Design & Technology Overview

At Burnside Primary School, we are fully committed to providing an enriching, relevant, and purposeful Design & Technology (D&T) curriculum that prepares pupils to thrive, achieve, and belong in a rapidly changing world. D&T inspires children to think independently, innovate, and solve real-world problems by drawing upon a rich set of practical, procedural, and technical skills.

Our D&T curriculum is seamlessly integrated with our core school values:

• Be Safe: Pupils learn to handle tools, equipment, and materials with care, confidence, and precision. They are encouraged to take creative risks in a supportive environment where trial, error, and adaptation are celebrated as key parts of the design process.

• Be Smart: Children think critically and technically. They draw on research, evaluate existing products, and master key concepts across structures, mechanisms, electrical systems, and computing. By exploring significant local and global inventors, pupils understand how design shapes history and opens doors to future careers.

• Be Kind: D&T at Burnside focusses on empathy and purpose. Pupils design products intended to solve genuine problems for others, listen respectfully to feedback, and evaluate how technology impacts our environment and wider community.

Through hands-on investigation, practical problem-solving, and food preparation, we ensure every child develops a sense of personal agency and sees themselves as the designers, engineers, and innovators of tomorrow.

Subject Content

Key Stage 1

In Key Stage 1, pupils explore fundamental concepts through guided, practical projects. They learn to:

• Design: Create purposeful, functional, and appealing products for themselves and others based on specific criteria. Children generate, model, and communicate ideas through discussion, drawings, templates, mock-ups, and digital tools, drawing inspiration from notable inventors and creators.

• Make: Be safe when selecting and using a variety of practical tools and equipment to cut, shape, join, and finish. Select from a wide range of materials and components—including construction sets, textiles, and ingredients—based on their specific properties.

• Evaluate: Investigate existing products, evaluate their own creations against design criteria, and reflect thoughtfully on how to make improvements (be smart).

• Technical Knowledge: Build and test structures to discover how to make them stronger, stiffer, and more stable. Explore and incorporate basic mechanisms such as levers, sliders, wheels, and axles into their projects.

• Cooking and Nutrition: Learn the principles of a healthy, varied diet, understand where food comes from, and prepare simple dishes safely and hygienically.

Key Stage 2

In Key Stage 2, pupils deepen their technical skills and independence to thrive and achieve. They learn to:

• Design: Conduct research to establish clear design criteria for innovative, functional products tailored to specific users. Develop and communicate detailed ideas using annotated sketches, cross-sectional diagrams, prototypes, pattern pieces, and computer-aided design (CAD).

• Make: Be smart and accurate in selecting and using a wider range of tools and equipment for cutting, shaping, joining, and finishing. Choose materials and components—including textiles, timber, and ingredients—based on functional properties and aesthetic qualities.

• Evaluate: Investigate and analyse existing products, evaluate their own work against personal design criteria, and show empathy (be kind) by incorporating feedback from others to refine their designs. Explore how key historical events and engineers have shaped the modern world.

• Technical Knowledge: Apply advanced understanding to strengthen, stiffen, and reinforce complex structures. Integrate mechanical systems (gears, pulleys, cams, linkages) and electrical systems (circuits incorporating switches, buzzers, and motors). Apply computing knowledge to programme, monitor, and control their products.

• Cooking and Nutrition: Apply principles of a healthy, varied diet to prepare and cook a range of predominantly savoury dishes using varied techniques. Understand seasonality and learn how ingredients are grown, reared, caught, and processed.