Design and Technology

The development of children’s artistic and cultural awareness supports their imagination and creativity. It is important that children have regular opportunities to engage with the arts, enabling them to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials. The quality and variety of what children see, hear and participate in is crucial for developing their understanding, self-expression, vocabulary and ability to communicate through the arts. The frequency, repetition and depth of their experiences are fundamental to their progress in interpreting and appreciating what they hear, respond to and observe.

In Nursery our children become designers by:

Starting to make marks intentionally. 

Exploring paint, using fingers and other parts of their bodies as well as brushes and other tools. 

Expressing ideas and feelings through making marks, and sometimes giving a meaning to the marks they make.

Exploring different materials, using all their senses to investigate them. 

Manipulating and playing with different materials. 

Using their imagination as they consider what they can do with different materials. 

Making simple models which express their ideas

Exploring different materials freely to develop their ideas about how to use them and what to make. 

Developing their own ideas and then deciding which materials to use to express them. 

Joining different materials and explore different textures

In Reception our children:

Explore, use and refine a variety of artistic effects to express their ideas and feelings.

Return to and build on their previous learning, refining ideas and developing their ability to represent them. 

Create collaboratively, sharing ideas, resources and skills.

In KS1

Through a variety of creative and practical activities, pupils should be taught the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in an interactive process of designing and making. They should work in a range of relevant contexts, such as the home and school, gardens and playgrounds, the local community, industry and the wonder environment. 

Design

• Design purposeful, functionally appealing products for themselves and other users based on design criteria. 
• Generate, model and communicate their ideas through talking, drawing, templates, mock-ups and where appropriate, information communication technology. 

Make 

• Select from and use a range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks such as cutting, shaping, joining and finishing.
• Select, form and use a wide range of materials and components, including construction materials, textiles and ingredients, according to their characteristics.

Evaluate

• Explore and evaluate a range of existing products. 
• Evaluate their ideas and products against a range of design criteria. 

Technical Knowledge

• Build structures, exploring how they can be made stronger, stiffer and more stable.
• Explore and use mechanisms, such as levers, sliders, wheels and axles, in their products.

Cooking and Nutrition

• Use the basic principles of a healthy and varied diet to prepare dishes.
• Understand where food comes from.