Design Technology (DT)
Curriculum Intent
At Northleaze CofE Primary School, we want all children to understand that design and technology shape the world around them and influence everyday life in both positive and negative ways. Our Design and Technology (DT) curriculum aims to inspire curiosity, creativity and a genuine enjoyment of learning through purposeful, hands-on experiences.
Through our curriculum, children learn how to design, make and evaluate products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts, including the school community and the local area. Lessons build on children’s natural curiosity and inquisitive nature, encouraging them to ask questions, explore possibilities and respond thoughtfully to everyday challenges.
We encourage children to be imaginative and inventive, to consider their own and others’ needs, wants and values, and to develop the ability to investigate, evaluate and refine products. The DT curriculum draws deliberately on children’s everyday interests and prior experiences, building progressively on existing knowledge and skills.
Children learn that challenge and difficulty are an expected and valuable part of the design process. They are supported to persevere, adapt ideas and learn from mistakes as solutions develop. Throughout this process, learning in DT is underpinned by our commitment to developing positive learning behaviours and attitudes, ensuring children feel confident to take risks, work collaboratively and reflect honestly on their outcomes. At Northleaze, children know that it is safe to make mistakes and that these play an essential role in deepening understanding and promoting improvement.
Curriculum Implementation
To ensure clear progression and consistent delivery of the essential knowledge, skills and understanding across Key Stages 1 and 2, Northleaze Primary School follows the Lighthouse Schools Partnership (LSP) Design and Technology curriculum. This provides a well-structured framework of learning intentions, skills, knowledge, vocabulary and curriculum links, which we adapt and enhance to reflect the specific needs and context of our school community.
Our location in North Somerset provides rich opportunities to contextualise learning. Children are encouraged to explore design, structures, food and technology within both rural and coastal contexts, developing an appreciation of how design solutions respond to environment, need and purpose. Where possible, learning is enriched through first-hand experiences, practical tasks and real-life design challenges that allow children to apply their skills meaningfully.
DT is taught through carefully sequenced units that ensure coverage of all areas of the National Curriculum, including food, structures, textiles and mechanisms. Each unit places emphasis on the full design process: research, design, make and evaluate, allowing children to revisit and strengthen skills over time.
While staff at Northleaze bring a wide range of expertise, creativity and enthusiasm to DT teaching, the adopted scheme ensures learning remains broad, balanced and progressive. It supports teachers in delivering high-quality lessons while allowing flexibility to respond to pupils’ interests and emerging ideas.
Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)
In Reception, we aim to foster a love of Design and Technology from the very start of children’s school journey, laying secure foundations for future learning and ensuring children are well prepared for Key Stage 1.
Throughout the year, children engage in both adult-led and independent activities that enable them to:
- Return to and build on previous learning, refining ideas and developing ways to represent them
- Create collaboratively, sharing ideas, resources and skills
- Explore, compose and decompose shapes, recognising how smaller parts can form a whole
Learning in DT within EYFS is closely aligned with the Expressive Arts and Design Early Learning Goals and is delivered through purposeful, play-based experiences. Children are given frequent opportunities to:
- Safely use and explore a wide range of materials, tools and techniques
- Experiment with colour, design, texture, form and function
- Talk about and share their creations, explaining the processes they have used
These experiences help children to develop confidence, creativity and early problem-solving skills.
Assessment
Assessment in Design and Technology is ongoing and formative. Teachers make regular judgements during lessons through observation, discussion and evaluation of children’s work. Each DT unit concludes with a summative assessment, informed by the progression statements within the LSP curriculum.
Assessment outcomes are used to support adaptive teaching, ensuring tasks are appropriately matched to pupils’ needs and enabling all children to make progress.
Impact
By the time children leave Northleaze CofE Primary School, they understand that design is all around them and plays a vital role in shaping both daily life and the wider world. They leave as confident, resilient learners who are willing to take risks, ask questions and learn from mistakes.
Children develop secure knowledge of materials, tools and processes, alongside the practical skills needed to design and make functional products. They understand that the design process exists to meet a specific purpose and need, and they are able to reflect thoughtfully on how products can be improved.
Ultimately, the DT curriculum at Northleaze equips children with creativity, problem-solving skills and a respect for thoughtful design—skills that will serve them well both in their education and beyond.
