Design Technology
Design and Technology at Elms Farm
Hello! My name is Miss. Parker and I lead the subject of Design and Technology at Elms Farm Primary school. I have always loved DT: learning, teaching and leaning it. I love how we create products which people want to use and enjoy.
At Elmsfarm, our DT curriculum is designed to be hands-on, inclusive, and rich in purposeful talk. Every child takes part in a full design cycle—beginning with market research and idea generation, followed by prototyping, planning, making, evaluating, and refining. Oracy is embedded throughout, enabling pupils to express ideas clearly, justify decisions, and collaborate effectively. This approach is supported by Hawksworth (2022), who highlights the role of oracy in boosting confidence and deepening exploratory talk.
The iterative nature of DT encourages resilience and creativity. Research by Hennessey & Mueller (2020) shows that prototyping and reflection are key to developing problem-solving skills and design thinking. Similarly, Pandit et al. (2024) emphasise the importance of evaluation and adjustment in fostering critical thinking and purposeful learning.
Our DT pedagogy empowers children to become thoughtful designers, confident communicators, and reflective learners—skills that extend far beyond the classroom.
Design and Technology is about providing opportunity for children to use creativity and imagination to design and make products that solve real and relevant problems, considering their own and others' needs.
Making mistakes is a huge part of Design and Technology and integral to learning.
Aims:
- To develop imaginative thinking in children and to enable them to talk about what they like and dislike when designing and making;
- To enable children to talk about how things work, and to draw and model their ideas;
- To encourage children to select appropriate tools and techniques for making a product, whilst following safe procedures;
- To foster enjoyment, satisfaction and purpose in designing and making;
- To use ICT software to assist our designing and learning.
Learning journey
Whole School DT Learning Journey
