'They can never make what they draw' - producing a realistic, appropriate and achievable design at key stages 1 and 2

Teachers do not fear making, have always encouraged evaluation and respond readily to investigations but constantly ask how one develops children's skills at AT 2. Generations of teachers who were never asked to design anything themselves are now being asked to help children achieve: "a realistic, appropriate and achievable design." This requirement is not easily satisfied at any level and depends a great deal upon the constraints that are placed upon the task. This paper will demonstrate the very high quality of designing that children as young as five can achieve but suggests that, paradoxically, only limitations of scale, materials and content lead to that high standard. The projects illustrated show that careful structuring of this area leads to increased understanding of the task, improved classroom management and better targeting of the programmes of study.