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Skelton School
Design and Technology
At Skelton School it is our intent to provide high quality design and technology education. Design and technology is an inspiring and rigorous subject where children can use and develop their creativity and imagination to design and make real products which aim to solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts. Considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values. We aim to enable our pupils to develop their skills and knowledge in design, mechanisms, electrical control and a range of materials, including food. As well as subject specific knowledge pupils will also draw on disciplines such as mathematics, science, engineering, computing and art. Design and technology helps to equip pupils for the future. They will know how to take risks, be resourceful, innovative, enterprising and be capable, caring citizens. Through the evaluation of past and present designs pupils are able to develop a critical understanding of the role products play in daily life and the wider world. High-quality and engaging design and technology education makes an essential contribution to the creativity, culture, wealth and well-being of the nation.
Children are born curious, our design and technology curriculum nurtures this.
Year 3 & 4 - Packaging - We began this unit by exploring existing packaging, looking at what made it visually appealing and investigating how it was put together. We then began working on different aspects to develop our skills, we looked at nets for 3D shapes and had a practice at making some and we did some work on fonts so that we could use this on our final design. We planned out what we were going to make I great detail meaning for the final products we knew exactly what to do. We are very proud of how much hard work we put into this unit and think that our packaging looks fantastic!
After School Club - Cake making - We had a wonderful opportunity to practice some of the skills we had learnt in our DT sessions at after school club recently. We designed some cupcakes, then followed a recipe to add the ingredients in the right order to make the mix. We then baked them and once they were ready we got to add some fabulous decorations. Don’t they look great!?
KS1 - Sensational Scones - Inspired by our geography work about the UK we began investigation the traditional British scone. We began by investigating who had tried scones before and then tasted a few different varieties and discussing our likes and dislikes. Once we had done that we could then plan what sort of scones we would like to make and what flavours we may introduce. Then for the fun part! We worked hard to follow a scone recipe and tailor it to meet our designs, we think they turned out great and we loved being able to taste them at the end of all that hard work.
EYFS - The Titanic - The EYFS children have loved learning all about the Titanic as part of their transport topic. They began by looking at different pictures of the titanic and talked the key features. They then talked about a plan of how they could recreate the iconic ship and set to work. The children explored different joining techniques and had to overcome some problems, such as the paint not sticking to the shiny boxes! They worked together to create these fantastic models. Everyone was very proud of themselves and could talk about which parts they liked the best. Let’s hope they don’t sink!
Fruit Salad Project - KS1 - As part of their learning about a healthy, varied diet, KS1 children prepared a fruit salad for their friends in reception with their likes and dislikes in mind. They had to plan what they were going to include, select the correct tools and prepare the dishes. Finally, they evaluated alongside the reception children the finished product.
Christmas DT Project - Year 3 & 4 - A Christmas stocking - The year 3s and 4s have created some beautiful Christmas stockings. They studied some existing designs and discussed their appeal and function. They then spent some time refining their cutting, sewing and designing skills before setting to work to create these beautiful decorations. Once they were finished they evaluated their work in the project. A fine sight upon the class Christmas tree!
Christmas Dt Project - Year 5 & 6 - A hanging stuffed toy - The Year 5s and 6s have been hard at work in the run up to Christmas. They looked at existing designs before practicing both their cutting and sewing skills. They then designed how they would like their finished product to look before starting out on the making process. Once made they could then evaluate their finished products. We hope everyone at home loved them!
EYFS - Papier Mâché Planets - All of the children in EYFS have been working on their class project to create the solar system out of papier mâché. They began by learning about the different planets and looking at images of them before begin to create them. They had to use a wide variety of design and making skills throughout the process and lots of problem solving. They are now pride of place above our class spaceship. We think they look out of this world!
Year 5/6 have been working hard on their cams moving toy project this half term. We started by looking at existing designs and evaluated what we liked or disliked. We then designed our own moving toy and chose which cam we wanted to use based on the movement we wanted to create. We have worked so hard on our toys and are really pleased with the final result!
KS1 - Moving Pictures Project - Inspired by our ‘Flying High’ topic, we have been making our own moving pictures. Initially, we explored how moving pictures were used in some of the books we have in our collection. We then investigated how these worked and looked specifically at sliders, pivots and levers and wheel mechanisms and practiced making these. Next we designed our own moving pictures involving ‘flying machines’ before setting to work to make our visions come to life. Finally we evaluated the work we had done and reflected on which aspects were successful and where we could make improvements. Aren’t they great!?
KS1 - Wheeled Bathing Machine Models - As part of our seaside holidays learning in year 1 and 2 we had a great day working on our DT project. We evaluated some existing bathing machines, including one owned by Queen Victoria, before designing our own. We then worked incredibly hard, making our models to fit with the design criteria. Finally, we tested them out to see how they would be rolling down the beach towards the sea, with a ‘Victorian’ inside! We had a cracking time and are incredibly proud of our hard work.
Year 5/6 have finished making their steady hand games! We have combined our knowledge of electrical circuits from Science to make a circuit game. We used lots of experimentation and problem solving to complete our games and persevered when things didn’t quite go as we had planned.
Year 5/6 - Making Bread - We started our unit by thinking about how bread fits into a healthy diet. We then tasted a variety of existing bread products and evaluated them based on their taste, texture, appearance and smell. We used these products to help us design our own bread product and thought about what shape and additional options we could add to our bread, e.g. cheese. We then made our own bread roll from scratch and once they were ready we were able to taste and evaluate our own bread products!
KS1 - Recycled Material Musical Instruments - For our first DT unit of the year we began exploring musical instruments. We first of all looked at some musical instruments we had in school and discussed their visual appeal (how they looked) as well as their function (how they make a noise). We then explored our junk box to see how we could use recycled materials to recreate some musical instruments. The construction part was quite challenging and we had to overcome a few problems but this made it all the more impressive when we got to show off our finished articles. We all worked hard and problem solved to make our instruments the best they could be. Finally, we spent some time evaluating how we’d done.
