We believe Design and Technology lessons should encourage creativity and the use of experimentation and imagination to develop the designers of tomorrow. It is taught as separate lessons every half-term, rotating between the different disciplines - Product Design, Textiles and Food and Nutrition. Children design and make products that begin to solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts. They are supported in considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values. Our pupils learn to select from and use a wide range of materials and components, including construction materials, electronics, textiles and ingredients, according to their characteristics.

Lessons are supported using the ‘Plan Bee’ and ‘Twinkl’ schemes of work, which are adapted and personalised to meet the needs of our children whilst covering the requirements of the National Curriculum. Our scheme of work covers a wide range of topics, such as storybook mechanisms and moving electronic cars to seasonal food, fabric money containers and pneumatic moving monsters. Pupils are given the opportunity to use embellishments, ingredients and materials to create products which not only meet the needs of the customer but also show the designer’s personality and inspiration. We are very lucky being in Essex, as our children have the opportunity to work with the local designers and engineers at The Ford Motor group at Dunton who work with us to teach and support STEM lessons for our children in Year 5.

Food and Nutrition lessons teach the principles of nutrition, and our children learn how to prepare and make a variety of recipes which increase in skill as the children advance through the school. They are taught to understand where our food comes from and how it is grown. For example, Year 4 pupils explore seasonal food and the effects of having some produce available all year round.

Our main aim is for our children to understand the importance of designing and making high-quality design products which make an essential contribution to the creativity, culture, wealth and well-being of our country.

Below you can see the areas of study your children will be covering in DT: