Design and Technology

Design and technology is an inspiring, rigorous and practical subject.

Design and Technology Curriculum Overview

At Smallwood, we encourage children to use their creativity and imagination to solve real-world problems. By combining the sensory-led TastEd approach with the technical units from PlanBee, we offer a DT curriculum that balances imaginative problem-solving with core technical skills. Whether they are tasting fresh produce or programming complex circuits, our pupils are empowered to turn their creative sparks into functional, real-world solutions.

Our Design & Technology Curriculum Areas

During KS1 and KS2, children explore DT through five areas:

• Cooking & Nutrition (TastEd Focus): Exploring fruit and vegetables through sight, smell, touch, and taste, aiming to build a positive relationship with food. 
• Mechanisms: Children learn the mechanics of movement, exploring sliders, levers and pneumatics. 
• Programming & Electronics: Children build on their knowledge of circuits and switches, using this to create a product using alarms. 
• Structures: Children explore ways to make products strong, stiff, and stable.
• Textiles: Through textiles projects, children learn essential joining and decorating, progressing from simple puppets to functional items such as pencil cases. 

The Design, Make, and Evaluate Cycle

Following the National Curriculum aims, every project at our school is rooted in a real-life, relevant context. Pupils are encouraged to move through a professional design cycle:

1. Design: Develop creative ideas for specific "users" and "purposes."
2. Make: Select from a wide range of tools and materials to create high-quality prototypes.
3. Evaluate: Critically test their ideas against original design criteria, considering the impact of their work on the wider world.