Designing solutions for real purposes

Design and technology teaches children how to identify needs, generate ideas and create purposeful products. It combines creativity with practical knowledge, critical thinking and an understanding of how materials, mechanisms, structures, electrical systems and food work.

At Waterloo, children learn that successful design is not simply about making something attractive. A product should have a clear purpose, work effectively and respond to the needs of its intended user.

Our curriculum is designed to develop:

• curiosity about how products work and why they were created;
• confidence in identifying and solving practical problems;
• knowledge of materials, structures, mechanisms and electrical systems;
• increasingly accurate use of tools and equipment;
• safe and hygienic food preparation;
• understanding of nutrition, seasonality and food provenance;
• the ability to research users and existing products;
• purposeful generation and communication of ideas;
• effective use of sketches, diagrams, templates, prototypes and computer-aided design;
• perseverance when an initial idea does not work;
• increasingly independent evaluation and refinement;
• awareness of sustainability, cost and responsible material choices;
• understanding of the contribution designers, engineers, inventors and food producers make to society.

Children experience the complete process of investigating, designing, making and evaluating. They learn that testing, reconsidering and improving are essential parts of successful design.

Our curriculum approach

In Nursery and Reception, the foundations of design and technology are developed through the United Learning Early Years Curriculum. Children investigate materials, construct, join, shape, solve practical problems and explain what they want to make.

From Year 1 to Year 6, children follow Waterloo’s progressive design and technology curriculum. Each year group completes three focused units, including one cooking and nutrition unit.

Across the primary years, children encounter:

• textiles;
• structures;
• mechanisms and mechanical systems;
• electrical and electronic systems;
• programmable control;
• computer-aided design;
• cooking and nutrition.

In specialist provision, design and technology is taught through carefully selected and adapted Cornerstones projects. Projects provide meaningful contexts for children to construct, prepare food, investigate materials and solve practical problems at an appropriate developmental level.

Our curriculum is aligned with the National Curriculum for design and technology.

Design and technology from Nursery to Year 6

Phase	How learning develops
Nursery 2	Children explore materials using their senses and begin combining, stacking, squeezing, rolling and joining them. They communicate simple ideas about what they want to make and collaborate on constructions.
Nursery 3–4	Children choose materials for a purpose, construct increasingly recognisable objects and begin planning before making. They explore different joining methods and talk about how something might work.
Reception	Children construct with a wider range of materials and tools, share and refine ideas, solve problems during making and reflect on whether they achieved their purpose.
Years 1 and 2	Children design purposeful products for themselves and others. They use simple design criteria, drawings, templates and mock-ups; develop basic cutting, joining, textile and food-preparation techniques; and learn about levers, sliders, wheels, axles and freestanding structures.
Years 3 and 4	Children gather information about users, develop design criteria and communicate ideas through annotated sketches, diagrams, pattern pieces, nets and prototypes. They develop greater accuracy and learn about shell structures, textiles, linkages, electrical circuits and food seasonality.
Years 5 and 6	Children conduct more independent research, develop design specifications and consider constraints such as time, resources, cost and sustainability. They work with mechanical systems, frame structures, textiles, electrical systems, computer-aided design and programmable control.
Specialist provision	Children develop functional use of materials, tools and processes through adapted Cornerstones projects. Progression is based on prior learning, developmental stage, communication profile and individual next steps.

What children study

The following overview identifies the principal products and technical contexts studied from Year 1 to Year 6.

Year group	Unit 1	Unit 2	Unit 3
Year 1	Textiles: designing and making puppets	Cooking and nutrition: preparing fruit salad	Mechanisms: sliders and levers within a Titanic moving book
Year 2	Mechanisms: wheels and axles within model vehicles	Cooking and nutrition: healthy fresh-fruit flapjacks	Structures: designing and testing a bridge
Year 3	Shell structures: a fold-away board game	Cooking and nutrition: sandwiches and pitta breads	Textiles: designing and making a pencil case
Year 4	Cooking and nutrition: a pasta dish inspired by Italy	Electrical systems: a functional night light	Mechanisms: levers and linkages within a moving storyboard
Year 5	Cooking and nutrition: making scouse	Mechanical systems: moving toys using cams, pulleys or gears	Textiles: constructing a reusable shopper bag
Year 6	Cooking and nutrition: making chapati bread	Frame structures: designing an air-raid shelter	Electrical systems and programmable control: designing a functional model

Each unit has a defined technical focus. Other curriculum links provide a context, but design and technology retains its own knowledge, vocabulary and design process.

Design and technology in the Early Years

Nursery

Children begin by exploring how materials behave and what they can do with them.

