Design Technology Statement
‘With joyful hearts, we love, learn and praise as the family of God’
Intent
At Sacred Heart our intent is to deliver a Design and Technology curriculum that is ambitious, engaging, and firmly rooted in real-world purpose. Through the Kapow Primary D&T curriculum, we aim to inspire all pupils to become creative, resourceful, and reflective problem-solvers who are equipped with the skills and knowledge needed to thrive in an increasingly design-driven world. We intend for pupils to:
Develop a broad and secure body of technical knowledge, including structures, mechanisms, textiles, electrical systems, and food technology, through a carefully sequenced curriculum that builds progressively from Early Years to Year 6.
Think critically and creatively, using the design–make–evaluate cycle to explore ideas, take risks, innovate, and refine their outcomes.
Understand the relevance and impact of design and technology by exploring real-life problems, user needs, and the role of designers, engineers, and inventors who shape the modern world.
Apply and deepen their wider curriculum knowledge, including maths, science, and art, through meaningful cross-curricular links embedded within Kapow’s structured units.
Develop practical competence and confidence in using a broad range of tools, materials, and techniques safely and effectively.
Build resilience, teamwork, and reflective skills, learning to give and receive feedback, solve problems independently, and adapt solutions to meet specific criteria.
Access inclusive, scaffolded learning experiences, ensuring that all pupils—including those with SEND—can succeed, express their ideas, and achieve high-quality outcomes.
Develop awareness of sustainability and ethical design, encouraging thoughtful choices about materials, environmental impact, and responsible consumption.
Ultimately, our intent is to cultivate young designers who are curious, confident, and motivated by challenge—children who leave our school with a well-rounded understanding of how design and technology influences everyday life and how they can contribute to the world as future innovators.
Implementation
Our Design and Technology curriculum is implemented through the structured, research-informed Kapow Primary scheme, ensuring high-quality, consistent teaching across the school. The curriculum is coherently sequenced, enabling pupils to build technical knowledge, practical skills, and design thinking progressively from Early Years to Year 6.
Each Kapow unit follows the design–make–evaluate cycle, allowing pupils to deepen their understanding of the complete design process. Learning is organised into five core strands: mechanisms, structures, textiles, electrical systems, and cooking and nutrition, with additional emphasis on digital and cross-curricular links. Concepts are revisited regularly to strengthen retention and build mastery over time.
Teachers deliver well-planned, practical lessons that follow a clear progression of skills and knowledge. Detailed lesson plans, robust subject knowledge videos, and model examples support staff confidence and ensure consistently high teaching standards. Practical activities are taught with a strong emphasis on safety and correct tool use, enabling pupils to gain confidence in handling materials and equipment.
Lessons are designed to be accessible for all learners. Scaffolds, visual supports, and adapted resources—embedded within the Kapow curriculum—ensure that pupils with SEND and those needing additional support can succeed and take part fully in practical and creative activities. Challenge opportunities stretch more able learners and enable them to explore innovative solutions.
Subject-specific vocabulary is explicitly taught and revisited, supporting pupils in articulating their design choices and evaluating products with accuracy. Knowledge organisers help reinforce key concepts, techniques, and terminology, supporting memory retention and independence.
The curriculum is enriched through purposeful connections with maths, science, art, and computing. These links enable pupils to apply wider curriculum knowledge meaningfully—for example, using measurement and geometry in construction tasks or linking science learning to mechanisms and electrical systems.
Formative assessment is ongoing throughout every lesson. Teachers use questioning, observation, and review of design work and final products to address misconceptions and guide next steps. Kapow’s structured assessment guidance ensures consistent judgements across year groups and supports pupils’ long-term progress.
Where possible, D&T learning is enhanced by real-world contexts, such as visits, workshops, community projects, and engagement with local designers or engineers. These opportunities help pupils understand the value and impact of design in the world beyond school.
Through this carefully planned and well-delivered approach, pupils develop a secure understanding of Design and Technology, gain confidence in their abilities, and produce high-quality outcomes that reflect their creativity, technical skill, and growing independence.
Impact
The effective implementation of the Kapow Primary D&T curriculum has resulted in pupils achieving well in Design and Technology across all year groups. Pupils develop a deep, secure understanding of the design process and can confidently apply the design–make–evaluate cycle to produce purposeful, high-quality outcomes. As a result, they leave our school equipped with practical skills, creativity, and resilience that prepare them for the challenges of an increasingly design-driven world.
Pupils produce work of a consistently high standard. Their final products demonstrate strong technical competence, thoughtful design choices, and clear understanding of user needs. They can articulate the steps they have taken, justify their decisions, and reflect critically on how to improve their work. This is supported by their secure grasp of subject-specific vocabulary, which they use accurately and confidently.
The structured and sequenced Kapow curriculum enables pupils to embed key knowledge into long-term memory. Work scrutiny, pupil voice, and assessment evidence show that pupils can recall and build upon prior learning, making clear connections across D&T strands such as mechanisms, structures, textiles, electrical systems, and food technology. This ensures strong progression across the school.
Pupils display high levels of enthusiasm, independence, and engagement in D&T lessons. They enjoy hands-on learning, embrace challenge, and show resilience when solving problems or refining their ideas. Behaviour during practical work is exemplary, with pupils demonstrating maturity, teamwork, and a strong understanding of safety.
All pupils, including those with SEND, achieve well due to the curriculum’s clear scaffolding, practical adaptations, and accessible lesson structures. Pupils who may find written tasks challenging are able to demonstrate their thinking and skills through practical outcomes, ensuring equity of opportunity and genuine success for all.
Design and Technology strengthens pupils’ learning across other subjects. Evidence shows improved application of mathematical skills such as measurement, geometry, and data handling, as well as enhanced scientific understanding linked to structures, forces, nutrition, and electrical systems. Pupils’ creativity and problem-solving skills are transferable across the wider curriculum.
Through D&T, pupils develop essential life skills, including critical thinking, collaboration, safe tool use, and an understanding of sustainable and ethical design. Pupils leave our school as confident, reflective, and capable young designers who recognise the importance of innovation and who can make informed decisions about the products and technologies shaping their world.