Intent 

Why do we teach this?

At Our Lady of Lourdes, we teach Design and Technology to inspire children to become curious, creative and innovative thinkers with a broad understanding of how products are designed and made, in other words, to think like designers and engineers. We encourage children to think critically and work both independently and as part of a team to analyse, evaluate and improve products and mechanisms, to strive for excellence and become future designers and innovators in the modern world.

Why do we teach it in the way that we do?

Inspired by the work of Mary Aikenhead, we teach Design and Technology so that children learn to use their creativity, innovation and problem-solving skills in service of others. Just as Mary Aikenhead dedicated her life to meeting the needs of her community, we encourage pupils to design and create with purpose, developing solutions that can improve lives and contribute to the common good,

Our Design and Technology curriculum is rooted in our school’s five core values:

Implementation

How do we implement our vision in our school?

We teach the aims of the Early Years Framework (2026) and the National Curriculum (2014) which provides a broad framework and outlines the knowledge and skills taught in Early Years and Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 and use the Kapow Design and Technology Scheme

What does it look like in our classrooms?

In Early Years, children explore Design and Technology through a balance of adult-led activities and child-led discovery within continuous provision. From Reception through to Year 6, children follow three carefully planned units each year, each one building on what has come before and developing knowledge and skills in the following areas:

• Mechanisms
• Digital World
• Materials
• Construction
• Textiles
• Electrical Systems
• Food and Nutrition

Each unit encourages children to begin to ‘think like designers and engineers’ by considering how designers identify problems, generate ideas and create solutions to meet real-world needs. Children are encouraged to ask design questions and learn how designers and engineers develop and refine their ideas through research, testing and evaluation.

Our lessons follow a clear five-part structure:

1. Review of Knowledge
We begin each lesson by revisiting prior learning through carefully chosen questions and tasks that require pupils to recall and apply previously taught knowledge. This strengthens retrieval, builds secure foundations and supports knowledge being retained in long-term memory.

2. Direct Instruction – 'I Do'
Teachers introduce new learning in small, manageable steps through clear explanations, questioning, modelling and worked examples. Appropriate scaffolds are provided to ensure all pupils can access new knowledge while being appropriately challenged.

3. Guided Practice – 'We Do'
Pupils practise new knowledge and skills alongside the teacher through carefully structured activities. Teachers continually check for understanding, provide additional models, scaffolds and checklists where needed, and address misconceptions before independent learning begins.

4. Independent Practice – 'You Do'
Pupils apply their learning independently using models, scaffolds and success criteria appropriate to their needs. This enables children to develop confidence, apply new knowledge and skills, and become increasingly independent learners.

5. Self-Review and Response to Feedback
Each lesson ends with time for pupils to review their own work using success criteria or checklists and respond to feedback. This encourages pupils to become reflective learners by identifying strengths, correcting errors, addressing misconceptions and deepening their understanding, while also providing teachers with valuable assessment information to inform future planning and teaching.

Teachers use a range of assessment for learning strategies to gauge children’s understating throughout lessons and provide verbal feedback ‘in the moment’ to ensure progress. At the end of a unit teachers use assessment quizzes, knowledge checks and children’s final products , alongside assessment for learning, as evidence for their judgements towards age-related expectations.

Impact

At Our Lady of Lourdes, we measure success not only in the skills and knowledge pupils develop, but in the kind of people they are becoming. We know our curriculum is working when our children:

• can talk confidently about what they have learned, using subject-specific vocabulary
• show clear progress in designing, making and evaluating products
• can explain how inventors, designers and engineers have inspired their own ideas and creations
• show competence in choosing which materials, tools and techniques to use to create the biggest impact for their designs
• have acquired the knowledge and skills to build on in the next stage of their education
• approach their work with care, perseverance and a desire to do their very best
• respond to products and designs with curiosity, creativity and respect for the needs of others
• understand how design and technology can be used to solve problems, improve lives and contribute to the common good

How do we monitor and review the impact of Design and Technology at our school?

The DT subject leader uses the following lines of enquiry to assess the impact of the DT curriculum:

• The profile of creativity in Early Years.
• Opportunities for creativity and early engineering in the indoor and outdoor classroom environments in Early Years.
• The quality of the products that children design and make
• DT assessment data (Years 1-6).
• Discussions with pupils: evaluating their ability to explain why and how they have decided to make their designs and what they might improve next time.
• Discussions with teachers.
• Learning behaviour in the classrooms.
• The culture of Design and Technology across the school.
• Extra-curricular opportunities in DT.