Design and technology is an inspiring, rigorous and practical subject. Using creativity and imagination, pupils design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts, considering their own and other’s needs, wants and values.

They acquire a broad range of subject knowledge and draw on disciplines such as mathematics, science, engineering, computing and art. Pupils learn how to take risks, becoming resourceful, innovative, enterprising and capable citizens. Through the evaluation of past and present design and technology, they develop a critical understanding of its impacts on daily life and the wider world. High-quality design and technology education makes and essential contribution to the creativity, culture, wealth and well-being of the nation.

At St Bartholomew’s, DT skills are taught across a two year cycle, meaning each skill is covered three times throughout school. Each year, children also complete a cookery unit to provide children with the skills to cook at home, including making healthy meals.  

In each unit of DT, children will explore and investigate the project, learn the skills necessary to complete the project, plan, design, make and then evaluate the final piece. 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Key Documents


Curriculum - Design Technology - Useful Links

BBC Design Technology - KS1

BBC Design Technology - KS2

Dyson - Engineering Challenges

IET (Institute of Engineering and Technology) - KS1 and KS2

The School Run


Curriculum - Design Technology - Fruit Sculptures

Class 7 completed their design technology as part of seaside day. They used their cutting skills, making a bridge or a claw to cut fruit to make the fruit sculptures and used their spreading skills when making their wraps. I was so impressed with the pupils knife skills and how safe they were and how they had remembered skills from earlier in the year. Very proud.  

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Seaside Snacks

Class 6 have started our Seaside Day by making some seaside snacks!  As part of our DT topic, we have designed wraps and fruit sculptures. We had to use the claw and bridge cut to prepare our fruit and veg.

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Greek Salads

Class 14 have been showing us their cutting skills today. We have made a Greek salad today with a dressing of choice. The children have enjoyed making their food although olives weren’t a favourite in the class. 

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Greek Food

Class 15 have taken part in their 2nd Greek food lesson. Today we made Tzatiki and tasted olive oil with lemon and oregano along with some hummus. The children worked well as a team following the instructions and dividing up the work.

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Tasting Greek Food

Class 17 have been tasting Greek food, we tried; grapes, pitta, pomegranate, olives, tomatoes and cucumbers. Some of the food was more popular than others.

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Making Fruit Kebabs

The children in 'Stellar' really enjoyed making fruity kebabs.

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Ancient Egyptians

Class 11 have been looking at the Ancient Egyptians this half term. After our visit to the Leeds Museum, and seeing a primary source of information with the mummy, we have decided to try and make our own (using tomatoes). We scooped out the insides, but  decided not to put them in canopic jars, and covered them in natron, a mix of salt and bicarbonate odd soda. We have left one half to the elements and leaving one half for a week to compare the results. 

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Tasting Fruit Kebabs

After talking about the different types of fruit and where they grow we made our own fruit kebabs! We made sure our hands were clean and we cut the fruit carefully thinking about how we hold the tools. We enjoyed tasting new fruit and describing it to our friend.

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Making Pizza Planets

Starship children enjoyed making pizza planets for their friends in the Stellar provision. The children learnt many skills ranging from turn taking, sharing of  equipment and talking  about what they were doing. The children also learnt that is fun to make planet pizzas but it's important to wash and tidy up too!

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Tasting Food

Last term, class 12 enjoyed making feijoada and there were mixed reactions to the tasting.

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Fruit Kebabs

This we have loved making fruit kebabs, the children (with help) chopped the fruit and put them on the kebab sticks. It was a fun experience for some children to try fruit that they haven't tried before.

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Bridges

Class 17 were working on bridges last half term. In our final week the children worked in groups to build the longest strongest bridge they could.

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Building Bridges (Class 16)

Class 16 have been working on bridges this half term. In our final week the children have worked in groups to build the longest strongest bridge they could, that the fire truck could drive over and the pirate ship could go under. Well done class 16.

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Different Fruits

This half term, we have been sampling different fruit smoothies and different fruits. We have practised our cutting skills and then designed a fruit smoothie by choosing some of our favourite fruits. We put all our skills into practise and created our own fruit smoothies.

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Making Bridges

Class 13 have been set the challenge to make the longest bridge, using straws and card. 

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Designing & Making Fire Engines

Year 2 have designed and made fire engines in design technology. The children joined the wheels and axils to the chassis, before creating the fire engines body. They then made hoses, ladders and sirens to make their engines complete. They did a fantastic job working independently, problem solving and building their resilience in the process. 

