Design and Technology

Intent: The DT curriculum at Stanford School aims to encourage children to design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts; considering their own, and others’, needs, wants and values.

This curriculum is very interactive, practical and purposeful to the child. We draw on the disciplines of mathematics, science, engineering, computing and art to design and make high-quality products for a wide range of users. These may include an historical figure who we are learning about in History; a group of people living in a certain geographical area; our friends and family as well as ourselves.

Implementation: Our DT curriculum is designed so that children are not only building up their technical knowledge, vocabulary and skills; but also learning how to design, make and evaluate their products effectively.

This can involve the following stages:

  • Exploring and evaluating existing products,
  • Sharing, discussing and evaluating their own ideas,
  • Using design criteria,
  • Designing purposeful, functional and appealing products,
  • Selecting from and using a range of tools and equipment appropriate to the task,
  • Selecting from and using a wide range of materials and components, including construction materials, textiles and ingredients, according to their characteristics,
  • Evaluating theirs and others’ products using the original design criteria.
  • Presenting their products to others, sometimes marketing and selling them for profit.

Impact: We are extremely proud of the achievements of our pupils in DT. Our pupils progressively build up their practical skills throughout their years at Standford, adapting them, applying them and shaping them to a wide range of products. These products are always used, relevant and meaningful for the children.

At Stanford School we encourage pupils to be aware of how key events or individuals in design and technology have helped shape the world. Wherever possible this is personalised to our locality and the lives of our community.

The pupil’s knowledge and experience is enhanced by visitors, school trips, workshops and themed days. Links within local industry are also made.

A snapshot of some of our Design Technology work:

Pumpkin Class are sandwich artists!

Today in Pumpkin class we have been making our own healthy sandwiches. In our sandwich we tried to include each part of the Eatwell plate. We also tried to explore new food we don't usually eat or haven't tried before. Some of us tried some unusual choices of sandwich.

"My sandwich was amazing"
"Astonishingly good!"
"I want to eat it all over again"
"I like BBQ sauce now"
"BEST sandwich EVER!" 

Chocolate Workshop

Year 4 had a special visitor this week who taught us lots about chocolate. We learned about its development throughout history and links to the Ancient Maya civilisation (that we have been learning about). We also learned about the conditions for growing cocoa pods within tropical rainforests and where the ingredients for chocolate are harvested. After this, we were taught some of the skills of what it takes to be a chocolate taster, with blind aroma tests, followed by tasting a variety of chocolates and identifying what ingredients they might include.

Designing Healthy Sandwiches

Today in DT we have been designing healthy sandwiches. Last week we looked at the eatwell plate and the different aspects we needed to include in our sandwich. Today we tried different foods we might include for each aspect of the eatwell plate and decided what we are going to include in our sandwich we make next week.

"I tried tuna and I have eaten it for years"
"I tried a gherkin and I always thought I hated them, but I didn't"
"I did not like the gherkin it was too vinegary"
"My sandwich is going to have all aspects of the eatwell plate; brown bread, butter, soft cheese, ham, lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise" 

Alarms ⏰

This half term Barley class have been designing, planning and then creating their own alarm system based on a given design. Pupils have used their knowledge on circuits, alarms and switches to create an alarm system. They used different electrical components and materials to create their design.

Sausage Making

Pumpkin Class got the chance to work with Gavin making sausages. Gavin told us all about what goes into shop bought sausages, and how we can make healthier ones ourselves. The sausages that Gavin made he knew all the ingredients that went into making them, however sometimes you don't always know what is in shop bought sausages. We then got to try the sausages ourselves and they got a thumbs up!

"That's the best sausage I've ever tasted!"
"I love sausages with beans and mash!"
"I really liked the sausage Gavin made"

Eating Five A Day!

As part of the Year 2 children’s Design and Technology and PSHE work, the children enjoyed a very informative workshop led by Chef Gavin from Chartwells.

M- We learnt about eating different kinds of fruit and vegetables and that we should try and eat five every day.
M- Chef showed us lots of different kinds of vegetables, some of them I had never seen before.
J- Chef Gavin told us how he grows his own vegetables and cooks different healthy recipes.
A- He gave us some vegetable soup to taste. He had made it with fresh ingredients. I liked it and I liked dipping in his homemade bread too!
T- Mrs. Brady liked the soup and she was asking lots of questions about healthy meals she could make too.

Year 1 Pizza Making

This week, Chartwells – our lunch providers – visited us to teach us about healthy eating. We learnt that we should have 5 pieces of fruit or veg every day. We thought about every fruit of vegetable that matches the colours in a rainbow and talked about which we liked best. Then came the best part! We learnt how to make our own pizzas and choose from a rainbow of toppings to make them look great and be healthy to eat. This was so much fun and we want to say a huge thank you to Chartwells for this amazing learning experience. Take a look at all our pizzas.

