Expectations in KS3

• Through a variety of creative and practical activities, pupils will be taught the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in an iterative process of designing and making. They will work in a range of domestic and local contexts [for example, the home, health, leisure and culture] and industrial contexts [for example, engineering, manufacturing, construction, food, energy, agriculture (including horticulture) and fashion].

Design:

• Use research and exploration, such as the study of different cultures, to identify and understand user needs
• Identify and solve their own design problems and understand how to reformulate problems given to them
• Develop specifications to inform the design of innovative, functional, appealing products that respond to needs in a variety of situations
• Use a variety of approaches [for example, biomimicry and user-centred design] to generate creative ideas and avoid stereotypical responses
• Develop and communicate design ideas using annotated sketches, detailed plans, 3-D and mathematical modelling, oral and digital presentations

Make:

• Select from and use specialist tools, techniques, processes, equipment and machinery precisely, including computer-aided manufacture
• Select from and use a wider, more complex range of materials, components and ingredients, taking into account their properties

Evaluate:

• Analyse the work of past and present professionals and others to develop and broaden their understanding
• Investigate new and emerging technologies
• Test, evaluate and refine their ideas and products against a specification, taking into account the views of intended users and other interested groups
• Understand developments in design and technology, its impact on individuals, society and the environment, and the responsibilities of designers, engineers and technologists

Technical knowledge:

• Understand and use the properties of materials and the performance of structural elements to achieve functioning solutions
• Understand how more advanced mechanical systems used in their products enable changes in movement and force
• Understand how more advanced electrical and electronic systems can be powered and used in their products [for example, circuits with heat, light, sound and movement as inputs and outputs]
• Apply computing and use electronics to embed intelligence in products that respond to inputs [for example, sensors] and control outputs [for example, actuators] using programmable components [for example, microcontrollers]