Intent

In EYFS, children learn through play and mark-making to develop their fine and gross motor skills. Through play, they begin to explore how things works and build imaginative words using construction. They will use their own ideas to make choices about materials and structures. They will continuously have opportunities to develop their control over tools such as scissors and paintbrushes. Children will begin to give reasons about what they like and dislike, and offer improvements on their designs.  In Key Stage 1, children build upon the knowledge acquired in EYFS to develop new skills. In Key Stage 1, they will develop skills to create moving mechanisms, healthy food dishes, textiles and structures. In addition, they will think carefully about the process involved and become reflective learners. Creating a healthy picnic snack to commemorate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee provides strong links with our PSHE learning ‘Healthy Me’ and science learning ‘Plants’, aiding our children in making links with the wider world. Our topics are purposeful, ensuring that each topic follows the criteria ‘to design something, for someone to use’.  In Lower Key Stage 2, we further deepen our children’s understanding of making moving objects as we look at the rich history and geography themes. We widen the skills of mechanisms, structures, textiles and food technology by introducing them to electrical and pneumatic systems. This allows our children to make links with today’s world and experience a wider range of technology. Strong links to science can be seen in making seasonal soup using grown plants from our allotment area and making a moving vehicle with a car alarm to link with sound. As children develop their independence, they will begin to add more detail to their designs, refine their making skills and evaluate their work as reflective learners. In Upper Key Stage 2, we continue to deepen their knowledge and understanding of the ways we can construct products while carefully considering their functional and aesthetic properties. We continue to develop children’s food technology understanding, making sure that the children have a deep understanding about healthy foods and the impacts this can have on our bodies. This can be seen in our World War II topic where the children will improve a ration recipe to make it healthier and ensure our bodies are receiving the right nutrients. The children also evaluate and test their products, making improvements and having the confidence and knowledge on how to fix them. This can be seen in our science topic ‘forces’ where the children are making mechanical pop-up cards. By the time the children reach the end of their primary education, they will have had rich opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills.