Design and Technology at Kirkstall Valley
Intent: Solving Real-World Problems At Kirkstall Valley, Design and Technology is an inspiring, rigorous, and practical subject. We encourage our children to use creativity and imagination to design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts.
We believe that high-quality design education makes an essential contribution to the creativity, culture, wealth, and well-being of the nation. Our intent is to build the Courage to take risks, the Compassion to design for others, and the Commitment to refine ideas until they work.
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Technical Rigour: We move beyond "craft" and focus on engineering and function. Whether building frame structures or programming electrical circuits, children learn the specific technical vocabulary and skills of the discipline.
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Healthy Lives: A significant portion of our curriculum is dedicated to Cooking and Nutrition. We believe that learning how to cook is a crucial life skill that enables pupils to feed themselves and others affordably and well, now and in later life.
Implementation: Design, Make, Evaluate Our curriculum is carefully sequenced to ensure skills are revisited and deepened. Projects are often grounded in our creative themes but always maintain disciplinary integrity.
1. The Iterative Process We follow the professional design cycle of Design, Make, and Evaluate.
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Design: Children learn to design for a specific user and purpose. In Year 2, this might be designing a puppet for a show; by Year 6, it involves using Computer-Aided Design (CAD) to prototype complex products.
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Make: We teach specific practical skills. Children progress from using simple joining techniques (glue, tape) to selecting specific tools for cutting wood, sewing textiles with varied stitches (running, blanket, backstitch), and soldering electrical components.
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Evaluate: We foster critical thinking. Children test their products against their original design criteria, asking: Does it work? Is it fit for purpose? How could I improve it?
2. Core Strands of Learning Our Long Term Plan ensures every child develops expertise across these key areas:
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Mechanisms & Electrical Systems: Progression is clear and ambitious. Children start with sliders and levers (Year 1) and wheels and axles (Year 2), moving to pneumatics (Year 3), simple circuits (Year 4), and complex mechanical systems involving pulleys, gears, and cams (Year 6).
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Structures: Children explore stability and strength, moving from freestanding structures in Year 1 to shell structures in Year 4 and complex frame structures in Year 5.
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Textiles: We teach genuine sewing and construction skills. Children learn to use templates and joining techniques in Year 2, progressing to 2D-to-3D product creation in Year 3, and combining fabric shapes with complex finishing techniques in Year 6.
3. Cooking and Nutrition: A ‘Farm to Fork’ Approach We are proud of our comprehensive food curriculum. Every year group undertakes a meaningful cooking project that goes beyond mixing ingredients.
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Skills: We explicitly teach the Bridge Hold and Claw Grip for safe chopping. Children progress from preparing fruit skewers (EYFS) to kneading dough for pizzas (Year 5) and cooking vegetable curries with chapatis (Year 6).
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Knowledge: We teach seasonality and provenance. Children learn where food comes from—whether it is grown, reared, or caught—and understand the principles of a varied, healthy diet using the Eatwell Guide.
Impact: Skills for Life By the time children leave Kirkstall Valley, they have the confidence to participate successfully in an increasingly technological world.
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Problem Solvers: They can critique, evaluate, and test their own ideas and the work of others.
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Practical Capability: They leave with a toolkit of practical skills—they can sew on a button, cook a nutritious meal, build a stable structure, and fix a simple circuit.
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Informed Choices: They understand the impact of their food choices on their own health and the environment.
Our Curriculum Map To see the specific projects for each year group—from the "Pneumatic Monsters" in Year 3 to "Electronic Games" in Year 4—please view our Long Term Plan below.
