The Design Technology Curriculum at Higham Lane North Academy

At HLNA, our ambitious curriculum in Design Technology is designed to ensure that students know more, remember more and can do more in Design Technology over time. We understand learning as a change in long-term memory, and therefore our Design Technology curriculum is carefully sequenced and deliberately structured to secure knowledge so that it is retained and applied with confidence.

A central principle of our approach is the management of cognitive load. By presenting new material in Design Technology explicitly, modelling thinking clearly, and breaking learning into manageable components, we ensure that students can focus on what matters most. This enables learning to be both accessible and memorable.

Our classroom practice in Design Technology is underpinned by consistent and explicit routines that support long-term retention. Knowledge booklets promote equity and entitlement: every student has access to the most powerful knowledge within Design Technology.    These booklets enable students to pre-learn, revisit and over-learn key content, strengthening retrieval and embedding learning securely in long-term memory.

Every Design Technology lesson begins with structured retrieval practice to activate prior knowledge and strengthen memory pathways. Design Technology resources are organised consistently to reduce extraneous cognitive load, allowing students to focus on learning rather than process. Oracy routines are embedded to ensure that students can articulate ideas clearly, use subject-specific vocabulary in Design Technology precisely, and engage in purposeful academic discussion.

We use dual coding and carefully designed, dyslexia-friendly visual materials in Design Technology to enhance clarity and accessibility. Whole-class reading routines ensure that all students engage with ambitious texts, while explicit vocabulary instruction builds disciplinary fluency. Our ‘green pens for growth’ routine ensures that students actively respond to feedback in every lesson, promoting reflection and improvement.

Formative assessment in Design Technology is continuous and responsive. Daily questioning, low-stakes quizzing and structured checks for understanding enable teachers to identify misconceptions and adapt teaching accordingly. Whole-class feedback strategies support self and peer assessment, fostering independence while maintaining high expectations.

Alongside regular summative assessments in Design Technology, synoptic assessments are built into every year group to evaluate cumulative knowledge. This ensures that learning is not episodic but enduring. Through systematic retrieval over time, we minimise cognitive overload and maximise the likelihood that students remember and can apply what they have learned.

As a result, our Design Technology curriculum is coherent, knowledge-rich and carefully sequenced — ensuring that all students make strong progress and are fully prepared for the next stage of their education.

At HLNA, everyone is included and everyone belongs. This commitment is reflected in our inclusive classroom practice in Design Technology, where all students are supported, challenged and valued as learners. We create an environment in Design Technology where diversity is respected, barriers to learning are reduced, and every student has the opportunity to succeed.

Our values are lived out daily through our students, who strive to be conscientious, compassionate and confident in all aspects of their learning in Design Technology. These qualities underpin our culture of high expectations and mutual respect within our Design Technology classrooms.  We are proud of our environment in Design Technology because we always do what is right — demonstrating integrity, responsibility and care for one another in both our learning and with each other.

Over time in Design Technology, students will be able to apply a wide range of practical and technical skills to design, make, and evaluate products. Our ambitious and engaging curriculum spans Design Engineering, Product Design, and Food Preparation and Nutrition, offering students a broad and balanced experience.

In Design Technology, students build substantive knowledge of key concepts such as materials and their properties, design principles, engineering processes, electronics, and food preparation and nutrition. For example, in Key Stage Three students learn about woods, metals and plastics and their properties, understand how circuits work when creating an electronic textile torch, and explore food safety, nutrition and food science through dishes such as scones, fruit crumble, and pasta bake. They also study wider influences such as culture, sustainability and 20th Century design movements, to develop a strong understanding of how design impacts society and the wider world.

Alongside this, students develop disciplinary knowledge by applying what they learn through practical experiences. They design, make and evaluate a wide range of products, using tools, equipment and digital technologies with increasing confidence and accuracy. For instance, students apply woodworking skills to manufacture a mobile phone holder using lap joints, shape and form metal when producing a solar light, and develop precision and accuracy through engineering projects such as an LED lamp inspired by mid-century design. They also learn to communicate ideas through sketching, orthographic and isometric drawing, and CAD when designing architectural models and branding. In food preparation and nutrition, students demonstrate safe and hygienic practices while preparing increasingly complex dishes, such as dough-based products, sauces and savoury meals.

Our ambitious curriculum provides so much ambitious enrichment. For instance, students take part in design competitions (both in school and beyond), independent craft-based homework projects, and Design Technology co-curricular clubs to further enhance learning and encourage curiosity beyond the classroom.

There are so many careers that are linked to our subject that we discuss throughout Key Stage Three which include pathways in design, engineering, and food industries: architecture, product design, automotive and aerospace engineering, hospitality, catering, and food science. Many of these links are made explicit in lessons, but also by visitors presenting their own career journeys. This ensures students are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and aspirations necessary for further study and future employment.

Miss April Quigley

Curriculum Leader for Art and Design Technology

Please find below the curriculum maps for the following subject. Each map provides an overview of the key topics, skills, and learning objectives covered throughout the academic year, helping students and parents understand the progression of learning within each subject area.