They learn to:

• stack, arrange and combine construction materials;
• roll, press, squeeze and shape malleable materials;
• investigate different textures and properties;
• join materials using tape, glue and other simple methods;
• choose materials for a particular idea;
• communicate what they want to make;
• follow simple instructions;
• work with others on a shared construction;
• notice when a structure is unstable;
• try a different approach when something does not work.

Planned experiences may include junk modelling, collaborative construction, simple decorations, models and structures such as a bug hotel.

These experiences develop more than general creativity. Adults draw attention to purpose, materials, joining, stability and improvement so that children begin to think as designers and makers.

Reception

In Reception, children develop greater independence and intentionality.

They learn to:

• plan what they want to make;
• select appropriate materials and tools;
• explain how they might join or construct something;
• use adhesive tape and different types of glue;
• cut and shape materials with increasing control;
• create collaboratively by sharing ideas and resources;
• identify and discuss problems during construction;
• adapt their work when necessary;
• explain what they have made and how it works;
• reflect on whether the finished product achieved its purpose.

Children encounter these ideas through explicit teaching, continuous provision, stories, classroom projects and practical challenges. By the end of Reception, they have developed the vocabulary, motor control and problem-solving habits needed for the Year 1 curriculum.

The design process

Design and technology is organised around a connected process. The stages may overlap, and children may return to an earlier stage when testing reveals a problem.

Investigate

Children examine existing products and consider:

• what the product is;
• what it is designed to do;
• who might use it;
• how it works;
• which materials and components have been used;
• how it has been joined and finished;
• what is successful;
• how it might be improved.

As children progress, they investigate who designed and manufactured products and consider issues such as innovation, cost, sustainability and fitness for purpose.

Design

Children generate and communicate ideas in increasingly sophisticated ways.

These may include:

• talk and role play;
• drawings and labels;
• templates and pattern pieces;
• annotated sketches;
• cross-sectional and exploded diagrams;
• computer-aided designs;
• models and mock-ups;
• prototypes;
• design criteria and specifications;
• step-by-step plans.

Children are taught to design for a purpose and an intended user. They consider what the product must do before deciding what it should look like.

Make

Children learn to select and use appropriate tools, materials and components.

They progressively develop the ability to:

• measure and mark out;
• cut and shape;
• assemble and join;
• stiffen, strengthen and reinforce;
• sew and construct textile products;
• incorporate mechanical or electrical components;
• apply finishes;
• follow recipes;
• prepare and combine ingredients;
• work safely, hygienically and accurately.

Teachers explicitly demonstrate the techniques needed for each product. Children have opportunities to practise important component skills before applying them independently.

Evaluate

Evaluation takes place throughout the process—not only after a product is completed.

Children learn to:

• test whether a product works;
• compare it with design criteria;
• consider the intended user’s experience;
• identify strengths and weaknesses;
• listen to feedback;
• explain changes made during construction;
• suggest and make improvements;
• evaluate fitness for purpose;
• reflect on material use, sustainability and cost.

A product that does not work immediately can provide valuable evidence. Children are taught to identify the problem, apply their technical knowledge and improve their design.

Technical knowledge

Structures

Children learn that structures must be stable and appropriately strong.

Their knowledge develops from stacking and joining materials in the Early Years to:

• making freestanding structures stronger, stiffer and more stable;
• using folding and joining techniques;
• creating nets for three-dimensional shell structures;
• reinforcing components;
• constructing frame structures;
• using triangulation;
• selecting materials according to their structural properties.

Mechanisms and mechanical systems

Children investigate how movement can be created and controlled.

They progress from:

• levers and sliders;
• wheels and axles;
• pivots and linkages;
• linear, rotary, oscillating and reciprocating movement;
• cams and followers;
• pulleys and drive belts;
• gears and gear ratios.

Children apply this knowledge when designing products in which movement has a clear function.

Textiles

Children learn how fabric products are designed, shaped and joined.

They progressively learn to:

• explore temporary and permanent joining methods;
• use templates and pattern pieces;
• thread a needle and sew simple components;
• create a three-dimensional textile product from a fabric shape;
• join multiple fabric pieces;
• use seams, seam allowances and hems;
• attach components;
• select textiles for their functional and aesthetic properties.

Electrical systems and programmable control

Children apply knowledge from science and computing when developing electrical products.

They learn to:

• create and test simple circuits;
• use bulbs, switches, wires and batteries;
• identify and correct faults;
• understand input and output components;
• incorporate electrical systems into functional products;
• use algorithms and programs to control a product;
• use Crumble components to create programmable responses;
• monitor and control aspects of a designed system.

