Curriculum Intent – Design & Technology 

The Design & Technology curriculum at Carr Hill High School is crafted to inspire students to think creatively, solve real world problems, and develop a deep appreciation for how design, engineering, and technological innovation shape the world around them. Our curriculum is built around a powerful unifying theme: Design for a Changing World. This theme runs throughout all areas of study, enabling students to understand how designers and engineers respond to human needs, environmental challenges, technological developments, and societal change. 

Every aspect of our curriculum connects to this central theme, allowing students to build a rich and interconnected understanding of how products are designed, developed, manufactured, and evaluated. As students progress, they revisit and interleave key concepts—such as user centred design, sustainability, materials science, and manufacturing processes—making meaningful comparisons between traditional and modern approaches. For example, students explore how traditional handcrafting techniques compare with modern CAD/CAM processes, or how emerging technologies such as 3D printing and scanning influence design decisions and manufacturing efficiency. 

Our KS3 curriculum is built on two key pillars: 

• Substantive knowledge (materials, processes, systems, tools, technologies, and design principles) 

• Disciplinary knowledge (the practical and cognitive skills designers and engineers use to solve problems, develop prototypes, and evaluate outcomes) 

By the end of Key Stage 3, students will have a secure understanding of how design and technology influences everyday life, have strong practical skills across a range of materials and tools, and the confidence to use both traditional and digital technologies—including CAD/CAM, 3D printers, and 3D scanners—to bring their ideas to life. 

At Key Stage 4, students can specialise through OCR Engineering, Hospitality & Catering, or Design & Technology (Product Design, Textiles or Graphics), each pathway offering a rigorous and ambitious curriculum that prepares them for further study, apprenticeships, and careers in the creative, technical, and engineering sectors. 

How the Design & Technology Curriculum Contributes to the School’s Curriculum Intent. 

• Knowledge 

The Design & Technology curriculum at Carr Hill High School challenges all students to become knowledge rich by providing a carefully sequenced, interleaved programme of study built around the unifying theme of Design for a Changing World. This coherent structure ensures all pupils—including those with SEND—access ambitious, high quality content that develops extensive substantive knowledge across materials, manufacturing processes, sustainability, nutrition, engineering principles, and technological innovation. 

Each unit clearly identifies the essential substantive and disciplinary knowledge, key vocabulary, and common misconceptions needed for progression. Students learn how designers and engineers generate ideas, use research, apply iterative design, work safely with tools and machinery, and evaluate products critically and creatively. They develop secure schemas over time through deliberate interleaving, regular retrieval practice, low stakes testing, modelling, guided practice, and cumulative assessments. This ensures students revisit and connect prior learning so they know more and remember more as they move through the curriculum. 

A key feature of our curriculum design is increasing sophistication and depth. Students progress from understanding simple design requirements and basic making skills in Year 7 to confidently using CAD software, CAM machinery, 3D printers, and 3D scanners, develop a broad understanding of Food and nutrition by Year 9. They move from following structured recipes or workshop instructions to independently planning, prototyping, and evaluating their own design solutions. By Key Stage 4, students apply advanced knowledge—such as engineering tolerances, mechanical systems, nutritional analysis, or iterative design methodology—within OCR Engineering, Hospitality & Catering, or Design & Technology. 

Through this systematic and rigorous approach, combined with high expectations, strong oracy routines, and rich opportunities to apply knowledge practically, the Design & Technology curriculum ensures every learner develops a deep, durable, and expanding body of knowledge. This fully reflects the school’s commitment to “challenge all students to be knowledge rich.” 

• Vocabulary Rich 

Students are immersed in subject specific vocabulary that enables them to describe design processes, materials, systems, and technologies with precision and technical accuracy. They encounter and use a wide range of specialist terminology relating to engineering, manufacturing, nutrition, product analysis, and digital technologies such as CAD/CAM. Rather than simplifying or avoiding complex language, we explicitly teach and model technical vocabulary, supporting students to understand and confidently use terms that are essential within modern design, engineering, and hospitality industries. 

Academic and technical language is embedded into every lesson and reinforced through oracy, written work, design portfolios, and practical evaluations. Students are consistently challenged to communicate their design decisions clearly, justify choices using specialist terminology, and produce high quality written and verbal explanations. Whether analysing a mechanical system, describing a manufacturing process, or evaluating a recipe, students learn to speak and write like designers, engineers, and industry professionals. 

• Aspiration 

Our curriculum challenges students with ambitious content and complex design concepts. Students engage in demanding work through iterative design, problem solving, technical drawing, CAD modelling, practical manufacturing, and detailed evaluation. They learn to apply engineering principles, understand material properties, work safely and accurately with tools and machinery, and produce extended written responses that justify their decisions. 