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Making Feojoada

Today we made our Feojoada. We used all the cutting skills we had learnt and put all our chosen vegetables in the pressure cooker. We can’t wait to taste it tomorrow!

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Truss Bridges

Class 15 have built truss bridges today. They worked really well as table groups to build their bridges which we then tested for weight along with road worthiness. Well done class 15.

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Chopping Skills

Years 3 and 4 have been practising chopping skills in DT. We used the bridge and claw method to chop potatoes. We also learned about food hygiene and how to stay safe around food in the kitchen. 

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Straws & Structure

This week in DT class 17 learnt how to join art straws together to make a strong structure. We also made a truss bridge in table teams. The results were excellent the children worked well as team and produced some wonderful bridges that took at least 500g of weight.

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Building Bridges

Year 5 and year 6 have learnt how to join straws together to make a strong join ready to make a truss bridge next week.

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Simple Bridges

Great work in class 14, researching and designing simple bridges. Really looking forward to seeing their work later in the project as they build bigger and bigger! Well done class 14. 

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Cutting Fruit

We have been practising our cutting skills in DT, by chopping different fruits.

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Types of Bridge

In DT this week, year 6 had a go at making different types of bridges: arch, beam and pillar. They worked together to make bridges that they thought would be strong enough for toy cars to get across. 

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Fruit Smoothies

In DT this half term we are going to be making fruit smoothies. Before we thought about making our own fruit smoothies, we did some product research and tasted some smoothies from the super market. We tried to guess what fruit we could taste in it and then we gave it a rating out of ten.

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Feijoada Project

This week, year 3 and year 4 have been conducting market research for their feijoada project finding out what ingredients our classmates like and dislike. We will use this information to decide what ingredients to include when we make our own feijoada.

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Classroom Kitchen

Children in year 2 really enjoyed a visit from the 'Classroom Kitchen'. They learned about the different food groups and the importance of healthy eating. The children used the claw and bridge strategies for cutting different fruits to make a healthy yoghurt. They made yoghurt pots with grapes, banana, strawberries, blueberries, oats, yoghurt, honey and crushed ginger biscuits. They all tried them and most finished them off. They really enjoyed themselves and can now start helping at home. 

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Completed Light Boxes

Class 12 have worked hard over the past few weeks designing and making their light boxes. Well done.

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Castles

Year 2 have been making castles in DT. They designed them, practised the skills they required before hand, like cutting and joining, before making their castles. They worked very hard and had lots of fun!

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Moving Pictures (Class 4)

The children used the skills they learned in their design and technology lessons to make their own moving picture in order to retell part of a story.

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Moving Toys (Class 14)

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Moving Toys

Class 17 have worked really hard on their moving toys this half term. They have learnt how different shaped cams can change the movement of their toy. They planned and made their toys independently and showed great resilience and problem solving skills to iron out any small problems they had. 

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Cams, Cogs & Levers

Class 16 have been looking at cams, cogs and levers. With this knowledge, we built small rotating toys that showed the principles of them. When they were finished, year 2, class 5, came to play with them give a review.

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Completed Cam Toys

Class 13 designed their own toys using cams and then the year 1 class came and tested the toys out.

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Light Box Construction

Today in class 12 we have been cutting and sticking our frames for our light boxes.

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Moving Flag

Class 16 had a go at creating a moving flag this week in DT, ready for next week, where they design their own moving toy.

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Cam Toys - Class 17

Class 17 have been working hard at understanding how cams work. We built a basic toy together to test out our different cams and how they make the toy move.

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Testing our Cam Toys

Children in class 13 have tested out their cam toys and evaluated the movements. 

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Cams

We have been investigating cams and seeing how they can move axels in different ways. Hopefully, we will be able to use this different movement when we design and build our own moving toys. Well done class 14. 

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Cam Toys

This week in design technology class 13 have made simple cam toys. The children loved experimenting with different shaped cams and seeing the effect on the follower. 

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Remembrance Day Biscuits

On Friday, we had a day dedicated to Remembrance Day. We discussed what it is and why we celebrate it and the importance of it too. The children enjoyed taking part in Poppy related activities, including making their own poppy biscuits.

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Moving Pictures

Class 4 have been looking at moving pictures in DT today. We looked at the different types of mechanisms and then practised making our own moving picture using sliders.

 

Curriculum - Design Technology - Construction Club

The children are continuing to enjoy construction club. There are some bigger builds that will take another couple of weeks to complete, but they are well on their way. The group of children doing the jigsaw have now completed it. They were very happy when the last piece was fitted.  


 

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