The scientific or computing knowledge is revisited where necessary, but the D&T focus remains on using it to create a purposeful product for a user.

Computer-aided design

Children use appropriate digital tools to communicate and develop ideas.

As they progress, they may use technology to:

• create geometric designs;
• produce templates and nets;
• refine the dimensions of a component;
• model an idea;
• communicate a design accurately;
• control a finished product.

Digital tools complement drawing, modelling and prototyping rather than replacing them.

Cooking and nutrition

Cooking and nutrition is an important and practical part of the D&T curriculum.

Children prepare food in every year from Year 1 to Year 6. Across these units, they develop knowledge of:

• the principles of a healthy and varied diet;
• the importance of fruit and vegetables;
• food groups and nutrients;
• how food provides energy;
• where ingredients come from;
• food that is grown, reared or caught;
• seasonality;
• fresh, pre-cooked and processed ingredients;
• correct storage;
• sensory characteristics;
• how recipes can be adapted;
• cultural food traditions.

Practical techniques develop progressively and may include:

• washing and preparing ingredients;
• peeling;
• cutting and slicing;
• measuring and weighing;
• mixing and combining;
• spreading and assembling;
• kneading and shaping;
• following and adapting recipes;
• evaluating taste, texture, appearance and aroma.

Food preparation is taught with careful attention to hygiene, allergens, safe equipment use and appropriate adult supervision.

Children learn that food technology is more than following a recipe. They consider the needs and preferences of the intended consumer, the nutritional qualities of the dish, its ingredients and how it might be adapted.

Our D&T pedagogy

A clear purpose and user

Each project begins with a purposeful design challenge. Children know what they are creating, why it is needed and who might use it.

This prevents practical work from becoming a disconnected craft activity.

Knowledge before application

Before designing a product, children need sufficient technical knowledge to make informed decisions.

For example, children designing a bridge need to understand stability and reinforcement. Children creating a moving product need to understand the mechanism that will produce the intended movement.

Examination of existing products

Children handle, observe and analyse relevant products before developing their own ideas.

Teachers help them notice:

• materials and components;
• shape and structure;
• mechanisms;
• joining and finishing;
• user needs;
• strengths and possible weaknesses.

This provides children with a repertoire of possible solutions without requiring them to copy a single model.

Explicit modelling and safe practice

Teachers demonstrate tools and processes clearly. Complex techniques are broken into manageable steps and important safety routines are taught directly.

Children practise techniques before being expected to use them independently within a finished product.

Genuine decision-making

Children are given appropriately structured choices about materials, components, shape, construction and finish.

A common design brief may lead to different successful outcomes. Teachers provide the knowledge and constraints needed for success while preserving meaningful pupil decision-making.

Iteration and refinement

Children are encouraged to test ideas and prototypes before completing a final product.

They learn that designers often return to earlier decisions, modify dimensions, change a material or improve a mechanism in response to evidence.

Vocabulary and oracy

D&T has a precise and increasingly technical vocabulary.

Depending on the project, children learn terms such as:

• product, purpose, user and design criteria;
• specification, constraint and prototype;
• component, material and property;
• measure, mark out, cut, shape, assemble and finish;
• stable, stiffen, strengthen, reinforce and triangulate;
• lever, linkage, pivot, axle, cam, follower, gear and pulley;
• circuit, input, output, program, monitor and control;
• template, pattern piece, seam, hem and seam allowance;
• ingredient, nutrition, seasonality, grown, reared, caught and processed;
• evaluate, refine, function and fitness for purpose.

As a Voice 21 Oracy School, Waterloo deliberately plans opportunities for children to:

• discuss existing products;
• explain design ideas;
• agree design criteria;
• ask potential users questions;
• justify material choices;
• explain how a mechanism works;
• give and receive constructive feedback;
• evaluate a product against its intended purpose.

Talk enables children to test and clarify their thinking before and during practical work.

Designers, engineers and the local environment

Children learn that design and technology shape everyday life.

They encounter examples from food production, textiles, architecture, transport, engineering, electronics and digital technology. Designers, engineers, inventors and manufacturers are introduced where their work helps children understand how a product, process or technology was developed.

Our local area provides meaningful contexts including:

• Liverpool’s maritime and industrial history;
• the Titanic and passenger transport;
• bridges, docks and local architecture;
• traditional foods such as scouse;
• wartime structures and shelters;
• contemporary systems and technologies.

These contexts help children recognise design and technology within the places, products and communities they know.

