Design and Technology
Designing, making and creating for the real world
| Creative thinkers and practical problem-solvers At Bromet, children design purposeful products for real people and real situations. From moving pictures and playground models to electrical alert systems, desk organisers and healthy meals, pupils learn that successful products must meet the needs of their intended user. |
What is Design and Technology?
Design and Technology, often called DT, combines creativity with practical and technical learning. Children investigate products, develop ideas, learn new techniques, make a finished outcome and evaluate how well it works. They learn that first ideas do not always succeed and that testing, reflection and improvement are important parts of being a designer.
Our pupils are encouraged to be ambitious, adventurous and brave. They take sensible creative risks, learn from mistakes and develop the resilience to improve their work.
The design process
| Investigate | Design | Make | Evaluate | Improve |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Explore users, needs and products | Develop and explain ideas | Use tools, materials and techniques | Test against the criteria | Use evidence and feedback |
What children learn
- how to design for a particular user, purpose and context;
- how structures, mechanisms, electrical systems and textiles work;
- how to select and use tools, materials, components and ingredients safely;
- how to prepare food hygienically and make informed, balanced choices;
- how to test, evaluate and improve a product using evidence.
Intent
Our curriculum is designed to give every pupil the knowledge, vocabulary and practical skills needed to become a confident designer and maker. It is carefully sequenced from the Early Years to Year 6 so that important ideas and techniques are revisited through increasingly demanding projects.
- Develop creative thinking and practical problem-solving.
- Build secure knowledge of structures, mechanisms, electrical systems, textiles, food and nutrition.
- Understand that products are designed for a specific user, purpose and context.
- Communicate ideas through talk, annotated drawings, models, templates and prototypes.
- Select and use tools, materials and components safely and with increasing accuracy.
- Test products, respond to feedback and make meaningful improvements.
- Develop resilience, independence, teamwork and pride in high-quality outcomes.
Progression at a glance
| Phase | How learning develops |
|---|---|
| Early Years | Children explore materials, joining, construction, movement and food through purposeful play and adult-guided making. They talk about what they want to make and whether it works. |
| Key Stage 1 | Pupils design simple products for themselves and others. They use basic design criteria, structures, sliders, levers, wheels and axles, simple textiles and safe food-preparation techniques. |
| Lower Key Stage 2 | Pupils research users, annotate ideas and work with greater accuracy. They develop shell structures, mechanisms, circuits, pattern work, stitching and increasingly independent food skills. |
| Upper Key Stage 2 | Pupils respond to more complex specifications, justify choices and apply increasingly sophisticated structural, mechanical, electrical, textile and food knowledge. They test systematically and refine their products. |
| A curriculum with purpose Projects are not isolated craft activities. Each unit has an intended user, a clear purpose and a meaningful context. The practical outcome is supported by explicit teaching of the knowledge pupils need in order to succeed. |
Implementation
DT is taught through carefully planned practical units. Each project begins with a design brief that identifies the intended user, the purpose of the product and the context in which it will be used. Teachers make links to prior learning and explicitly teach the technical vocabulary, knowledge and practical techniques required.
In a typical unit, pupils will:
- investigate relevant existing products and identify successful features;
- create design criteria and generate more than one possible idea;
- communicate and refine ideas using drawings, models, templates or prototypes;
- select suitable materials, components, tools or ingredients;
- make safely, accurately and with increasing independence;
- test the product against the agreed criteria and gather feedback;
- evaluate strengths and weaknesses and identify precise improvements.
Teaching, assessment and evidence
Teachers check what pupils already know before teaching and address gaps or misconceptions. During practical work, assessment focuses on pupils’ understanding, decision-making, safe use of tools, accuracy and independence. The final evaluation considers how well the outcome meets its design criteria; a polished product alone is not sufficient evidence of secure learning.
| Evidence may include | What it demonstrates |
|---|---|
| Pupil discussion and vocabulary | What pupils know, remember and can explain. |
| Annotated designs and prototypes | How pupils develop, communicate and refine ideas. |
| Teacher observation and photographs | Practical competence, safety, accuracy and independence. |
| Finished products and testing | How effectively technical knowledge has been applied. |
| Evaluation and pupil voice | Whether pupils can judge success, use evidence and identify improvements. |
Inclusion and safety
All pupils, including those with SEND, are supported to participate successfully. Adaptations may include visual instructions, pre-prepared materials, adapted tools, additional modelling, adult support or alternative ways to communicate ideas. Appropriate challenge enables every pupil to work with increasing precision and independence.