DT Enterprise Projects

Year 6 completed their DT enterprise projects ready to sell at the Christmas fayre. Pupils designed and then calculated the costings for this to ensure they made the most profit.

Using a range of DT skills, they then created their designs!

Willow Class Design and Technology

Willow class have been working on DT skills recently. We have designed and made a product for the Christmas enterprise, inspired by and made from natural materials. We have also been learning about shell structures, investigating which types of structure are stronger, moving on to learning how to reinforce and strengthen structures. We look forward to updating with our finished product later this term.

Metal Flowers Project

Today Pumpkin class were the first class to start the metal flowers project with VANEL. Year 3 created designs linking to their class artist Maud Purdy. They then painted these designs onto the metal flowers using key terms such as strokes, light, dark, pattern, layering. We were then joined by year 2 who came to have a look at how we were getting on and looking at the different designs we had created!

"I had lots of fun painting"

"I think they looked really pretty once they were finished"

"I liked mixing different colours to get the colour I wanted"

"I can't wait to see all the flowers when they are up!"

Designing, Making and Evaluating Our Healthy Fruit Smoothies

The Year 2 children had some great ideas for making healthy fruit smoothies.

They carefully selected their fresh ingredients and learnt how to prepare their smoothies using a range of techniques. Under the expert guidance of Chef Christie, they whizzed up some amazing drinks.

S- It was fun to make a fruit smoothie.

C- I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to make another one.

E- Mine was a bit sour, I think next time I would choose some sweeter fruit.

J- I loved the colour of mine.

L- I used milk in mine, next time I would like to try adding apple juice.

P- I want to make fruit smoothies at home!

Seasonal

Blossom Class have been looking at the word seasonal-what it means and which foods are harvested, caught or reared in certain months. Today we had the exciting job of tasting these foods! We tried and reviewed them, a tasty session!

L- ‘I didn’t like tomato before but I really like it now!’

A- ‘The celery was bumpy and it felt weird in my mouth’

H- ‘The apples were so sweet and juicy’

Pumpkins are design technologists: Mechanical Systems

In DT we having be learning all about mechanical systems and we have made our own moving animals using linkages and levers. We will back these onto a calendar ready to take home at Christmas.

"My fixed part is the head of my lion"

"My loose pivot was too tight so I had to loosen the split pin"

Craft Club

The children were very busy recycling some jeans to make bunting raising awareness of ‘Jeans for Genes’, an event to raise funds for those who have genetic conditions.

They look very proud of their work!

Egyptian Hook Day!

Today in Pumpkin class we have had our hook day. We have learnt lots about Egyptians and how they used to live, we even had a virtual tour of the British Museum around the Egyptian exhibition. Then we learnt all about papyrus paper and how it was used, then we had a go at making our own! 

Year 2 Project

The Year 2 children have been working very hard on their project this term. They had to design and build a trolley for holding small gardening tools. They each designed a trolley and then in teams chose the design they liked best. It was wonderful to see them working so co-operatively. They were all very proud of their excellent work. Well done everyone!

Healthy Eating Week!

This week, we have been looking at healthy eating and healthy lifestyles! Today, we made healthy chicken nuggets, using a range of skills such as: cutting, crushing and whisking. They were delicious! We also looked at what other foods we could pair with our chicken nuggets to create a well-balanced meal and had a lovely discussion justifying why we made these choices.

To finish the afternoon off, we incorporated some physical activity into our healthy lifestyles, and took part in some kick ball rounders for Well-being Wednesday! A wonderful afternoon!

Year 6 have been baking 🧁

As part of our Maths lessons this week we have been learning about ratio, proportion, profit and loss. As a class we have looked at a recipe that was intended to make 6 cupcakes and we had to calculate the ingredients needed to make 42 for the class (and a few extras for teachers of course!). Once we had calculated this, we researched the size of packaging our ingredients were sold in, for example butter in 250g. Continuing our research skills, we compared the cost of the ingredients across different supermarkets. So to end the week we combined our baking and maths skills to measure accurately, portion up the mixture and decorate some yummy cupcakes! These were definitely enjoyed by all! 👩‍🍳

Year 3 Making a healthy snack

After tasting different varieties of bread, the children looked at the different food groups needed for a balanced diet. They then used this knowledge to design a healthy snack containing all food groups. They wrote instructions to make their sandwich and gave Miss Perrin their shopping lists. The next day the children created their sandwiches themselves, ate them and evaluated them. A large percentage of children used breads that they had not tasted before this project which was amazing...... unfortunately the 'kitchen' was not as amazing when they had finished!

