At The Rushmere Park Academy we believe that design and technology is a subject that encourages and inspires children to become innovators in applying their knowledge and understanding when developing ideas, planning, and making products and then evaluating them. Children are taught and encouraged to identify how products and items are made, to design using appropriate materials and gain a fundamental understanding of the purpose of design. We enable learning through a mixture of whole-class teaching and individual/group activities entwined within our curriculum themes. We have recognised the importance of offering opportunities to both to work on their own and to collaborate with others, listening to other children’s ideas and treating these with respect.

Design and Technology prepares children to take part in the development of today’s rapidly changing world. Creative thinking encourages children to make positive changes to their quality of life and this subject area encourages children to become autonomous and creative problem-solvers, both as individuals and as part of a team. It enables them to identify needs and opportunities and to respond by developing ideas and eventually making products. Through the study of design and technology, they combine practical skills with an understanding of aesthetic, social and environmental issues, as well as functions and industrial practices. This allows them to reflect on and evaluate present and past design and technology, its uses and its impacts.

The principles of Design technology are:

· Develop imaginative thinking in children and to enable them to talk about what they like and dislike when designing and making.

· Enable children to talk about how things work, and to draw and model their ideas.

· Encourage children to select appropriate tools and techniques for making a product, whilst following safe procedures.

· Develop an understanding of technological processes, products, and their manufacture, and their contribution to our society.

· Explore attitudes towards the world around us regarding construction, textiles, mechanisms, and food