ST. HUGH’S
CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL
SERVING THE PARISH OF ST HUGH AND ST JOHN
DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY
POLICY
Mission Statement and School Prayer
This is our school, Let peace dwell here,
Let the rooms be full of contentment,
Let love abide here, Love of learning,
Love of one another, Love of life itself,
And love of God.
Amen.
B. Sullivan
D&T Co-ordinator
May 2013
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Introduction
At St. Hugh’s we are committed to providing all children with the learning
opportunities to engage in Design and Technology. This policy outlines the
purpose, nature and management of the Design and Technology taught at St.
Hugh’s. The implementation of this policy is the responsibility of the Design
and Technology Co-ordinator and all class teachers.
The Importance of Design and Technology in the Curriculum.
Design and Technology prepares children to take part in the development of
tomorrow’s rapidly changing world. It encourages them to think creatively in
order to make positive changes to their quality of life and to solve problems,
as part of a team or as individuals. It enables them to identify needs and
opportunities and to respond by developing ideas and eventually making
products. One of the key values of Design and Technology is that it provides
an opportunity for children to develop an understanding of technological
processes, products, their manufacture and application, and the contribution
of technology to our society.
The Contribution of Design and Technology to “Help Children Achieve
More.”
“Help Children Achieve More” is a government initiative for every child,
whatever their background or circumstances, to have the support they need to
be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution and
achieve economic well-being. These outcomes are embedded in the teaching
and learning of Design and Technology:

Stay Safe:
use tools and equipment safely;
care for others;
use products safely and ‘design
safety in;’
prepare food safely.

Be Healthy:
design and make recipes for a
healthy diet;
design and make products to help
people lead healthier lives;
understand how poorly designed
products may affect health.
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
Enjoy and Achieve:
develop products to meet their own
and other people’s needs;
develop creativity, risk taking and
innovation;
enjoy seeing their ideas made into
reality;
understand the made world in and
beyond school;
create practical solutions to problems
relevant to their own lives.

Make a Positive Contribution:
design products that make a
difference;
think about inclusive design and
sustainability;
design and make for others in their
community;
challenge existing designs;
design collaboratively to develop
better ideas.

