Battle and Langton Design and Technology Curriculum

Areas of learning and endpoints of the design technology curriculum:

Structures:  Designing and building structures is at the heart of the D&T curriculum, and is included in every year group.  Children begin early in KS1 building freestanding structures and learning about the relationship between the height of a structure, the width of its base and its overall stability.  They learn to join simple materials and investigate how to stiffen weaker materials with stronger ones.  In KS2 children learn what a shell structure is and investigate the way they are put together.  Later they combine their knowledge of shell structures with prior knowledge of how to stiffen a structure; they learn about corrugation and use destructive testing to develop designs.  Towards the end of KS2, they learn about frame structures and develop ideas through exploded diagrams.  They learn about the importance of triangles in stiffening structures and begin to work with wood to make their structures.   Finally, they apply their knowledge of structures to build bridges; developing their knowledge of tension and load, tubing and triangulation to develop strong structures that meet a design brief.

Mechanisms:  Almost all year groups learn about mechanisms within the curriculum.  Early in KS1 children learn to design simple mechanisms such as a slider or a lever that make something move.  They move on to look at how wheels need axles to turn smoothly.  Early in KS2 the children develop their knowledge of levers by adding a pivot point and linkages to their design to make things move in a more complex way.   Later in KS2, children develop their knowledge of wheels and axles with a unit where they learn of pulleys and how they are used to transfer power from one place to another.

Cooking and Nutrition:  Early in KS1 children learn to distinguish between different food types, and which would be considered healthy and which ‘treats’.  They learn the importance of hygiene in food preparation and learn some basic food preparation techniques such as chopping and grating.  The knowledge of cooking techniques develops into KS2 with the introduction of combining ingredients and baking or grilling.  Throughout the units the children are taught the origins of different foodstuffs and the importance of storing different things correctly.

Textiles:  In KS1 children learn to identify different types of materials, the importance of cutting and marking accurately, and some simple stitches and joining techniques.  This then develops in KS2 to being able to use multiple stitches and joining techniques, using paper patterns and an understanding of seam allowances.

Electrical Systems:  Building on the knowledge gained in the science curriculum, children in KS2 build products with an electrical component, ensuring that the user is able to switch them on and off.  This develops further in later KS2 with the inclusion of a programmable board that allows children to apply their knowledge of coding, alongside their knowledge of electrical systems and structures, to build programmable products.

Connected Learning Concepts:

Similarity & Difference:  Children learn to analyse products from an early part of the curriculum, honing their skills to identify what is the same and what is different.  This develops their ability to find what makes a product successful (or unsuccessful) and use this knowledge in their own designs.

Evaluation & Improvement:  Key to the design process is testing and evaluating.  From early in the curriculum, children are asked to identify if their product was successful, and what they would do to improve it.  They do this dispassionately and learn to have distance from their creation, as well as learning to take constructive feedback from friends and classmates 

For further information about the curriculum please speak to your child's teacher or make an appointment to see Mr Alexander