Design and Technology Champion

Here at Lane End Primary, Design and Technology is an integral part of our school curriculum. Miss Quinn and Miss Bellouere are are the subject champions and believe Design and Technology provides children with the opportunity to develop skills, knowledge and understanding of designing and making functional products. They also feels it is vital to nurture creativity and innovation through design, and by exploring design, create ideas for the world in which we all live and work. Pupils develop many essential skills in D.T. such as: adapting their own work, evaluating and ‘having a go’.

As a school we have been working hard on developing the growth mind-set of our students, this is really important for DT lessons especially because some of the skills and projects require lots of patience, resilience and perseverance. When faced with challenges and setbacks in their work we remind the children to use ‘The Power of Yet’ to keep on trying and not to give up. We also remind the children that designing, making and evaluating products is an ‘iterative process’ which means they are constantly encouraged to make changes and refinements at each step of the way.

When planning out the DT curriculum in Key Stage 1, we ensure children explore a variety of designs and products which inspire them to think about their own creative designs. They are encouraged to design purposeful, functional, appealing products for themselves and others based on the design criteria. Building on these skills, knowledge and understanding, Miss Quinn and Miss Bellouere have planned for children in Key Stage 2 to use their research skills to design using suitable criteria for their design. Key Stage 2 children will also focus on the design of innovative, functional, appealing products that are fit for purpose, aimed at particular individuals or groups.

Students at Lane End are encouraged to take pride in all designs and products they have created. We are hoping to organise a D.T. exhibition where the students can showcase their hard work to parents, staff and our school governors too. This will give the children the opportunity to display their work that they take pride in and have put a substantial amount of time into.   

Below is the broad overview of our Lane End Design and Technology curriculum. We have highlighted the different areas  -  Mechanisms, Textiles, Structures, Food  - and included age appropriate objectives to show the school’s coverage of skills and how they are progressive.