Formative feedback underpins a culture of continuous improvement, helping students recognise that design is an iterative process where refinement and resilience are essential. We hold high expectations for all pupils, including disadvantaged students and those with SEND, ensuring every learner can access challenging content through carefully scaffolded support. Students develop pride in their achievements—whether producing a high quality prototype, mastering a new skill, or presenting a design proposal—building confidence and self belief that extends beyond the workshop or kitchen. 

• Character Building 

Design & Technology naturally develops resilience, independence, and problem solving. Students learn to respond to real world challenges, adapt their ideas, and refine their work through testing and evaluation. Our classrooms and workshops foster a “can do” culture where mistakes are viewed as opportunities for learning, and students are encouraged to persevere through technical challenges. 

Through collaborative design tasks, practical projects, and structured critique sessions, students learn to give and receive constructive feedback, consider alternative viewpoints, and justify their decisions with evidence. They develop essential character traits such as teamwork, creativity, responsibility, empathy for users, and the ability to engage thoughtfully with ethical and environmental issues. These experiences prepare students not only for future careers in design, engineering, and hospitality, but also for active, responsible citizenship. 

• Love of Learning 

Students engage with exciting, relevant, and meaningful design contexts that spark curiosity and creativity. They explore how products are made, how technology is evolving, and how designers and engineers solve problems that affect everyday life. From using 3D printers and CAD software to mastering traditional hand tools or developing complex dishes in Hospitality & Catering, students experience the joy of making, creating, and innovating. 

Our teaching promotes deep learning through hands on experimentation, real world problem solving, and opportunities to design for genuine users. Students develop pride in their work, confidence in their abilities, and a passion for the subject that extends beyond examination success. They come to understand the relevance of design and technology in shaping the modern world and recognise the exciting pathways it opens for their futures. 

Our Aims for All Students 

• To develop: A secure understanding of materials, processes, systems, nutrition, and technologies—including CAD/CAM, 3D printing, and traditional making skills—building strong foundations for further study in engineering, hospitality, and design. 
• To gain: Disciplinary knowledge that enables students to think like designers, engineers, and chefs: researching, generating ideas, modelling, prototyping, testing, evaluating, and refining solutions with increasing independence. 
• To explore: How design responds to human needs, environmental challenges, technological change, and societal issues, making meaningful connections between traditional craftsmanship and modern digital manufacturing. 
• To become: Confident communicators who can articulate design decisions, justify choices using technical vocabulary, and engage in respectful, informed discussion about design, engineering, and food. 
• To celebrate: The relevance of Design & Technology to modern life, understanding how innovation shapes the world and developing the skills to be creative, critical, and responsible problem solvers in their future lives and careers. 

Reading in Design & Technology 

Reading is prioritised across Design & Technology because students must be able to interpret technical information, understand design briefs, and communicate ideas effectively. All year groups engage with a wide range of written materials, including: 

• technical specifications 

• engineering drawings 

• recipes and nutritional analysis 

• user research 

• manufacturing guides 

• case studies of designers, engineers, and chefs 

• industry standard documentation 

• CAD/CAM instructions and digital workflows 

Students learn to decode technical language, interpret diagrams, follow complex instructions, and evaluate written information critically. They are regularly challenged to use what they have read to inform design decisions, justify choices, and produce high quality written evaluations. 

All curriculum materials—including Knowledge Organisers, design exemplars, and revision resources—are accessible through Arbor to support independent reading and study. We also maintain a recommended reading list featuring design, engineering, and food related texts that extend learning beyond the classroom. 

Learning Beyond the Classroom in Design & Technology 

At Carr Hill High School, we enrich students’ understanding of design, engineering, and hospitality through experiences that bring learning to life. 

Industry Links and Real-World Design Challenges 

Students engage with real design problems, industry inspired briefs, and engineering challenges that mirror professional practice. They learn how products are developed, tested, and refined in real contexts, building confidence and ambition. 

Workshops, Demonstrations, and Guest Speakers 

We invite designers, engineers, chefs, and industry professionals to share their expertise, demonstrating cutting edge technologies and discussing career pathways. These encounters broaden students’ horizons and deepen their understanding of the subject’s relevance. We have strong links to Create Education, BAE systems, B&F College and Westinghouse Nuclear who support our pupils in their educational journey and preparing them for the world beyond.  

Educational Visits 

Visits to manufacturing facilities, design studios, engineering centres, food production sites, and hospitality venues allow students to see professional environments firsthand. These experiences help students understand how classroom learning translates into real world practice. 

Competitions and Practical Challenges 

Students participate in design competitions, engineering challenges, and cooking events that encourage creativity, teamwork, and problem solving. These opportunities build confidence, resilience, and pride in achievement. 

Through these enrichment experiences, we aim to develop cultural capital, inspire curiosity, and foster a lifelong passion for design, engineering, and hospitality.