At Solent, we want children to be creative, imaginative, resourceful, problem- solvers and risk-takers. Design and Technology provides them with all these skills and more!

Design and Technology is a practical based subject involving first hand experiences and problem-solving activities whose primary aim is to equip children with skills for the next phase of their learning and ultimately for life.

Throughout their time at Solent, the children will be taught to plan, design, make, adapt and evaluate their work using a cross-curricular approach which links to Themes and Topics throughout the year. This provides a ‘real life’ context and purpose for their learning. Our curriculum is structured to ensure a progression of skills and knowledge throughout key stages 1 and 2. The key practical skills taught are focussed upon Make, Cook and Sew, all at an age appropriate level for the children’s learning. All learners will also acquire an understanding of ‘Technical Knowledge’ for example understanding how to make strong structures, and be comfortable discussing their learning using key vocabulary such as gears, levers and pulleys. Where possible, we link the topics or engineers covered to our local area of Portsmouth.

The curriculum is enriched through STEM (Science, Technology Engineering and Maths) focussed weeks such as Engineering Fairy Tales and after school clubs such as Lego Construction Club and Sewing Club.

The Design and Technology curriculum promotes a positive mindset which encourages children to take risks and understand that it is okay to make mistakes which they can subsequently learn from, often resulting in a creation of something even better! We aim to encourage self-reflection and the realisation that your first idea or attempt is not always going to be your best, and it is okay to fail initially because FAIL stands for First Attempt In Learning. This will enable the children to become self-reflective, and, therefore, more independent learners across the curriculum enabling them to problem solve in any element of their life.