Intent

At Bromet Primary School, our Design and Technology curriculum aims to develop creative, practical and confident problem-solvers who understand how design and technology shapes the world around them. Through purposeful and engaging design challenges, pupils learn to think critically, work collaboratively and apply practical skills to create functional products for real users and contexts.

Our curriculum is carefully designed to ensure pupils:

• Develop a secure understanding of the design–make–evaluate process, learning how designers generate ideas, prototype, test and refine products.

• Build progressive technical knowledge and practical skills across the key areas of structures, mechanisms, textiles, electrical systems and cooking and nutrition.

• Understand the importance of user, purpose and context, ensuring the products they create are meaningful and functional.

• Gain essential cooking and nutrition knowledge, developing practical food preparation skills that support healthy lifestyles.

• Develop resilience, creativity and critical thinking when solving design challenges.

From the Early Years onwards, pupils explore materials, tools and construction through hands-on experiences that encourage curiosity and creativity. As pupils move through the school, they deepen their understanding of materials, mechanisms and systems while developing increasingly sophisticated design thinking.

Implementation

The Design and Technology curriculum at Bromet Primary School is delivered through termly units across all year groups, ensuring full coverage of the National Curriculum while building knowledge and skills progressively from EYFS to Year 6.

Each unit follows a clear design–make–evaluate cycle, allowing pupils to investigate existing products, develop design ideas, create prototypes and evaluate their effectiveness.

Early Years Foundations

In EYFS, pupils begin to develop early design and technology skills through exploration, play and creative construction. Children:

• explore how things work

• experiment with different materials and tools

• use simple tools such as scissors, glue and construction kits

• build imaginative models and small-world environments

• begin to talk about what they have made and how it works

These early experiences support fine motor development, creativity and problem solving, providing the foundations for later technical learning.

Progressive Knowledge and Skills

Skills and knowledge are carefully sequenced so pupils build on prior learning each year.

As pupils move through the school they develop increasing independence in:

Design

• generating ideas and drawing labelled designs

• researching existing products

• creating annotated sketches and design criteria

• designing for specific users and purposes

Make

• selecting appropriate tools and materials

• cutting, joining and assembling materials with increasing precision

• constructing structures and mechanisms

• combining materials and systems to improve function and appearance

Evaluate

• discussing what works well and what could be improved

• evaluating products against design criteria

• collecting feedback from peers

• refining and improving their designs

Technical Knowledge

Across the school pupils progressively develop knowledge of key design and technology systems, including:

• sliders, levers, wheels and axles

• pneumatic systems

• structures and strengthening techniques

• textiles and pattern pieces

• cams, gears and pulleys

• electrical systems and simple circuits

By upper Key Stage 2, pupils begin to explore computer-aided design and programmable systems, linking design and technology with computing.

Cooking and Nutrition

Cooking and nutrition is an important part of our curriculum and helps pupils develop practical life skills.

Pupils learn to:

• identify fruits, vegetables and food groups

• prepare simple snacks safely

• use techniques such as spreading, cutting and grating

• understand balanced diets and healthy choices

• explore seasonality and food origins

• prepare more complex dishes and present food attractively

These experiences help pupils develop confidence in food preparation while promoting healthy lifestyles.

Real-World Design Contexts

Learning is rooted in meaningful contexts linked to stories, real-life problems and pupils’ interests. Pupils may design products such as:

• puppets linked to storytelling

• healthy food creations

• moving posters

• products for specific users

• shelters or structures for animals

This helps pupils understand how design and technology connects to everyday life.

Impact

The impact of our Design and Technology curriculum is that pupils develop the confidence, creativity and practical skills needed to design and make purposeful products.

By the time pupils leave Bromet Primary School they are able to:

• apply the design–make–evaluate process independently

• select appropriate tools, materials and techniques

• explain their design choices using subject-specific vocabulary

• evaluate products critically and suggest improvements

• demonstrate resilience when testing and refining ideas

• understand how design and technology contributes to everyday life and innovation.

Impact is monitored through:

• teacher assessment of design thinking and practical skills

• review of pupils’ design work, prototypes and finished products

• pupil voice and discussion of learning

• evaluation of progression across year groups.

Through this carefully sequenced curriculum, pupils leave Bromet Primary School as confident designers and makers, well prepared for further study in Design and Technology.

Termly Project Highlights (2025-2026)

EYFS: Make a Holiday Bag Tag, Create Wild Thing Puppets, Fruit & Veggie Faces, Paper Plate Owl Masks, Pirate Telescopes.
KS1: Self-Portrait Textiles, Moving Pictures with Sliders, Pet Houses, Jungle Animal Mechanical Systems, Playground Models, Healthy Wraps & Smoothies.
KS2: Moving Monsters with Pneumatics, Electrical Night Lights, Mechanical Moving Posters, Microbit Doorbell Alerts, Desk Organisers, Textile Badges, Cold Wrap Kits, Layered Salad Jars.