Design Technology

Welcome to our Design Technology page.

If you look around you you will see hundreds of objects that are all manufactured. Everyone of these objects from the screen in front of you to the chair you are sitting on; from the tiniest paperclip to the complex aircraft in the sky have all been designed by engineers. Design Technology lessons are where the engineers of the future are created. From an initial design, through refinement, construction, testing and evaluating, the design technology process we use in our lessons mirrors the manufacturing process in real life. Children do not make things to take home to keep, they make them to test, to analyse and to evaluate their success.

At Lockwood Primary School, our Design Technology curriculum aims to develop creativity, problem solving and innovation through the design, manufacture and evaluation of functional and useful products for the modern world. It combines skills from maths, science, computing and art to develop pupils who are resourceful, innovative and considerate of their surroundings.

Boosbeck has a proud history of mining and engineering. Our pupils are following in the footsteps of these pioneering designers, fabricators and craftsmen through thier modern day Design Technology curriculum.

How we teach Design Technology

The Design Technology curriculum is organised into five areas:

Mechanisms - the mechanical systems that make things move in the way we want them to including levers, wheels and axles, cams and pneumatics
Structures - the range of 3D constructions from boxes to buildings and packaging to frame tents.
Textiles - designing and building with fabric, for example clothes, soft cases, footwear, hats
Electrical systems - creating designs that include electrical circuits, and computer controlled devices.
Food - designing and making edible products.

From chairs to scones and pencil cases to healthy snack bars, the children work on three; design, make and evaluate projects in each year group. Each project starts with an evaluation and critique of current products, technology and processes. The pupils learn the practical skills they will need such as cutting dowels, chopping fruit or reinforcing frames before undertaking the design, construction and evaluation of their project. Usually, their project will be guided by a set of design criteria that they aim to meet. Also during their lessons, they will learn about inspirational and revolutionary figures in the world of design technology such as Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Henry Ford or Nadiya Hussain.

Early Year Design Technology

Design Technology has an important role to play in the Early Years curriculum and is evident in the different areas of both the Reception and Nursery classrooms. The home area, the building area and outdoor area all provide opportunities for children to begin to develop the skills, knowledge and vocabulary they will use in Design Technology lessons throughout their primary career. A dedicated DT area with tools and materials available for the children to use is also vital to ensuring a successful start to their lives as future engineers, designers and manufacturers. In the Statutory Framework for EYFS, the prime area of Physical development refers to the development of fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination through using small tools. DT can also support the specific area of Mathematics, particularly the development of children’s spatial reasoning. Through the Understanding the World area, children will develop understanding of technology and in the area of Expressive Arts and Design, children will begin to engage in materials and media they will use throughout their school life. They will begin to communicate through the arts and start to show self-expression, making choices about what they like and don’t like – leading to an understanding of themselves as a ‘user’.