Representation is considered carefully so that children encounter contributions from people of different backgrounds, cultures and periods. We want every child to see designing, engineering, construction, food technology and digital innovation as fields in which they can participate.

Design and technology in specialist provision

Children in specialist provision share the same entitlement to investigate, design, make and evaluate.

D&T is taught through carefully selected and adapted Cornerstones projects. Some classes encounter early design concepts through broad projects linked to familiar experiences, animals, seasons, stories and communities. Other classes apply D&T within more explicitly historical and geographical projects.

Depending on their developmental stage, children may learn to:

• attend and respond to a material or practical process;
• explore cause and effect;
• communicate a preference;
• choose between materials or tools;
• match a tool to a simple action;
• manipulate and combine materials;
• join two components;
• stack or arrange materials;
• recognise when something is unstable;
• follow a simple sequence;
• make a product for an immediate purpose;
• prepare or combine food;
• test whether something works;
• communicate what happened;
• repeat a familiar technique;
• make a change or improvement.

Adaptations may include:

• real objects and highly familiar contexts;
• visual models and step-by-step instructions;
• photographs, symbols, signing and communication systems;
• larger or adapted tools;
• supportive positioning and work surfaces;
• pre-prepared materials where necessary;
• smaller instructional steps;
• repeated opportunities to practise;
• sensory preparation and regulation;
• additional processing time;
• alternative ways to choose, plan and evaluate;
• increased adult modelling and guided participation.

Sensory and practical experiences are connected to a D&T purpose. Handling materials is developed towards choosing, joining, constructing, preparing, solving, testing and evaluating.

Cornerstones projects are reviewed annually to ensure appropriate curriculum breadth and meaningful connections with the wider Waterloo curriculum.

Progression does not depend on repeating the same project. Teachers assess children’s prior knowledge, practical control, communication and independence, identify individual next steps and use changing project contexts to revisit and extend learning.

Adaptation and inclusion in mainstream D&T

D&T can create barriers relating to motor control, sensory processing, communication, vision, physical access, attention and previous practical experience.

Teachers anticipate these barriers and may provide:

• adapted scissors, grips and utensils;
• larger components or templates;
• accessible work surfaces;
• visual instructions;
• additional modelling and rehearsal;
• pre-teaching of vocabulary;
• reduced language alongside precise technical terms;
• alternative materials or joining methods;
• supported measuring and positioning;
• additional time;
• alternative methods of recording a design;
• communication aids for choosing and evaluating.

Adaptation should enable children to participate in the genuine design process. Adults may provide physical or organisational support, but the child should retain meaningful ownership of the decisions and product wherever possible.

Assessment

Assessment identifies how children’s design thinking, technical knowledge and practical control are developing.

Teachers draw evidence from:

• discussion and questioning;
• design drawings and specifications;
• models and prototypes;
• observation during practical work;
• children’s selection and use of tools;
• testing and evaluation;
• finished products;
• explanations of decisions and refinements.

Teachers consider whether children can:

• explain the purpose and intended user;
• draw on relevant research;
• generate and communicate an appropriate idea;
• apply technical knowledge;
• select suitable tools and materials;
• work safely and accurately;
• test a component, mechanism, structure or recipe;
• identify and solve a problem;
• evaluate against design criteria;
• use feedback;
• explain and make improvements;
• apply previous knowledge in a new context.

A polished final product does not by itself demonstrate strong D&T learning. Equally, a product that contains an imperfection may demonstrate excellent design thinking if the child can identify the issue, explain its cause and propose an effective improvement.

In specialist provision, progress may also be demonstrated through increased attention, intentional action, choice, control, sequencing, communication, independence or successful application of a familiar process in a different context.

What success looks like

Our D&T curriculum is successful when children:

• are curious about how products and systems work;
• design with a clear purpose and user in mind;
• draw on research and existing products;
• generate and communicate workable ideas;
• use tools, materials and equipment safely;
• develop accuracy and practical control;
• apply knowledge of structures, mechanisms, textiles and electrical systems;
• understand how computing can control a product;
• prepare food safely and hygienically;
• understand nutrition, seasonality and food provenance;
• test ideas and learn from failure;
• evaluate products honestly;
• make purposeful refinements;
• consider sustainability and responsible material choices;
• collaborate effectively while retaining individual responsibility;
• see themselves as capable designers, makers, engineers and food technologists;
• make strong progress from their individual starting points;
• leave Waterloo ready for the design and technology demands of secondary education.

Above all, we want children to understand that design and technology gives them the power to improve things. Through knowledge, imagination, careful making and critical evaluation, they can turn an idea into a purposeful solution.