Year 3 Designing a healthy snack

As a part of the DT curriculum each year the children look at nutrition. Through this children learn about the nutritional value of food, seasonality and how foods vary around the world. It is an opportunity for children to try new foods and become independent preparing foods. To start off this project we did a little research. Miss Perrin found 15 different varieties of bread for the children to try. They didn't like them all but they were keen to try each variety.

Taste of Maya: Making Tortillas

We followed a recipe for making tortillas.  The cornmeal was really bright yellow and it made a crumbly texture.

Can I design and make a healthy fruit smoothie?

Pumpkin Class had some great ideas for making healthy fruit smoothies.

They carefully selected their fresh ingredients and learnt how to prepare their fruit and vegetables using a range of equipment and techniques. Under the expert guidance of Chef Christie, they whizzed up some weird and wonderful concoctions.

H- My smoothie was very nice. I was surprised that it was so nice.

T- I liked mine because it had loads of fruit and also it was a bit lumpy.

H- I liked my fruit smoothie because I added lime to give it a fruity boost.

E- Even though my smoothie had lumps in, I still tried it and liked it.

Designing and Making Poison Dart frogs.

This half term we have been designers, manufacturers and evaluators.

We explored the many varieties of poisoned Dart frogs and used their vivid colours as a stimulus to create our own variety.

Once our frog had been designed we started to make it. We used templates, drawing round them in chalk so they didn’t leave a permanent mark on the felt. It took a lot of care and concentration to cut the body parts out – especially the back legs!

Next came the sewing the pieces together using embroidery thread. We had to remember to leave a gap so we could pop the Kapok in.

Stuffing it was fun. Following this, the gap needed sewing.

Finally, we cut out small parts of felt to create patterns and glued them on along with eyes.

WV: “I’m very pleased with how it is soft and squishy. I feel I chose great colour and am happy with the finished frog.”

OW: “ I like the colours I chose. My favourite part was stuffing it. I can’t wait to take it home and play with it.”

TS: “I’m proud of my frog. I love the bright colours and that I have made something that actually looks like a poisoned dart frog.”

Foods from around the world

Year 6 pupils taste tested a variety of foods from around the world. These included Italy, Mexico and India. These included different textures and ingredients, some of which the pupils were unfamiliar with. Thank you Chartwells!

National ROAR Ceremony finals

The National ROAR Ceremony finals took place, via Zoom, with our amazing in-school winners 2022 Stanford Girls taking centre stage. Over 25000 pupils from 120 schools took part in this amazing project all across the country- all the final entries were amazing, well done to everyone!

Christmas Cards

Year 1

In Year 1 we have been making moving Christmas cards for our loved ones. These include a flap of a Christmas present and then a picture of ourselves under the flap. We had to be very careful about only gluing certain sections of the card so it opened correctly, cutting the flap out neatly to fit our pictures underneath, and sticking the picture under the present in the right position so it was a surprise!

Year 3

Our Project this term was to create moving pictures. We decided to link this to Christmas and make a card with flaps which hides hidden treasures and pop up figures inside. To link it further across the curriculum we incorporated QR codes so parents, carers and loved ones could hear the children sing Christmas carols from our concert. I am sure these are cards that parents will want to treasure for a long time!

Healthy Eating

Chartwells came to visit Year 6 to discuss healthy eating and demonstrate some recipes. Gavin, the head chef, talked about different food types such as protein, carbohydrates and vitamins. The children took part in a food tasting session and tried bubble and squeak. This was made up of chicken, carrots, peas, potato and cheese. This was all made up from food from the day before to show that you don't need to waste any food. After tasting the food, many of the children changed their mind on the food and enjoyed the dish.

A: It was scrummy and I don't usually like carrots.

E: It was delicious, especially the cheese topping.

Enterprise projects

Willow Class

Firstly we agreed to make fluffy sprouts. We learnt how to make pomp poms and have great fun making our sprouts to sell at our Christmas Fair. We made crowns and goggly eyes to the pom poms.

Following this, we investigated different ways to make a box to form the package for the sprout.

Once we had decided on our box we designed what our boxes would look like. We agreed it should show or hint at the product eg have a sprout cartoon drawing, it should have a sprout joke or message and needed to have name of who designed and made the product on the bottom. We had to work out which direction to draw the designs to make sure they were the correct way when we turned the net into the 3 D box.

Finally, we cut out and assembled the boxes. We will now evaluate our products and have to think about how much we will sell them for!

