Design and Technology
Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works
Steve Jobs
Vision
Using creativity and imagination, pupils design and make products that solve real and relevant problems. They acquire a broad range of skills, experiences and subject knowledge.
Click the image below for a one page overview of D&T in our school.
What do the children learn and when?
Please click the image to see our progression map.
How do we teach design and technology?
At Penwortham Primary we teach D&T by making links with other subjects and by giving children briefs with real-world problems. Lessons develop children's skills and knowledge in design, structures, mechanisms, electrical control and a range of materials, including food. It encourages children's creativity and encourages them to think about important issues.
Our teaching follows a five phase sequence always starting with what we have coined as DICE - Deconstruct, Investigate, Compare & Evaluate. Evaluation is something we encourage throughout the process. A D&T project can take anything from 1 to 10 lessons to complete. The 5 phases are shown below:
Phase 1 (DICE & Brief), children are given the brief and shown examples of similar products. They are then encouraged to pull this product apart; deconstruct, investigate what it is made of and compare it with other similar products all the while ensuring they evaluate as they go.
Phase 2 - technical skills involves children being exposed to or planning which of these skills they may need to meet the brief. Will they need to join two materials? How will they do this? Should they use glue or nails for example? Is that particular glue strong enough? Does it need to be waterproof? They will have opportunities to experiment with and practice using these technical skills before deciding on which one (or two) is best to meet the brief. Skills are taught in progression and built upon every year. Children are encouraged to think back on skills previously learnt and adapt them for their next project. Where else could they use these skills in ‘real life’?
Phase 3 - design! Sketch books are used to tinker with ideas, draw up prototypes, stick in colour swatches, add detail and design the final product. And finally…
Phase 4 - make. The final product is now in production!
Phase 5 - evaluate - Does the product meet the brief? Would you do anything differently? What worked? What didn't work?
To further deepen and expand the learning, children have access to a range of texts that complement DT topics and support the art curriculum; examples include: picture books, stories and non-fiction to support learning within our DT curriculum.
Our learning
Structures
Year 1 made a functional structure using clay. They practised kills such as joining, shaping and cutting. They also made biscuits in our food technology room; measuring, mixing, baking and eating!
Textiles
Year 2 made Ferris wheels linked to their English text The Midnight Fair. The children investigated lots of different objects associated with wheels such as cars, planes and trolleys. The children constructed a wheel and came up with suggestions about how they work. Year 2 also learnt about cutting, grating, slicing and peeling. They practiced these skills using knives, graters, and peelers. After practicing these skills they identified which vegetables were best to cut, grate slice and peel through trialling different methods.
Mechanical systems
Electrical systems
Computing systems
Year 5 developed their knife skills by cutting, dicing, slicing and chopping vegetables. They also did a blind tasting of three different pasta sauces to identify which of the vegetables they had chopped were present in the sauce.
Cooking and nutrition
What children say about Design and Technology at Penwortham
Pupil Leaders
