Design and technology at key stage 3

• develop their designing and making skills;
• develop knowledge and understanding of materials and components; systems and control; and structures;
• develop their capability, through combining their designing and making skills with knowledge and understanding to design and make products;
• nurture creativity and innovation through designing and making;
• explore values about and attitudes to the made world and how we live, work and interact within it;
• develop a critical understanding of technological processes, products and their manufacture, and how they contribute to our society;
• prepare for making a contribution to life and work in a technological society;
• relate and apply knowledge and understanding from across the curriculum.

In design and technology, pupils gain and apply knowledge and understanding of:

• existing products;
• materials and components including joining and combining processes and recognising new materials and processes, and identifying their potential uses;
• structures;
• electronic and communications technology;
• mechanisms and control systems;
• new technologies and new technological applications, including computer-aided design and manufacture (CAD/CAM);
• single and quantity production techniques, including those focusing on quality assurance;
• health, hygiene and safety.

Developing ideas

Level 1 Pupils generate ideas and recognise characteristics of familiar products Level 2 Pupils generate ideas and plan what to do next, based on their experience of working with materials and components Level 3 Pupils generate ideas and recognise that their designs have to meet a range of different needs Level 4 Pupils generate ideas by collecting and using information. They take users' views into account ... Level 5 Pupils draw on and use various sources of information. They use their understanding of the characteristics of familiar products when developing their own ideas Level 6 Pupils draw on and use a range of sources of information, and show that they understand the form and function of familiar products and develop detailed criteria for their designs and use these to explore design proposals Level 7 Pupils use a wide range of appropriate sources of information to develop ideas. They investigate form, function and production processes. ...They recognise the different needs of a range of users and develop fully realistic designs Level 8 Pupils use a range of strategies to develop appropriate ideas ...

Level 1 Their plans show that, with help, they can put their ideas into practice Level 2 They select appropriate tools, techniques and materials, explaining their choices Level 3 They make realistic plans for achieving their aims. ... They think ahead about the order of their work, choosing appropriate tools, equipment, materials, components and techniques Level 4 They ... produce step-by-step plans Level 5 They work from their own detailed plans, modifying them where appropriate Level 6 They produce plans that outline alternative methods of progressing Level 7 They produce plans that predict the time needed to carry out the main stages of making products Level 8 When planning, they make decisions on materials and techniques based on their understanding of the physical properties and working characteristics of materials

Level 1 They use pictures and words to describe what they want to do Level 2 They use models, pictures and words to describe their designs Level 3 They clarify ideas when asked and use words, labelled sketches and models to communicate the details of their designs Level 4 They communicate alternative ideas using words, labelled sketches and models, showing that they are aware of constraints Level 5 They clarify their ideas through discussion, drawing and modelling ... communicating their own ideas Level 6 They make models and drawings to explore and test their design thinking, discussing their ideas with users Level 7 They ... communicate ideas, using a variety of media Level 8 Pupils ... respond to information they have identified. ... They identify conflicting demands on their design, explain how their ideas address these demands and use this analysis to produce proposals

Level 1 They explain what they are making and which tools they are using. They use tools and materials with help, where needed Level 2 They use tools and assemble, join and combine materials and components in a variety of ways Level 3 They use tools and equipment with some accuracy to cut and shape materials and to put together components Level 4 They work with a variety of materials and components with some accuracy, paying attention to quality of finish and to function. They select and work with a range of tools and equipment Level 5 They work with a range of tools, materials, equipment, components and processes with some precision. They check their work as it develops and modify their approach in the light of progress Level 6 They work with a range of tools, materials, equipment, components and processes and show that they understand their characteristics. They check their work as it develops and modify their approach in the light of progress Level 7 They work with a range of tools, materials, equipment, components and processes, taking full account of their characteristics. They adapt their methods of manufacture to changing circumstances, providing a sound explanation for any change from the design proposal Level 8 They organise their work so that they can carry out processes accurately and consistently, and use tools, equipment, materials and components with precision

Level 1 They talk about their own and other people's work in simple terms and describe how a product works Level 2 They recognise what they have done well as their work progresses, and suggest things they could do better in the future Level 3 They identify where evaluation of the design and make process and their products has led to improvements Level 4 They reflect on their designs as they develop, bearing in mind the way the product will be used. They identify what is working well and what could be improved Level 5 They test and evaluate their products, showing that they understand the situations in which their designs will have to function and are aware of resources as a constraint. They evaluate their products and their use of information sources Level 6 They evaluate how effectively they have used information sources, using the results of their research to inform their judgements when designing and making. They evaluate their products as they are being used, and identify ways of improving them Level 7 They select appropriate techniques to evaluate how their products would perform when used and modify their products in the light of the evaluation to improve their performance Level 8 They identify a broad range of criteria for evaluating their products, clearly relating their findings to the purpose for which the products were designed and the appropriate use of resources