Design and Technology (DT) is a subject which helps develop children’s creativity, resourcefulness and independence. At Mayfield, it is often taught in whole days, for example during Spirals weeks – this enables children to experience the full design process, from planning to evaluating, and to create a final piece. 
During Key Stage 1 pupils develop their imaginative thinking skills and talk about what they like and dislike when designing and making. They build on their early childhood experiences to explore how familiar things work. They talk about, draw and model their ideas. They learn how to design and make safely and start to use ICT as part of their designing and making.
During Key Stage 2 pupils work independently and collaboratively on a range of designing and making activities. They think about what products are used for and the needs of the people who use them. They plan what has to be done and identify what works well and what could be improved in their own and others’ designs. They draw on knowledge and understanding from other areas of the curriculum and use computers in a range of ways, including the use of ‘Flowol’ to develop programming skills, and ‘Dazzle’ to sketch designs.
Withing the DT curriculum there are six main areas covered:
- Materials
- Food
- Textiles
- Construction
- Mechanics
- Electronics
Most of these areas are covered within each year group, with the progression of skills advancing as pupils move higher up the school.
Content of DT Skills Covered by Year Group
| Foundation Stage | Exploring using media and materials Expressive Arts and Design – being imaginative |
| Year 1 | Materials – cutting and shaping Food – healthy diet Textiles – using templates and running stitch Construction – drilling, screwing, gluing and nailing Mechanics – levers, wheels and winding mechanisms |
| Year 2 | Construction – drilling, screwing, gluing & nailing to strengthen products Mechanics – levers, wheels & winding mechanisms Materials – cutting materials (tearing, cutting, folding & tearing) Food – assemble & cook ingredients, understand where food comes from Textiles – knitting |
| Year 3 | Construction – choose suitable techniques to construct & disassemble products Textiles – join textiles with appropriate stitching & seam allowances Food – Prepare ingredients hygienically, follow a recipe and cook ingredients Materials – strengthen materials |
| Year 4 | Mechanics – making products work Food – nutrition, following recipes and cooking using appropriate utensils Textiles – join textiles with appropriate stitching, seam allowances & decorating Materials – make products work by carefully selecting materials Electronics – circuits |
| Year 5 | Materials – use quality of materials to create suitable visual & tactile decorations Mechanics – convert rotary motion to linear using cams Food – range of baking & cooking techniques, create & refine recipes Textiles – combination of stitching techniques (back & running) stitch |
| Year 6 | Construction- how to strengthen, stiffen and reinforce more complex structures Materials – use quality of materials to create suitable visual & tactile decorations Textiles – create objects using a combination of stitching techniques stitch Food – measure accurately & calculate ratios of ingredients to scale up/down a recipe |