Achieve Economic Well-being:
discover what we design and
manufacture locally and in the UK;
find out who works in designing and
manufacturing;
understand the difference between
shop bought and homemade;
learn enterprise skills; (making
products that can be sold)
make recipes to a budget.
The Aims of Design and Technology.
Key Stage 1
Pupils are encouraged to think imaginatively and talk about what they like and
dislike when designing and making. They are able to build on their early
childhood experiences of investigating objects around them. They explore
how familiar things work and talk about, draw and model their ideas. Pupils
learn how to design and make safely.
Key Stage 2
Pupils work on their own and as part of a team 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. Pupils are supported in planning what has to be
done, identifying what works well and what could be improved in their own
and others’ designs. They draw on their knowledge and understanding from
other areas of the curriculum e.g. Science, Numeracy etc…
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The National Curriculum.
At Key Stage 1 and 2 the programme of study for Design and Technology
states that pupils should be taught how to develop, plan and communicate
their ideas using a variety of methods. They should learn how to work with
tools, equipment, materials and components to make quality products. Pupils
should be taught to reflect on the progress of their work and identify ways they
could improve it. Teachers should give pupils an understanding of the
characteristics of materials and components. Throughout their work the pupils
will learn the importance of health and safety.
The Early Years Foundation Stage.
Design and Technology is specifically named in the EYFS Statutory
Framework under the ‘Expressive Arts and Design’ area of learning. This
involves enabling children to explore and play with a wide range of media and
materials, as well as providing opportunities and encouragement for sharing
their thoughts, ideas and feelings through a variety of activities in art, music,
movement, dance, role-play, and design and technology.
The related early learning goals for this area of learning indicate the level of
progress children should be expected to have attained by the end of the
EYFS:
 Exploring and using media and materials: children sing songs, make
music and dance, and experiment with ways of changing them. They
safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques,
experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function.
 Being imaginative: children use what they have learnt about media and
materials in original ways, thinking about uses and purposes. They
represent their own ideas, thoughts and feelings through design and
technology, art, music, dance, role-play and stories.
Organisation and Planning.
Children in nursery and reception are given opportunities, through the
continuous provision available and through focussed activities, to develop the
skills they need in Design and Technology in Key Stage 1 and 2. For example:
building for a variety of purposes, cutting, folding, mixing, joining, handling
appropriate tools with increasing control etc…
The D&T Curriculum at Key Stage 1 and 2 builds on these early experiences
gained in the Foundation Stage. QCA Units of Work are followed on a two
year cycle as shown below. The children are given the opportunity to develop
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their knowledge and skills through learning about textiles, food, mechanisms
and structures. Electrical control is included at Key Stage 2.
Cycle A
2D Joseph’s Coat
(Textiles)
Key Stage 1
1A Moving Pictures
(Mechanisms)
Cycle B
2B Puppets
(Textiles)
1D Homes
(Structures)
Lower Key Stage 2
4B Storybooks
(Mechanisms)
Cycle A
3C Moving
Monsters
(Mechanisms)
Cycle B
4E Lighting it Up
(Control:Electrical)
3B Sandwich Snacks
(Food)
Upper Key Stage 2
5A Musical
Instruments
(Structures)
Cycle A
5B Bread
(Food)
Cycle B
6D Vehicles
(Control:Electrical))
6B Slippers
(Textiles)
2C Winding Up
(Mechanisms/
Structures)
1C Eat Fruit & Veg.
(Food)
3D Photo Frames
(Structures)
4A Money Containers
(Textiles)
6C Fairgrounds
(Control: Electrical)
6A Shelters
(Structures)
(N.B. Cycle A covers the school years 2012-13, 2014-15, 2016-17 etc…
Cycle B covers the school years 2013-14, 2015-16, 2017-18 etc…)
One unit of work is planned and undertaken each term. Class teachers plan
for individual design and technology sessions. The lesson plans to
accompany the QCA units of work are available and also DATA helpsheets to
aid planning.
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The Contribution of Design and Technology to other Curriculum Areas.
Literacy
The evaluation of products in Design and Technology requires the children to
articulate their ideas and compare and contrast their views with those of
others.
ICT
ICT is used to support Design and Technology teaching when appropriate.
For example Espresso has D&T modules detailing starting points and
providing ideas, photo collections etc. Access to websites provides useful
information, for example with regard to food technology and healthy eating.
PSHE
The teaching of Design and Technology offers opportunities to support the
children’s social development, allowing them to work together in groups and
discuss and consider others’ ideas. Through their collaborative and
cooperative work they are also able to develop a respect for the abilities of
other children and a better understanding of themselves.
The children are encouraged to follow safe procedures when making things,
helping them to acquire a sense of responsibility for themselves and for
others. They also learn about health and healthy diets, gaining an
understanding of personal hygiene particularly when working with food.
Assessment
Formative assessment is used during lessons and teachers utilise a variety of
methods in order to determine how each pupil is progressing e.g. questioning,
discussion, feedback. The children are also encouraged to make personal
assessments of their own work through evaluating activities and identifying
what they need to improve. Attainment is reported to parents in the annual
report each July.
Management and Organisation of Resources.
Resources for the specific planned units of work are ordered by the Design
and Technology Co-ordinator at the beginning of each autumn term. Unitbased boxes are stored on the shelves outside of the staff room and contain
lesson plans, DATA helpsheets, ideas for cross-curricular links and resources
to teach that unit of work. Some general resources are also kept in the
cupboards outside of the staff room. For safety reasons Stanley knives and
hacksaws are kept in a locked cupboard. For those units of work where the
only resources required are junk materials, the relevant lesson plans,
helpsheets etc… can be found on the shelves outside of the staff room.
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Three mobile cookers are available for use in classrooms and are stored near
the staff room. There is also a cooker permanently in the nursery. An
extensive range of cooking resources and utensils can be found in labelled
cupboards in the kitchen of the Jubilee Building. Files covering the food
technology units of work are stored there too.
Health and Safety.
The class teacher is responsible for the safety of the children and to ensure
that at all times they are working and behaving in a manner that will not cause
harm to themselves or to others. The children are also taught how to follow
the proper procedures for food safety and hygiene.
This policy has been written in line with the school’s Inclusion and
Special Educational Needs Policies and dyslexia aware practice.
This policy will be reviewed in May 2015.
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