Design & Technology
Design and Technology Statement of Intent
At Prospect Hill Junior School, our Design and Technology curriculum aims to inspire creativity, curiosity, and innovation. We encourage children to explore how things are designed and made, nurturing their ability to think critically and work practically to solve real-world problems.
Through engaging, hands-on experiences, pupils develop a curiosity about how products are constructed and gain an appreciation for the processes involved in turning ideas into creations. We aim to equip children with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to design and make purposeful products that meet specific needs, considering function, aesthetics, and sustainability.
Children are encouraged to become independent thinkers, making informed decisions about materials, tools, and methods. They also develop as critical thinkers, evaluating both existing designs and their own finished products to identify strengths and areas for improvement.
Our D&T curriculum provides opportunities for children to:
Explore and understand how things are made and how design impacts our lives.
Develop practical skills in selecting and using appropriate tools, materials, and techniques safely and effectively.
Build resilience and problem-solving abilities through the process of designing, making, and evaluating.
Relate their learning to real-life contexts, recognising how design and technology shape the world around us.
Gain experience across three key areas: Food Technology, Card/Wood Work, and Textiles.
Teaching and learning in D&T follow a clear structure in every year group, focusing on three main stages:
Research – exploring existing products, materials, and user needs.
Planning and Design – developing creative ideas through sketches, models, and prototypes.
Making and Creating – applying practical skills and knowledge to produce a finished product.
Through this approach, we aim to develop confident, capable designers and makers who take pride in their creativity and understand how the skills they learn in D&T can be applied to everyday life and future careers.
Here is the progression of skills grid to show our expectations for our DT curriculum in each year group:
