Product Design

Imagine it. Design it. Make it. Improve it!

At Oxley Primary School, Product Design is all about bringing ideas to life! We want our children to become imaginative thinkers, creative problem-solvers and confident designers who aren't afraid to experiment, take risks and learn from their mistakes. From their very first designs to increasingly ambitious projects in Year 6, children are encouraged to think creatively, work practically and take pride in creating products that have a real purpose.

Our curriculum provides exciting opportunities for children to explore how everyday products are designed, constructed and improved. Through hands-on experiences, they investigate different materials, experiment with tools and techniques, and discover how structures, mechanisms, textiles, electrical systems and digital technology work. Cooking and nutrition also play an important role, helping children develop practical life skills and understand the importance of making informed food choices.

Our Approach to Product Design

At Oxley, we believe that great design begins with curiosity. We encourage children to ask questions, explore existing products and consider how their own ideas could solve problems or meet someone's needs.

Our Product Design curriculum follows a carefully planned progression, allowing children to revisit important skills and knowledge as they move through school. Each new project builds upon previous learning, introducing more challenging techniques, greater independence and increasingly sophisticated design decisions.

Throughout their learning, children are encouraged to:

• Explore and investigate existing products, materials and mechanisms to understand how and why they work.

• Design with purpose, considering who a product is for, what it needs to do and how it could be made.

• Make and create using an increasingly wide range of tools, materials, components and practical techniques.

• Test and evaluate their finished products, recognising what works well and identifying possible improvements.

• Reflect and refine their ideas, understanding that successful design often involves perseverance, problem-solving and learning from mistakes.

We want children to understand that Product Design is not simply about making something. It is about thinking carefully, making informed choices and creating something that is both purposeful and effective.

Building Skills Throughout School

Years 1 and 2 – Little Designers, Big Ideas!

Our youngest designers begin by exploring how things move, how structures stay standing and how different materials can be joined together. Children enjoy creating sliding games and fairground wheels, experimenting with stable structures and developing their sewing skills by making simple pouches.

Cooking activities introduce children to food preparation, healthy choices and the enjoyment of creating their own smoothies. At this stage, we encourage children to share their ideas, practise basic techniques, test their creations and talk about what worked well.

Years 3 and 4 – Creative Thinkers and Problem-Solvers

As children progress through Lower Key Stage 2, their designs become increasingly detailed and purposeful. They investigate packaging and three-dimensional structures, design mechanical cars and explore different textile fastenings.

Children also begin working with electrical components, circuits and switches, while wearable technology projects introduce exciting opportunities to explore programming, LEDs and digital design using Micro.

Our cooking lessons encourage children to discover where food comes from, understand seasonality and prepare products using seasonal ingredients.

Throughout these projects, children become more confident in researching, creating design criteria, selecting suitable materials and evaluating their work.

Years 5 and 6 – Designing for the Future

In Upper Key Stage 2, children take on increasingly ambitious challenges that bring together the knowledge and skills developed throughout their time at Oxley.

They investigate gears and pulleys, construct bridges and explore how motors can create movement through electrical projects such as wobble bots. Textile projects become more sophisticated as children design and make bags, considering patterns, pockets, fastenings and the needs of a particular user.

Digital technology also becomes an exciting part of the design process, with children developing purposeful products involving navigation, programming and electronic components.

Our older pupils further develop their cooking skills through projects such as Come Dine With Me, where they explore the journey from farm to fork, prepare meals, write recipes and evaluate their creations.

By the end of Year 6, we want children to feel confident researching ideas, justifying their choices, working accurately and evaluating their products against clear design criteria.

Learning Through Creativity, Challenge and Perseverance

Product Design provides wonderful opportunities for children to develop skills that extend far beyond the classroom. Whether constructing a bridge, solving a mechanical problem or improving a design that hasn't quite worked, children learn the value of resilience, collaboration and creative thinking.

We encourage them to take ownership of their ideas, listen to feedback and recognise that mistakes are often an important part of the design process.

Our Oxley values of ‘Be Kind’, ‘Be Brilliant’ and ‘Have an I can attitude’ are reflected throughout our Product Design lessons as children support one another, celebrate different ideas and approach new challenges with enthusiasm and determination.

Above all, we want every child to leave Oxley with the confidence to look at the world around them, recognise opportunities for improvement and believe that their own ideas could make a difference.

After all, today's imaginative young designers could become tomorrow's engineers, inventors, architects and innovators!