I created these design booklets when I took over as subject leader of Design and Technology as there wasn’t a consistent approcah in the teaching of design and technology, and key elements of the design process were omitted. These booklets support teachers in the teaching of the subject and allow children to develop their ideas through research and design, right the way through to the evaluation. The design brief is an essential part of the process which is often left out. In English, we remind children about a target audience. Design technology is no different. We are designing something, for someone, for some purpose and generally to solve some problem. This definition is included on the front cover of each booklet and reminds children using the ‘three s’’ what the subject is about. I have also taken these booklets through a deep dive with Ofsted and they held up well. Please adapt in any way for your own classes.

Year 1 Medium Term Plan (MTP )Lesson by lesson instruction on designing, making and evaluating a story board using sliders and levers. This is a unit of work that created as DT lead for my school which is taught in the Autumn Term. For full MTPs for Y1-6 - autumn, spring and summer term, see other resources. If you have found any of my resources useful, please be so kind as to leave a positive review.

This is an overview of DT from years1-6. Please see my other resources where you can access full medium term plans to go with this. This has been cross referenced with the National Curriculum.

These are medium term plans for years 1-6 for Design Technology which I have created and implemented within my own school as DT subject coordinator. They cover all aspects of design technology from textiles, mechanisms, structures and food to electrical systems in key stage 2. There is a one unit for each term per year (18 units of work in total). If you are a DT subject leader or a teacher of DT, these will save you many hours of planning! They follow the National Curriculum and support teachers in their subject knowledge. Each unit is sequenced into progressive lesson by lesson objectives. For a full progression of skills linked to these MTPs, please see other resources. If you would like to see a sample of one of these, please download the Year 1 Autumn resource from my shop which is free. Please leave a positive review if you have found these resources useful.

NEW UPDATED VERSION. After teaching this project for a third year running, I have made some adjustments. It is now a full term’s sequence instead of half a term (approximately 10-12 weeks). I have edited it so there is a focus on the skills of sewing before the design process. This has been extremely beneficial for my children as they have had the opportunity to explore a range of stitches before they considered their design. There are video links included in the PPT for each stitch. The project includes a full project booklet, design brief and teaching slides to go alongside these. For older children, you could introduce a range of stitches - blanket, satin, chain stitch. For younger children, I would focus solely on running stitch with wider eyed needles and build to back stitch. You can use any type of material for this. Felt is easier to use but there are so many lovely fabrics that also work well. My year 6 children are using cotton squares that I have purchased and are sewing felt to the inside of them to cushion the device and add more protection. Older children might like to embellish their final design to add that intricate detail.