Design and Technology Subject Leader: Miss J Apsey
For any more information on Horton Kirby’s Design and Technology Curriculum, please contact the office.
Design & Technology prepares pupils to deal with the ever-changing world. We aim to combine practical skills with knowledge and understanding; to provide opportunities for children to develop their capability through a variety of life skills including cooking, nutrition, design and making.
Intent
Design and Technology provides our children with a real life context for learning. At Horton Kirby we encourage our children to aspire to be more through creating opportunities for them in the wider world. Our Design and Technology curriculum provides opportunities for the children to think of themselves as, and become, designers, engineers and producers of purposeful products that will be used in real-life contexts.
The Design and Technology curriculum is structured into five key concepts:
- Designing
- Making
- Evaluating
- Technical Knowledge
- Cooking and nutrition


Implementation
Horton Kirby’s DT curriculum follows the design, make and evaluate cycle. The design process is rooted in real-life, relevant contexts to give meaning to learning with the children undertaking research, creating drawings, templates and mock-ups. While making, our children are given choices and a range of tools to choose freely from. To evaluate, our children are able to evaluate their own products against design criteria to help make improvements to their work. Our children are encouraged to become innovators and risk takers, building up their resilience. Each of these steps is rooted in technical knowledge and vocabulary.
Impact
Our learners develop detailed knowledge and a breadth of skills across the DT curriculum, with their skills built upon each year of they, move through the school. Key concepts are revisited and developed to ensure the knowledge and skills are firmly embedded within the long-term memory. Our children are confident in creating their own work and can comment on the work of others. Our children take pride in their work and enjoy talking about what they have created.

Design and Technology in Each Stage
In KS1, pupils learn how to draw on their own experience to generate ideas through discussions, observations, drawings and modellings. Pupils are given the opportunity to work with tools, equipment, materials and food to make quality products.
Click the link below to view our Year 1-2 long-term plan:

In KS2, pupils develop from their skills learnt in KS1 and enhance and refine their practical skills with advanced resources and components to ensure good-quality finishes to products.
Click the link below to view our year 3-4 and year 5-6 long-term plans:

Design and Technology Progression
At Horton Kirby, we develop our pupil’s Design and Technology understanding through essential skills; growing their depth of knowledge year on year.
SEND Information
Our SEND and disadvantaged pupils are given the necessary support in class to fully access the supported DT curriculum. Learning is adapted where necessary to support SEND/EAL pupils to give equal opportunities for all to be confident in approaching any problems faced. Interventions, support and challenges are constantly revised and adapted to ensure all children are supported in achieving learning. The above areas are robustly and continuously monitored to ensure any gaps in learning are addressed.
Design and Technology Extra Resources
For remote learning, please visit our remote learning page or contact our Head of DT for more information.