functional structures.

• Applying mechanical systems (e.g. levers, linkages, cams, pneumatics).

• Building and controlling electrical and digital systems (e.g. circuits, alarms, sensors).

• Using textile techniques (e.g. stitching, fastening, decoration).

• Preparing and cooking savoury dishes with increasing accuracy, hygiene and control.

Expectations increase from KS1, where pupils explore basic tools and techniques, to upper KS2, where pupils refine control, apply engineering and technical principles, and evaluate design decisions with increasing precision and independence.

Vocabulary Progression and Technical Language

A distinctive strength of our D&T curriculum is the explicit and structured progression in vocabulary.

Across KS1 and KS2, pupils are taught to use:

• Tier 2 disciplinary vocabulary, which supports understanding of how design and technology works (e.g. function, structure, stability, prototype, mechanism, system, process, evaluate).

• Tier 3 topic-specific vocabulary, which varies by unit (e.g. truss, pneumatic, cam, linkage, yeast, sensor, packaging), enabling pupils to talk precisely about specific materials, systems and techniques.

Progression frameworks clearly set out how pupils move from recognising and naming in KS1, to explaining, analysing, justifying and evaluating using precise technical language in upper KS2. This ensures that pupils do not simply “make things”, but learn to think, talk and reflect like designers, engineers and food technologists.

Teaching and Learning

Teaching and learning in Design & Technology is practical, purposeful and highly engaging. Lessons are structured to build curiosity, explicitly teach technical skills and provide regular opportunities for pupils to practise, test and refine their work.

Teachers model design processes and technical techniques, enabling pupils to plan, build, troubleshoot and improve products. Pupils are encouraged to experiment, solve problems and adapt designs, developing independence, resilience and innovation in line with the TEK Framework.

Structured talk and reflection are integral to lessons. Pupils are taught to explain design choices, describe how products function and evaluate effectiveness using appropriate technical vocabulary. In mixed-age classes, teaching is carefully adapted to ensure appropriate challenge and support, so that all pupils make strong progress from their individual starting points.

Assessment, Proof of Progress (POP) and Inclusion

Assessment in Design & Technology focuses on both knowledge and practical skill development. This includes:

• Ongoing formative assessment through observation, questioning and review of work.

• End-of-unit Proof of Progress (POP) tasks, which provide evidence of what pupils know, can do and can explain.

• Evaluation of final products and design processes to show progression in technical skill, problem-solving and independence.

POP tasks are used to identify strengths, gaps and next steps, allowing teachers to adapt teaching, revisit key techniques and vocabulary, and provide appropriate support or challenge.

SEND pupils are supported through careful scaffolding, adapted tools and materials, and pre-teaching of vocabulary, ensuring access to the same ambitious curriculum and enabling all pupils to succeed.

Impact

The impact of our Design & Technology curriculum is seen in pupils who:

• Demonstrate increasing technical skill and control when using tools, materials and systems.

• Apply design processes confidently to create purposeful, functional products.

• Use technical and topic-specific vocabulary accurately when explaining and evaluating work.

• Show creativity, innovation and problem-solving when responding to design challenges.

• Demonstrate resilience and perseverance when testing, refining and improving products.

• Make meaningful links between design, technology and real-world applications.

Assessment information, POP tasks, pupils’ products, design plans, discussions and lesson observations demonstrate that learning builds securely over time and that pupils are developing both strong substantive knowledge and increasingly secure disciplinary understanding in Design & Technology.

Through our Design & Technology curriculum, pupils leave Kielder Primary School and Nursery as confident, capable and reflective designers and makers. They demonstrate the TEK Framework competencies of creativity, communication, resilience, problem-solving and innovation, and are well prepared for the technical and practical demands of the next stage of education and the wider world.