"I really enjoy being creative in Design and being able to make things that I have designed."

At Market Harborough Church of England Academy, we follow the CUSP Design scheme. Children are encouraged to think creatively and logically to solve problems during our Design Technology units. Each year group will design, make and evaluate their work, enabling them to produce high quality products. 

We have a variety of creative and practical activities that the children will engage in. The children get the opportunity to create products that use mechanisms such as hinges, levers, gears and pulleys. As the children move up the school, they get to learn more about the world around us in their structures units. In these units, they get to learn about how different structures they see in the world are so sturdy. The children get to research a number of different methods and are able to come up with their own conclusions. We have a range of Food and Nutrition units where the children get to learn all about varied, balanced diets, they get to create delicious meals using locally sourced food, and they get to create culinary delights from around the world. As part of their cooking units, our pupils will be taught about nutrition and healthy eating. The children also will have the opportunity to work alongside our school chefs who will share their love of cooking, as we believe that learning how to cook is a crucial life skill. In our textiles units, the children are able to develop the life skill of sewing, they build an understanding of different materials and how they suit different purposes. They also learn about how we can reduce, reuse, recycle and repurpose different fabrics, limiting how much material goes to waste. 

The national curriculum for design and technology aims to ensure that all pupils:   

• develop the creative, technical and practical expertise needed to perform everyday tasks confidently and to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world   

• build and apply a repertoire of knowledge, understanding and skills in order to design and make high-quality prototypes and products for a wide range of users   

• critique, evaluate and test their ideas and products and the work of others   

• understand and apply the principles of nutrition and learn how to cook 

Through a variety of creative and practical activities, pupils should be taught the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in an iterative process of designing and making.   

They should work in a range of relevant contexts [for example, the home, school, leisure, culture, enterprise, industry and the wider environment].   

When designing and making, pupils should be taught to:   

Design   

• use research and develop design criteria to inform the design of innovative, functional, appealing products that are fit for purpose, aimed at particular individuals or groups   

• generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through discussion, annotated sketches, cross-sectional and exploded diagrams, prototypes, pattern pieces and computer-aided design   

Make  

• select from and use a wider range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks [for example, cutting, shaping, joining and finishing], accurately   

• select from and use a wider range of materials and components, including construction materials, textiles and ingredients, according to their functional properties and aesthetic qualities.  

Evaluate  

• investigate and analyse a range of existing products   

• evaluate their ideas and products against their own design criteria and consider the views of others to improve their work   

• understand how key events and individuals in design and technology have helped shape the world   

Technical knowledge   

• apply their understanding of how to strengthen, stiffen and reinforce more complex structures   

• understand and use mechanical systems in their products [for example, gears, pulleys, cams, levers and linkages]   

• understand and use electrical systems in their products [for example, series circuits incorporating switches, bulbs, buzzers and motors]   

• apply their understanding of computing to programme, monitor and control