Design and Technology

Our Intent (What we do)

At Barwick in Elmet CE Primary School and Nursery, our intent is to provide all pupils with a high-quality, ambitious and inclusive Design and Technology curriculum that enables every child to think, work and communicate like a designer. We believe that Design and Technology equips pupils with the knowledge, skills and creativity to solve real-world problems and to understand how products are designed, made and evaluated to meet human needs.

Through the CUSP Primary Design and Technology curriculum, we aim to:

• Ensure pupils develop secure substantive knowledge of materials, systems, tools, mechanisms and food and nutrition, alongside disciplinary knowledge of the design process.

• Provide a carefully sequenced curriculum that supports vertical progression across key DT disciplines, including Food and Nutrition, Understanding Materials, Textiles, Mechanisms, Structures and Systems.

• Enable all pupils, including those who are disadvantaged or have SEND, to access ambitious, age-appropriate DT learning through high-quality teaching and effective scaffolding.

• Develop pupils’ ability to investigate, design, make and evaluate products, working iteratively and responding to feedback.

• Equip pupils with precise technical vocabulary so they can articulate design decisions, processes and evaluations clearly and confidently.

• Connect learning to CUSP Big Ideas, such as environmental responsibility and climate change, helping pupils understand sustainability, reducing waste and responsible design choices.

• Foster positive attitudes to Design and Technology, encouraging creativity, problem-solving, resilience and collaboration.

Our Design and Technology curriculum reflects our school’s values of Love, Peace and Respect, promoting teamwork, respect for different viewpoints, responsible use of resources and thoughtful consideration of others’ needs.

Our Implementation (How we do what we do)

Our Design and Technology curriculum is delivered through the CUSP Primary Design and Technology programme, which provides a coherent, well-sequenced learning journey from Early Years to Year 6.

Curriculum Design

• The curriculum is organised into blocks, each focusing on a specific DT discipline.

• Disciplines are revisited over time with increasing challenge and complexity, ensuring strong vertical progression.

• The Programme of Study outlines the totality of knowledge and skills taught across KS1 and KS2.

• Substantive knowledge is clearly mapped within each discipline, while disciplinary knowledge is broken down in detail within the Working as a Designer section.

• Prior learning is identified and mapped so teachers can explicitly build new knowledge on secure foundations.

Teaching and Learning

Design and Technology lessons follow the CUSP 6 Phases, which guide teacher instruction and pupil participation:

• Connect

• Explain (including Explicit Vocabulary Instruction)

• Example

• Attempt

• Apply

• Challenge

• Lessons are supported by chunked and dual-coded Knowledge Notes, helping pupils navigate learning and reduce cognitive load.

• Teachers model high-quality design thinking and use precise technical language, which pupils are expected to adopt in discussion and written responses.

• Explainer clips are embedded within units to directly support teacher subject knowledge and confident modelling of processes and techniques.

Vocabulary and Oracy

• Vocabulary is carefully mapped to ensure pupils acquire both threshold and clarification vocabulary.

• Explicit Vocabulary Instruction is built into every lesson.

• Oracy tasks are woven throughout the six phases to develop design fluency, dialogue and rehearsal.

• Structured talk strategies such as hexagon pathways, adapted Freya models and strength of meaning tasks support pupils in articulating design choices and evaluations using precise language.

  
  

Inclusion and Scaffolding

• Scaffolding toolkits enable teachers to adapt learning effectively, including reducing text load, chunking resources and providing additional modelling.

• EdTech is used where appropriate to support understanding and access.

• Adaptive teaching ensures all pupils can engage with the full design process, while maintaining high expectations for outcomes.

  
  

Books and Cross-Curricular Links

• Pupils record learning in DT Books, using double-page spreads to show the design process from research and planning to making and evaluating.

• Knowledge Notes and key vocabulary are referenced and applied within pupils’ work.

• Strong links are made to English and wider curriculum learning, including the use of high-quality literature and examples of designers as stimuli for design tasks.

• Pupils make explicit connections between routines used in Art, Reading and Writing, supporting transfer of skills and understanding.

  
  

Our Impact (The result of what we do)

The impact of our Design and Technology curriculum is seen in pupils who are confident, knowledgeable and reflective designers, capable of solving problems creatively and explaining their thinking using precise technical language.

By the end of each phase, pupils will:

• Demonstrate secure knowledge of materials, tools, systems and processes appropriate to their age.

• Design purposeful, functional products that meet given criteria and user needs.

• Use iterative design processes to make, test, evaluate and refine their work.

• Communicate ideas clearly using correct technical vocabulary, drawings and explanations.

• Show understanding of sustainability and environmental responsibility in design choices.

• Make good or better progress from their starting points, including pupils with SEND and those who are disadvantaged.

  
  

In Early Years, children will:

• Explore materials, tools and construction through play and structured activities.

• Develop early design thinking by planning, making and talking about what they have created.

• Use language to describe processes, choices and outcomes.

• Meet the Early Learning Goals for Expressive Arts and Design where appropriate.

Across school, outcomes in DT books, pupil voice, lesson observations and assessment evidence demonstrate a well-sequenced curriculum, high expectations and strong progression. Pupils leave Barwick in Elmet CE Primary School with the creativity, technical understanding and problem-solving skills needed for the next stage of their education and for life beyond school.