Design Technology

"Design is a solution to a problem.

Art is a question to a problem."

-John Maeda 
(Former President of the Rhode Island school of Design)

At St Austin's we have identified that D & T does not follow a linear process. The curriculum needs to enable a constantly evolving learning process where children are able to generate ideas, create prototypes using problem solving skills, investigate existing products and evaluate throughout.

The Key Areas of Learning:

Each unit has its own focus:

• Food - Where food comes from, balanced diet, preparation and cooking skills. Kitchen hygiene and safety. Following recipes.
• Textiles - Fastening, sewing, decorative and functional fabric techniques including cross stitch, blanket stitch and appliqué.
• Structures - Material functional and aesthetic properties, strength and stability, stiffen and reinforce structures.
• Mechanisms/ Mechanical Systems - Mimic natural movements using mechanisms such as cams, followers, levers and sliders.
• Electrical Systems (KS2) - Operational series circuits, circuit components, circuit diagrams and symbols, combined to create various electrical products.
• Enterprise/ Cultural Capital Opportunity - Invention challenge with scrap materials, extra-curricular trips/ visitors in school and enterprise teamwork opportunities for children to learn about D&T industries and careers.

We take inspiration from the D&T Association, using their 'projects on a page' to form the basis of our planning. Each project involves practical application of the skills with meaningful and interesting contexts.

D&T Creativity & Individuality:

We promote creativity and individuality through our curriculum. We follow an iterative process, which is the relationship between a pupil’s ideas and how they are communicated and clarified through activity. Creating an iterative process ensures that children are forming their own ideas and questions based on the knowledge they have gained and the skills they have developed. 

Each individual or group is enabled to have a different outcome from others in the class. Children receive a design brief or task that is not too confining, but is an opportunity to extend their ideas. They can then design freely using the new skills they have acquired. They make individual products or items that can be reflected upon and evaluated. 

Look at what children say about DT at St Austin's...

Year 3: "I've enjoyed making a box.  We are going to use a straw and balloon to open the lid.  If we blow through the straw into the balloon, the balloon will inflate and open the box."

"It was hard making my castle because we had to make towers and a drawbridge that actually worked.  I twisted paper to make a mechanism for my drawbridge."

"My drawbridge worked and my castle was stable."

Year 4: "I like using different techniques to build structures.  I made a pavillion out of paper, straw and wire."

"We worked in teams to make cookies.  We could make choc chip, vanilla or fruit. We made a little container for our cookies and we could decorate it how we liked."

Year 5: "I have enjoyed making pillows. We designed a pattern, cut out the shapes and did some sewing."

"I enjoyed making spaghetti sculptures."  

"We baked muffins and we had to decide what flavour our muffins would be.  We could choose savoury flavours or sweet flavours."

Year 6: "I made a playground activity which included a ladder, a tunnel and a slide.  We used

coloured card, glue, straws and wooden sticks."

"We were able to remember how to make a circuit when we made buzzer games."

"We made Christmas automata toys. We really had to think about what materials would work best for the job."

"I enjoyed working in a group to make cheesecake for our menu.  I was pleased with the reaction from parents when they came to taste our food.  My mum really enjoyed the cheesecake."