At Beechcroft St Paul’s, our Design and Technology curriculum encourages children to become creative thinkers and practical problem solvers. Through designing, making and evaluating products, children develop the skills and knowledge needed to understand how ideas can be turned into purposeful creations. Design and Technology provides opportunities for children to work with a range of materials, tools and techniques while learning how design impacts everyday life. Our curriculum supports our drivers by helping children broaden their horizons, understand their place in the world, and become responsible decision makers.

Broadening Our Horizons

Through Design and Technology, children explore how products are designed and used in the real world. They learn about different designers, technologies and innovations that shape the way people live.

Children take part in practical projects where they design, build and test their own ideas. These experiences encourage creativity, curiosity and resilience, helping children to think imaginatively and develop confidence in solving problems.

By working with a variety of materials, structures and mechanisms, children gain a broader understanding of how design and technology influence everyday life and future possibilities.

Understanding Our Place in the World

Design and Technology helps children understand how products and technologies meet the needs of people and communities. Through exploring how designs solve real-life problems, children begin to recognise how innovation can improve lives.

Children also learn about where materials come from and how products are made. This helps them understand the connections between design, resources and the environment, encouraging a thoughtful awareness of the world around them.

Becoming Responsible Decision Makers

Throughout Design and Technology, children are encouraged to think carefully about the choices they make when designing and creating products. They learn to plan ideas, test solutions and evaluate their work to improve it.

Children consider how their designs will be used and who they are for, helping them think about safety, sustainability and the needs of others. These experiences support children in becoming reflective learners who can make thoughtful and responsible decisions when solving problems.

Aims of the Design and Technology Curriculum

The national curriculum for design and technology aims to ensure that all pupils:

• develop the creative, technical and practical expertise needed to perform everyday tasks confidently and to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world
• build and apply a repertoire of knowledge, understanding and skills in order to design and make high-quality prototypes and products for a wide range of users
• critique, evaluate and test their ideas and products and the work of others
• understand and apply the principles of nutrition and learn how to cook.