Year 6

Year 6 pupils have used a variety of math and DT skills to create their Enterprise products- Wooden frames and 3D Christmas trees, to sell at our Christmas Fayre!

Measuring and calculating area were skills we used in Maths to ensure our frames fit together and our trees were correct in size

ROAR 8billion Idea winners 🥇


1st place- 2022 Stanford Girls- School Helpout Vending machine for pupils and stationary

2nd place: CFL- An alphabet board to support pupils in their learning

3rd place: Bee Hives- Creating Hives for the homes

Our winners will now be entered into the grand final on National Award Day on 7th December via Teams!

Year 6 ROAR 8billion idea Presentations

Wow! Our amazing Year 6 pupils have been entrepreneurs during this project, creating an innovative idea that could be life changing in the world!

Over the past 8 weeks, pupils have worked as a team to create an idea, design a logo and jingle and then create a prototype of their product! The final part was creating a presentation of their idea and presenting it to our judging panel!

Our judging panel were amazed by their ideas, presentation skills and teamwork ‘so much thought and effort has been put into their ideas’ ‘ it was so hard to select a winner!’

Well done Year 6, Mrs Smith and Miss Chilvers are so proud! One winner has been selected and will be entered into the grand final!! See the next post of our top 3 winners ⭐️

Roar Project Year 6 - Prototype

Year 6 pupils completed the next part of their 8 billion idea project by creating a prototype of their idea/ design, using recycled materials and resources. Our next step is to create an advert and presentation ready to showcase to the judging panel! We will keep you posted of their progress!

Year 3 - being a designer

The children have learnt about the jewellery that Egyptians wore. Using this information they designed their own necklaces and created them. Aren't they great?

Year 6 Roar Project! - Ideas

Year 6 completed the second phase of their 8 billion ideas project…. Ideas, ideas, ideas!

As a team they discussed different ideas that link with their problem and agreed on a final product that they will move forward to the design stage!

Year 3 Food Waste

We were lucky to have Chartwells come into school to do a workshop on Food Waste. We learned about how we could help prevent food waste by carefully thinking about the food that we buy and eat. Some of the most common items thrown away are fruit and milk.

Chartwells showed us how these items can be used to make a healthy milkshake. The children really enjoyed trying this and it made us think about how we can do our bit to help the environment.


Circuits

Year 6 have thoroughly enjoyed being scientists this week! We have built circuits, using bulbs and buzzers. We evaluated whether ours were complete or incomplete, before assessing what we could do to ensure they were complete. A brilliant lesson!

Year 2 Hook Day: Castle Making

Pumpkin Class enjoyed making castles out of recycled materials. They had a busy time cutting, painting, drawing and finding the best ways to fix materials together. They also faced the challenge of how they could make their drawbridge open and close.

J- It was hard work cutting out the battlements, but I did it.

G- I made my drawbridge open and close by pulling string. I did this all by myself.

J- I think the turrets I made were too small, next time I would make them bigger.

M- I made a huge castle, it took a long time to paint it all.

J- I made sure my castle had windows and arrow slits.

S- I think everyone did a good job making their castles!

Coleslaw Making

The children in Pumpkin Class enjoyed designing, making and eating their own coleslaw. Mrs. Christie taught them the techniques of; grating, chopping, squeezing and slicing. They experienced a wide variety of vegetables and fruit.

A- It was fun.

E- I like that my coleslaw turned pink.

J- I liked chopping and grating.

W- I liked the smells and colours of all the different coleslaw.

M- I liked squeezing the lemon.

H- I can't wait to try it.

E- I liked the look of mine and I think that it looks just like the coleslaw you can buy from a shop.

R- They were all so different and so colourful.

Food Technology

Pumpkin Class have been learning how to make coleslaw, reading different recipes and taste testing some shop bought ones- with mixed reviews! They have been discussing their own recipe ideas for making a healthy coleslaw and thinking about the different equipment and techniques they will need.

A- I sniffed them all, I could smell a lot of onion.

J- The best coleslaw was a lighter colour, I think this is because it had more cream in it.

L- I really didn't enjoy tasting the coleslaw. I thought they all tasted horrible. I think this is because I don't like onions.

E- I would put yoghurt in my coleslaw because it's better for you than cream.

C- I think adding lemon juice, would give it a better taste.

K- I would like to make a rainbow coloured coleslaw.

O- I would like to use a grater and a peeler. I think it might be tricky, but I would like to do it.

H- I want to add lots of fruit to my coleslaw.

E- The crunchy coleslaw was nice to eat. I enjoyed that.

H- Before the lesson, I really thought that I didn't like coleslaw, but now I do. I've surprised myself!