Design Technology  

The aims of the Design and Technology Curriculum at Clifford Bridge Academy are:

• To inspire children’s creativity and imagination when designing and making functional products
• To build children’s technical knowledge through the disciplines of structures, mechanisms, textiles and electrical systems
• To develop children’s design and technology skills, including researching, designing, making and evaluating
• To develop children’s basic cooking techniques and application of healthy eating, promoting a love of cooking
• To build children’s confidence and resilience when problem solving and taking risks.

Delivering the Design and Technology Curriculum at Clifford Bridge Academy:

In Early Years, the foundations of Design and Technology are taught holistically, with knowledge and skills woven into engaging topics that have been developed systematically to ensure progression. Children develop foundational knowledge of structures, textiles and cooking and nutrition, and learn to design and make in a variety of meaningful contexts, including making a house, cooking porridge and creating a party hat.

In Key Stage 1, Design and Technology is taught through termly D&T projects, each focused on one of the core disciplines of D&T – structures, mechanisms, textiles and cooking & nutrition. Children’s knowledge of the differing disciplines is built through projects including a moving picture, a puppet and a fruit chaat. They develop their skills across the disciplines, including researching existing products, designing to match given design criteria and testing finished products.

In Key Stage 2, Design and Technology continues to be taught through termly D&T projects focused on the core disciplines of D&T – structures, mechanisms, textiles and cooking & nutrition. In addition, electrical systems are introduced in Upper Key Stage 2. Children further their knowledge of the differing disciplines through projects including a bridge, a moving figure and a Jamaican vegetable patty. Children continue to develop their skills across the disciplines, including generating design criteria, evaluating finished products and using computer-aided design.

Across the key stages, D&T projects are taught using a bespoke teaching sequence:

Research > Design > Make > Evaluate

D&T projects cover four key disciplines, and progression in skills in these is supported through a D&T Strand Tracker which identifies age-related expectations for each discipline:

• Structures
• Mechanisms
• Textiles
• Cooking & Nutrition