Design and Technology (DT)

Intent

At Western House Academy, the Design and Technology (DT) curriculum aims to cultivate innovative and creative thinkers who are confident in their abilities. Pupils follow the complete product design cycle—from initial ideas to designing, creating, and finally evaluating—culminating in a finished product. This cyclical approach builds the pupils' confidence to take necessary risks in testing their ideas and promotes a reflective mindset through evaluating their work and that of their peers. Beyond practical skills, the curriculum ensures the acquisition of technical vocabulary and provides opportunities to hone oracy skills. A key aim is to build an awareness of how design and technology impact their everyday lives and to equip them with the skills necessary for designing in the future. In keeping with the academy's ethos, topics are selected to align with school values, and the GRADES framework is fully embedded to champion inclusivity.

Implementation

Our tool for planning and teaching DT at WHA is Kapow. All topics have an end project or product that is made after following the four key strands: Design, Make, Evaluate and Technical Knowledge.

In Early Years

Pupils are taught:

ELG: Creating with Materials
To safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function.
To share their creations, explaining the process they have used.

The Early Years curriculum emphasises child-led exploration, enhanced by adult modelling and scaffolding to foster a deeper understanding. The core focus is on giving children practical opportunities to introduce them to the process of planning, designing, making, and developing their own ideas. Through the hands-on exploration of various materials, processes, and potential outcomes, they acquire foundational skills and knowledge. We assess learning by observing and discussing the children's work, focusing on the progressive stages of their designs, the quality of their work, and their ability to evaluate their final product.

In KS1

Pupils are taught:

To design purposeful, functional, appealing products for themselves and other users based on design criteria

To generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through talking, drawing, templates, mock-ups and, where appropriate, information and communication technology
To select from and use a range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks
To select from and use a wide range of materials and components, including construction materials, textiles and ingredients.
To explore and evaluate a range of existing products.
To evaluate their ideas and products against design criteria.
To build structures, exploring how they can be made stronger, stiffer and more stable, explore and use mechanisms in their products.
In Cooking and Nutrition to use the basic principles of a healthy and varied diet
To prepare dishes.
To understand where food comes from.

The curriculum seamlessly progresses from EYFS by introducing more structured teaching in the subsequent key stage. Lessons employ a variety of teaching strategies, including independent, paired, and group work, focused on applying newly taught skills to design, make, and evaluate a final product using practical resources. We ensure that every project offers a real-life contextual link and purpose when children create their end product. Children continually build upon their prior knowledge and acquire new skills, ensuring they focus on core technical areas each year. Assessment is dynamic, captured not just through the stages of design, make, and evaluate, but also through the effective use of technical knowledge and vocabulary, supported by discussion, questioning, and unit quizzes to consolidate understanding.

In KS2

Pupils are taught:

To use research and develop design criteria to inform the design of innovative, functional, appealing products that are fit for purpose, aimed at particular individuals or groups.
To generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through discussion, annotated sketches, cross-sectional and exploded diagrams, prototypes, pattern pieces and computer-aided design.
To select from and use a wider range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks.
To accurately select from and use a wider range of materials and components, including construction materials, textiles and ingredients, according to their functional properties and aesthetic qualities.
To investigate and analyse a range of existing products.
To evaluate their ideas and products against their own design criteria and consider the views of others to improve their work.
To understand how key events and individuals in design and technology have helped shape the world.
To apply their understanding of how to strengthen, stiffen and reinforce more complex structures.
To understand and use mechanical systems in their products.
To understand and use electrical systems in their products.
To apply their understanding of computing to program, monitor and control their products.
In Cooking and Nutrition: To understand and apply the principles of a healthy and varied diet.
To prepare and cook a variety of predominantly savoury dishes using a range of cooking techniques.
To understand seasonality, and know where and how a variety of ingredients are grown, reared, caught and processed.

Building directly on their foundational knowledge from EYFS and KS1, the KS2 curriculum introduces increasingly complex, structured projects that demand greater independence. Lessons integrate a variety of dynamic teaching strategies, encouraging pupils to work collaboratively in pairs or groups and independently to rigorously apply their technical skills across the entire design, make, and evaluate cycle. Every project is intentionally rooted in a real-life context, ensuring the end products serve a clear purpose for a specific user.

We promote continuous skill development, where children consistently build upon prior knowledge while mastering new technical areas like electrical systems and advanced mechanisms. Assessment remains dynamic and holistic: we capture progress through observing the stages of design, make, and evaluation, coupled with assessing the sophisticated application of technical vocabulary and knowledge, reinforced by focused discussion, questioning, and unit quizzes to confirm deep understanding.

Impact

The DT curriculum at WHA is built to foster resourceful, creative, and innovative individuals from the very start.

In EYFS, children actively engage with and meet the requirements of the Expressive Arts and Design area of learning. They build fundamental skills by exploring the functional and aesthetic properties of materials and gain hands-on experience in safely using and combining tools for shaping, decorating, and creating products. This foundational stage also introduces the basics of healthy eating, covering food groups, recipes, processes, and cooking equipment.

Across all key stages, the DT curriculum works consistently to develop pupils' confidence to take creative risks, build a robust technical vocabulary, and refine their oracy skills. The ultimate goal is to equip every child with the diverse knowledge and practical skills necessary to leave WHA ready to apply a highly resourceful, creative, and innovative approach to their future challenges and opportunities.

Looking to the future, we aim for our children to graduate from Western House Academy as resourceful, innovative designers and makers who possess the technical knowledge, evaluative mindset, and practical skills to navigate and shape the designed world around them confidently.