St PetersCE Primary School
'The role of the designer is that of a good, thoughtful host anticipating the needs of his guests.' – Charles Eames
Curriculum Intent
At St Peter’s, we want every child to see themselves as a creative, confident and thoughtful designer. Through Design and Technology, children learn how ideas can be transformed into products that solve real problems for real people and have a meaningful purpose.
Our Design and Technology curriculum gives children opportunities to research, design, make and evaluate products in a range of relevant and engaging contexts. Children explore existing products, develop their technical knowledge and practical skills, and use these to create their own solutions. Throughout each project, the user is placed at the centre of the design process: What are we designing? Who is it for? What is its purpose? How can we make it work well?
We believe that great design is not simply about how something looks. It is about understanding a problem, responding creatively, making thoughtful decisions and being prepared to test, adapt and improve ideas. By working iteratively, children develop the resilience, creativity, problem-solving and critical thinking skills that are valuable both in school and beyond.
Our Design Process
Across the school, children follow a consistent design process:
Research
Children begin by exploring the problem, purpose and intended user. They investigate existing products, materials and possible solutions, asking questions about what works well and what could be improved.
Where appropriate, children carry out market research to find out what potential users like, need or would find useful. This might involve asking children in other year groups for their opinions, carrying out surveys or questionnaires, gathering feedback or comparing different existing products. By gathering information from real users, children learn to make informed design decisions rather than simply designing based on their own preferences.
Design
Children use what they have discovered to generate and communicate their own ideas. They consider the needs of their user and develop clear design criteria to help guide their decisions.
Make
Children select appropriate materials, tools and techniques and bring their ideas to life. Making is an important part of the learning process, and children are encouraged to test their ideas, identify what works and what does not, and adapt their designs as they work.
Evaluate
Children evaluate their finished products against the original purpose and design criteria. They consider feedback from others and identify what they would change or improve. This helps them understand that good design is an ongoing process of thinking, making, testing and refining.
Curriculum Design
Our curriculum is organised around three key areas, allowing children to develop their knowledge and skills progressively throughout their time at St Peter’s.
Workshop
Children explore the principles behind structures, mechanisms and electrical systems. They investigate how things are constructed and how different mechanisms create movement, beginning with simple structures and wheels and axles and progressing towards pneumatics, electrical circuits, sensors and cams.
As their knowledge develops, children learn to select and use materials, tools and mechanisms with increasing confidence and precision.
Textiles
Children explore the creative and practical possibilities of natural and synthetic textile materials. They learn how fabrics can be joined, decorated, shaped and adapted to create products for a purpose.
Their skills develop progressively from threading, weaving and simple stitching through to templates, appliqué, embroidery, CAD and more complex stitching techniques. Children learn how the properties of different fabrics influence their designs and how materials can be strengthened, reinforced or combined to achieve a particular purpose.
Food
Children develop their understanding of healthy eating, nutrition, food preparation and the wider impact of food choices.
They learn where food comes from and how it is sourced, how to prepare food safely and hygienically, and how ingredients can be selected and adapted for different purposes. As they progress through the school, children consider budgeting, dietary requirements, seasonality, cultural cuisine and the environmental impact of food production and transportation.
At St Peter’s, every project has a clear purpose. We want children to understand that design is about more than simply making something that looks good. They are designing something, for somebody, for some purpose.
Our projects therefore provide children with authentic contexts and users to consider. Whether they are designing a toy for a younger child, a product for a local gift shop, a safety device for a school or a dish for a community event, children are encouraged to think carefully about the needs of the person who will use their product.
This helps children understand the designed world around them and recognise their own ability to shape it.
Design has an impact on the world around us. At St Peter’s, children are encouraged to think about the social and environmental consequences of design and to consider the responsibilities that come with being a designer.
As they encounter different products and design challenges, children consider questions such as: Who is this designed for? Why was it made this way? What impact might it have? Could it be designed differently?
Through these discussions, children begin to understand that design can help people, solve problems and improve lives, but that design choices can also have unintended consequences. We want our children to become thoughtful designers who consider not only whether something works, but also whether it is right for the people and world around them.
Our Design and Technology curriculum is carefully sequenced so that children revisit and build upon knowledge and practical skills throughout their time at St Peter’s. From exploring materials and structures in the Early Years through to designing products using mechanisms, electrical systems, CAD, textiles and food technology in Key Stage 2, children are continually developing greater independence, precision and confidence.
We want every child to leave St Peter’s with the confidence to have an idea, explore its possibilities, make something real and improve it. Most importantly, we want them to understand that they have the creativity, knowledge and skills to solve problems and make a difference to the world around them.