Hertford Infant and Nursery School

At Hertford we want to build a Design & Technology curriculum that meets the interests of all children and enables all our pupils to develop their talents.  We aim to develop creative, curious learners who can embrace an ever-changing environment. We aspire for children to develop their curiosity and to gain understanding of how this relates to them and their own identity. We aim to equip children with the skills and the knowledge they need to plan, design, make and evaluate products, opening the possibility of a range of different paths in their future.  Through learning a range of DT skills our children will develop the resilience that they need to thrive in our ever-changing world, to problem solve and consider their own and others’ needs. We aim to, wherever possible, link work to other curriculum areas such as Mathematics, English, Science, Computing and Art.  We intend to teach a curriculum where, the appropriate subject knowledge, skills and understanding are taught as set out in the National Curriculum Design Technology Programmes of Study as part of a balanced and broadly-based curriculum which prepares them for the opportunities and responsibilities they will face in later life.  In the Early Years, our youngest children are encouraged to share their experiences, observations and knowledge, begin to develop investigative skills and ask and answer questions. This will create a curiosity for learning about the wider world. Through the study of design and technology children will combine practical skills with an understanding of endless possibilities to designing and making in order to create a product.  Evaluation is an integral part of the design process and allows children to adapt and improve their product, this is a key skill which they need throughout their life. 

Hertford Junior School believe Design and Technology offers opportunities for children to: 

• develop their capability to create high quality products through combining their designing and making skills with knowledge and understanding; 

• develop a sense of enjoyment and pride in their ability to make; 

• nurture creativity and innovation through designing and making; 

• Develop an interest and understanding of the ways in which people from the past and present have used design to meet their needs. 

Design and Technology is about providing opportunities for children to develop their capability. By combining their design and making skills with knowledge and understanding they learn to create quality products. D&T brings learning to life. It is a motivating context for discovering literacy, mathematics, science, art, PSHE and ICT. Primary Design and Technology also provides a firm basis for later learning in the subject and a platform for developing skills in literacy and numeracy. 

Design and Technology is taught both through discrete, meaningful lessons which follow National Curriculum expectations and are supported by clear skills and knowledge progression and alongside other subjects for example computing and science where the curriculum links are clear. Each year group focusses on 3 or 4 topics throughout the year and each topic focuses on a separate set of progressive skills. The key areas we teach the skills through are: 

• Cooking and nutrition 

• Construction including building structures and mechanisms 

• Electrical and mechanical components 

• Sewing and textiles 

As children progress through the school, they are presented with opportunities to revisit and consolidate skills alongside introducing new skills, knowledge and challenge. Design and Technology lessons provide many cross-curricular links and give pupils opportunities to utilise these skills in a relevant context.