Subject Lead: Mrs P Hitch
- Design and Technology at The Ryde School (124.82KB)
- Design and Technology Curriculum Milestones (137.73KB)
Design and Technology Curriculum 2025-2026
- Design and Technology Curriculum Map (134.60KB)
Exploring Design and Technology at The Ryde School
Reception
Reception children have been practising their designing and joining skills this year. After studying different types of structures from the Winnie the Pooh story the children then designed and made their own.
Year 1
This unit developed the children’s understanding of healthy eating by focussing on eating more fruits and vegetables. First, the children investigated which were the most popular fruits and vegetables in their class. Next, children identified the different parts, such as skin, flesh and seeds. Then, the children worked safely and hygienically with sharp objects like knives and graters. The children then used all this new knowledge and skills to design a healthy salad for a new restaurant opening up. It needed to be healthy, colourful and tasty. Finally, the children used their designs to make their healthy salad and evaluated it … then enjoyed eating it!
Year 2
Children in Year 2 have been learning about Puppets. Children were provided with puppets to explore so they had a clear understanding of how puppets are used and which materials worked best. The children were shown how to make a finger puppet using glue to join the materials together. Then the children practised different joining techniques such as a running stitch. Using these skills, the children then designed their own glove puppet. The children used their design to make their puppet before evaluating.
Year 3
This ‘Mechanical Cards’ unit gave the children opportunities to develop their understanding of mechanical systems. Following instructions on how to make different types of lever and linkage mechanisms, this gave the children experience and information to draw on when developing their own ideas. The children sketched a design based on their ideas, made a prototype, and then created their ‘Lever and Linkage Card’ using the context of a Christmas card. Finally, the children evaluated their finished product.
Year 4
Year 4 have been investigating existing packaging, learning how nets create 3D shapes, exploring graphics and fonts, and applying this knowledge to design, make and evaluate a packaging product for a specific purpose (a cereal box).
Year 5
Children in Year 5 have been studying structures this term. Children first looked at the basics of bridge design, then how bridges can be strengthened and finally designed a bridge that is both strong and attractive. Children learnt how pillars and beams are used to span gaps, then how arches and suspension cables can strengthen a bridge. Using this learning the children then designed and made their own bridge. There were some fantastic models.
Year 6
This term the children have researched the origin of Gingerbread Houses and planned to make their own. They have followed a recipe to make their gingerbread biscuits ready for building and have baked, constructed and decorated a gingerbread house. The children ensured their products had a high quality finish after using prototypes, cross-sectional diagrams and computer-aided designs to represent their design. The children created innovative designs that improved upon existing products. They measured accurately and calculated ratios of ingredients to scale up or down from a recipe. The children made continual refinements to their product and finally evaluated.