Risk assessments and safe-working routines underpin practical learning. Before food units, staff check allergies, intolerances, medical needs, religious requirements and individual dietary needs. Adaptations preserve the intended learning while ensuring that no child handles or consumes an unsafe ingredient.
Vocabulary and Technical Language
Vocabulary is taught explicitly and revisited through discussion, designs, demonstrations and evaluations. Children are expected to use technical words accurately, not simply copy them. The examples below show how language becomes increasingly precise and specialised as pupils move through the school.
| Stage | Examples of vocabulary pupils learn and use |
|---|---|
| Early Years | make, join, cut, fold, build, strong, move, turn, healthy, safe |
| Years 1–2 | user, purpose, design, material, component, structure, stable, stiff, slider, lever, pivot, wheel, axle, template, stitch, ingredient, balanced, hygiene, evaluate |
| Years 3–4 | function, design criteria, annotated sketch, prototype, shell structure, reinforce, linkage, circuit, input, output, switch, seam, pattern piece, fastening, seasonality, accuracy, aesthetics |
| Years 5–6 | specification, constraints, functional properties, frame structure, triangulation, mechanical advantage, sensor, programmable, tolerance, innovation, sustainability, manufacture, quality control, iteration, compression, tension, control system, feedback |
Vocabulary in action
| Instead of only saying… | Pupils learn to explain… |
|---|---|
| “It is strong.” | “The triangular supports make the frame more rigid and help it resist the load.” |
| “It moves.” | “The lever turns around the pivot and the linkage transfers the movement.” |
| “I chose card.” | “I selected corrugated card because it is light but stiff enough for the structure.” |
| “It worked well.” | “The product met the stability criterion in three tests, although the base needs reinforcement.” |
Vocabulary is cumulative
Teachers select the words that are essential for each unit and deliberately reconnect them to earlier learning. Pupils encounter familiar concepts in new contexts so that vocabulary becomes secure, meaningful and usable over time.
| Questions families can ask Who is your product for? What problem does it solve? Why did you choose that material or ingredient? How does the mechanism, structure or circuit work? What did testing show? What would you change next time? |
Our Curriculum in Action
Across the school, children complete purposeful projects that provide breadth while building increasingly demanding knowledge and skills.
| Class | Examples of planned projects | Main DT areas |
|---|---|---|
| Robin – Reception | Book-linked construction and making | Exploration, joining, construction and safe tool use |
| Swift – Reception / Year 1 | Textile portraits; moving pictures; mini power balls | Textiles; mechanisms; food |
| Sparrow – Years 1 / 2 | Jungle sliders and levers; pet houses; rainbow wraps | Mechanisms; structures; food |
| Kingfisher – Year 2 | Playgrounds; moving minibeasts; healthy smoothies | Structures; mechanisms; food |
| Kestrel – Year 3 | Money boxes; sock puppets; sandwich snacks | Structures/product design; textiles; food |
| Woodpecker – Years 3 / 4 | Book stands; night-lights; cracker combinations | Structures; electrical systems; food |
| Nightingale – Years 4 / 5 | Moving posters; pencil cases; pitta pockets | Mechanical systems; textiles; food |
| Falcon – Years 5 / 6 | Micro:bit alerts; wrap meal kits; moving message displays | Electrical/programming; food; mechanical systems |
| Eagle – Year 6 | Desk organisers; textile badges; healthy pitta pizzas | Structures; textiles/enterprise; food |
Impact
By the end of Year 6, pupils should be confident and increasingly independent designers and makers. They should be able to explain who a product is for, develop and justify design decisions, apply technical knowledge, use tools and processes safely, test systematically, evaluate honestly and make precise improvements.
- Pupils remember and use important technical knowledge and vocabulary.
- Design decisions become more informed and clearly connected to the user and purpose.
- Practical work becomes safer, more accurate, controlled and independent.
- Pupils use prototypes, tests and feedback more effectively.
- Evaluations become specific, evidence-based and useful for improvement.
- Pupils explain how new learning builds on earlier projects and links with other subjects.
How we know
Teachers and subject leaders review curriculum coverage, designs, outcomes, photographs, evaluations and pupil voice. Monitoring checks whether pupils know more, remember more and apply learning with increasing confidence. Findings strengthen future planning and teaching. Through DT, pupils develop creativity, resilience, collaboration and practical independence for secondary school and beyond.
Downloads
| General Documents |
|---|
| 2026-2027 DT Unit Overview |