Design and Technology
Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.” Steve Jobs.
Design and Technology plays an enormous role in our lives today and it is an exciting and creative subject where our children learn to become problem-solvers, communicators, risk-takers and innovators. At Holy Family, we provide our children with a varied curriculum that includes units focused on Food and Nutrition, Understanding Materials, Textiles, Mechanisms, Structures and Systems, and our children are given the opportunity to learn from significant artists, designers, architects, engineers and chefs both from history and today.
Throughout their time with us, children will not only learn Design and Technology skills from the curriculum but they will also develop their oracy skills, allowing them to explain, justify and debate their thinking whilst becoming confident in using a rich vocabulary. We aim to bring Design and Technology to life for our children and inspire them to take their learning into their future.
At Holy family, we use CUSP to enhance our Design and Technology curriculum. Our curriculum is carefully designed and sequenced so that children’s skills progress over time and are built upon year on year. This ensures that our pupils leave Holy Family equipped to successfully think, work and communicate like a designer.
Design and Technology Long Term Plan
Design and Technology in the EYFS
At Holy Family, we believe that during the Early years, the essential building blocks of children's design and technology capability are established. There are many opportunities for carrying out D&T-related activities in all areas of learning in the EYFS, especially through the specific areas of Understanding the World and Expressive Arts and Design. Children are provided with a vast range of materials, resources and objects that they can play with, explore and create with. Through first-hand experiences and providing an enabling and engaging environment, children will develop the following skills:
- Constructing: Learning to construct with a purpose in mind.
- Structure and joins: Experimenting with junk modelling.
- Using a range of tools: Through this, our children will learn about planning and adapting initial ideas to
make them better. - Cooking techniques: They will practise stirring, mixing, pouring and blending ingredients during cookery
activities. - Exploration: Children will dismantle things and learn about how everyday objects work, or explore how
things work. - Discussion: Children will be given opportunities to discuss reasons that make activities safe or unsafe.
Please click here to see a full overview of the Design and Technology National Curriculum.
Enrichment Opportunities
As well as providing our children with an exciting curriculum, we also aim to give our children opportunities to explore STEM activities in after school clubs, educational visits and also by working with local companies and career providers. Keep a look out for these happening throughout the year!