Strengthening Transition: Developing an All-Through Design and Technology Curriculum

Primary specialist Richard Brown and secondary subject leader Joanne Taylor share their collaborative work on designing an all-through D&T curriculum from Key Stage 1 to 4, offering practical strategies to strengthen transition, align pedagogy and sustain creativity across phases.

Transition between primary and secondary Design and Technology (D&T) continues to present a challenge for schools. While the subject has been compulsory from Key Stage 1 through to Key Stage 4 since the introduction of the National Curriculum in 1990, pupils still experience significant shifts in how D&T is taught and understood between phases.

Recent publications, including the Curriculum and Assessment Review Interim Report (DfE, 2025), have again identified the issue of curriculum repetition and poor alignment between Key Stages 2 and 3. These disconnects can leave pupils disengaged, under-challenged, and less confident as they move through their learning journey.

In response to this, primary specialist Rich Brown and secondary subject leader Joanne Taylor have collaborated, through their work with the Design & Technology Association and Oak National Academy, to design an all-through D&T curriculum from Key Stage 1 to 4. Their shared aim was to strengthen continuity, improve transition, and maintain the subject’s creative and technical integrity across phases.

Understanding the Challenge

Joanne and Richard’s starting point was to examine the distinct nature of D&T in primary and secondary education.

In primary schools, D&T is often cross-curricular and taught through topic-based projects, allowing pupils to explore design, making and evaluation within meaningful contexts. However, research (Brown, 2023) has shown that many primary teachers report low confidence in teaching D&T, particularly regarding health and safety, technical accuracy, and subject knowledge.

In contrast, secondary D&T has historically emphasised material-based projects and, more recently, written theory and exam preparation. This can lead to a narrowing of creative opportunity, with limited time to explore open-ended design thinking.

“The challenge,” Joanne explains, “is that pupils leave primary school full of enthusiasm for D&T, but the subject they meet at secondary can feel entirely different. We wanted to find a way to preserve that sense of creativity and curiosity while deepening technical and conceptual understanding.”

An All-Through Approach

The collaboration began as part of the Oak National Academy curriculum development project, where Richard and Joanne were appointed as Curriculum Design Leads. Working together, they sought to map D&T learning as a continuous journey — one that builds progressively from Key Stage 1 through to Key Stage 4.

Their approach focuses on:

• Establishing shared principles and consistent terminology.

• Sequencing knowledge and skills to build depth rather than repetition.

• Retaining the strengths of both primary and secondary pedagogy.

Richard highlights the value of this cross-phase work: “By understanding what happens before and after our own key stage, we can make more deliberate choices about what to teach, and when. It’s about building bridges rather than starting over.”

A Shared Pedagogy: The Four-Fold Model

Central to their curriculum design was McLain’s Four-Fold pedagogical model (2022) which has previously been integrated into the Design & Technology Association’s primary curriculum planning resource; Projects on a Page and their secondary Inspired by Industry contexts. The model frames D&T learning as four modes of activity: designing, making, exploring technology and society, and design-and-make projects.

In primary settings, this model allows for a more flexible approach — for example, a “mainly designing” unit might focus on developing CAD skills, while a “mainly making” unit could explore mechanisms through automata. This structure ensures each unit has a clear intent without forcing every aspect of the design–make–evaluate process each time.

In secondary classrooms, Joanne found the model valuable for integrating theory within practical activity. “It allowed us to link experimentation, investigation and design in a way that made sense to pupils — theory became purposeful, not separate.”

Planning for Progression

One of the strongest features of the all-through curriculum is how it sequences knowledge and skills across phases.

For instance, the curriculum introduces core D&T vocabulary progressively. In Year 6, pupils learn that wood becomes timber and plastic becomes polymer, helping them connect to the scientific terminology they will later meet in Key Stage 3. Likewise, GCSE concepts such as the six elements of a design specification — function, user, appearance, performance, materials, and environment — are gradually introduced from Key Stage 1 onwards using age-appropriate language.

Technology capability is also planned to progress logically:

• Year 4: Simple micro:bit data logging.

• Year 6: Incorporating micro:bits into alarm systems.

• Year 9: Designing wearable technology using programmable components.

• Year 10: Programming and simulating automated control systems.

By using the same digital platform, Tinkercad, throughout, pupils build confidence in CAD and electronics from an early stage, developing transferable digital design skills that continue through to GCSE.

Maintaining Creativity and Context

For Richard, maintaining the creative and cross-curricular nature of primary D&T was essential. Units remain context-led, connecting with science, mathematics and art while retaining a distinct design focus.

Technology and society are explored through a planned sequence of designers, inventors and events, ensuring diversity and avoiding repetition across phases. This helps pupils understand that D&T is not only about products, but also about people, culture and purpose.

Joanne notes, “When pupils recognise that the principles they learned in Year 4 or 6 still apply in Year 9, they begin to see D&T as a coherent discipline — not just a series of disconnected projects.”

Key Takeaways for Schools and Teachers (Separate little box at the end of the article maybe?)

1. Strengthen collaboration across phases

Create opportunities for primary and secondary D&T teachers to observe, plan and review together. Shared dialogue leads to shared purpose.

2. Use a common pedagogical model

Frameworks like McLain’s Four-Fold model can help align teaching approaches and clarify intent. Alternatively, the Design & Technology Association’s model of; Investigative and Evaluative Activities, Focused Tasks and Design, Make and Evaluative Activities may also be useful.

3. Prioritise progression, not repetition

Audit what pupils have already experienced in D&T and design Key Stage 3 learning that extends, rather than repeats, those experiences.

4. Align terminology

Develop a shared glossary that evolves from Key Stage 1 to 4 to improve consistency and understanding.

5. Embed digital design early

Introduce CAD and control technology such as Tinkercad in upper primary to build confidence and continuity.

6. Keep D&T context-led

Real-world, authentic contexts engage pupils and maintain creativity while developing technical precision.

Looking Ahead

Richard and Joanne’s collaboration demonstrates how an all-through D&T curriculum can address transition challenges while enriching teaching in both primary and secondary contexts. By aligning pedagogy, language and sequencing, schools can offer pupils a more coherent and rewarding experience of the subject.

Ultimately, the approach highlights what D&T does best — combining creativity, technical understanding and purposeful design thinking. With thoughtful planning and collaboration, these principles can connect seamlessly across every key stage.

Richard Brown – Primary D&T specialist and lecturer, ARU Peterborough and University of Cambridge

rbrown@dtlearn.co.uk |  www.dtlearn.co.uk

Joanne Taylor – Secondary D&T subject leader, consultant and doctoral researcher

 JTdesignandtechnology@gmail.com |  www.jtdesignandtechnology.com