Design & Technology

Design & Technology Intent

Design and Technology (D&T) is a vital part of our curriculum as it helps prepare children to deal with our rapidly changing world. D&T provides children with a real-life context for learning whilst learning about past and present technology. At Horley Infant School children will be provided with opportunities to create purposeful products by exploring, designing and making things through our termly topics Vocabulary is an important part of our D&T curriculum and the children will develop the use of technical vocabulary throughout their journey with us. They will have the chance to learn about different engineers, designers, chefs and architects to inspire them to create a range of structures, mechanisms, textiles and food products. The children will learn to choose correct equipment that is suitable for their product and think about the methods they will use to create it effectively.

What does D&T look like at our school? (Implementation)

The teaching of D&T at Horley Infant School follows the Development Matters document for Early Years and the National Curriculum for Key Stage 1.

In Reception, children’s’ early experiences will include asking questions about how things work, investigating and using a variety of construction kits, materials, tools and products, developing making skills and handling appropriate tools and construction material safely and with increasing control. This learning forms the foundations for later work in D&T. Across Key Stage 1 we ensure the pupils have a deep understanding of Structures, Mechanisms, Textiles and Food and Nutrition. Each class will complete at least three projects a year, one of these being a food project. Each project is planned with the D&T essentials of designing, making, evaluating and technical knowledge at the core. Where possible, each project will have strong links with the class’ topic work and is designed to further develop and enhance their knowledge, skills and understanding in other curriculum subjects e.g. Science, Maths, Geography and Art.