Winshill Village
Design & Technology
Subject Leader: Mrs C. Jenkins 
“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”
Steve Jobs (Co-founders of Apple)
Vision
At Winshill Village Primary and Nursery School, we intend to equip our children with the Design and Technology skills required for their transition into Key Stage Three. We aim to ensure that all children leave us as determined, confident and aspirational designers. Our Design and Technology curriculum aims to be practical and exciting, imaginative and innovative. We teach our children to pose questions and to be curious about how different products work. Through Design and Technology children will learn new practical and technical skills enabling them to perform everyday tasks and allowing them to develop an understanding of design projects. We ensure that children test, evaluate and critique their own work in a purposeful way to foster improvement and success. Our carefully designed Design and Technology curriculum aims to ensure that all pupils, regardless of their background or starting point show growth as designers and make progress during their design and technology journey, at our school.
Aims and Goals
At Winshill Village Primary and Nursery School, our Design & Technology curriculum aims to:
- Ensure all children leave us as determined, confident and aspirational designers.
- Deliver practical and exciting, imaginative and innovative experiences
- Teach our children to pose questions and to be curious about how different products work.
- Allow children to learn new practical and technical skills enabling them to perform everyday tasks and allowing them to develop an understanding of design projects.
- Ensure that children test, evaluate and critique their own work in a purposeful way to foster improvement and success.
Curriculum
At Winshill Village Primary and Nursery School, Design & Technology (D&T) is taught through the KAPOW platform from Year 1 through to Year 6. Lessons are carefully sequenced, age-appropriate, and designed to provide a consistent and engaging structure. In the Early Years, continuous provision ensures all areas of the EYFS framework are covered, with progression shown through Reception as practitioners select purposeful projects that link into the long-term plan.
Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)
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D&T is child-led, with staff providing a range of resources for exploration.
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Each classroom includes a creative area, where children can experiment with joining, attaching, and combining materials.
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Children are encouraged to lead their own design pieces, with staff enhancing learning through questions, suggestions, and verbal evaluation.
Years 1–6
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A carefully planned medium-term curriculum ensures clear progression of skills and knowledge across the school, revisiting prior learning and introducing new concepts.
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D&T is taught discretely, with meaningful cross-curricular links made where appropriate to deepen understanding and provide real-life context.
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Teachers are supported by detailed lesson plans and videos but adapt lessons to suit the needs of their pupils.
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Lessons cover the key D&T strands: Design, Make, Evaluate, and Technical Knowledge. Some sessions are practical and exploratory, while others are recorded in dedicated D&T books (used consistently from Year 1 to Year 6).
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Each year, children take part in a whole-school STEM project, providing opportunities to work collaboratively and apply their skills to solve problems creatively.
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A wide range of skills are taught, with health and safety carefully embedded to ensure children work confidently and responsibly.
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Cross-curricular links underpin learning, helping children to apply knowledge and skills in purposeful, hands-on contexts that prepare them for life beyond the classroom.
Through D&T, our pupils develop creativity, resilience, and problem-solving skills, enabling them to think critically, take risks, and see the value of their ideas in the wider world.
Cross-Curricular
At Winshill Village Primary and Nursery School, Design & Technology is meaningfully connected to many other areas of the curriculum. In Mathematics, children apply their understanding of measurement, scale, and 3D shapes, while in Science they explore concepts such as forces, mechanisms, and materials. These purposeful links enrich our D&T provision, allowing children to deepen their knowledge, apply skills in real-life contexts, and develop the values they need to thrive in life.
Documents and Useful Links
Design and Technology Subject Overview
Design and Technology Long Term Plan
