Key Stage 1 design and technology · Make

KS1 design and technology: using tools safely

In Years 1 and 2, children are taught to select from and use a range of tools and equipment to do practical jobs, such as cutting, shaping, joining and finishing. The focus is on choosing the right tool for the job and using it carefully, so that making becomes safe, tidy and increasingly independent. Good habits learned now carry through to the more demanding tools used in Key Stage 2.

Using tools safely, explained

The curriculum lists cutting, shaping, joining and finishing as examples of practical tasks, and many schools organise their lessons around those four jobs. Cutting might be done with child-safe scissors. Shaping could be folding, bending, rolling or moulding with hands and a simple rolling tool. Joining might use glue, tape, split pins, treasury tags or a simple stitch. Finishing is the last stage, such as decorating, trimming rough edges or adding a coat of paint. The examples are only a guide, and each school decides exactly which tools to use.

Choosing is as important as using. Teachers ask children to think “What do I need to do to this material?” before they pick up anything. A thick piece of card needs a firmer cut than tissue paper. Glue is strong but slow to dry, tape is quick but may peel, and a split pin lets two pieces turn. Over time, children learn to give a reason for a choice, such as “I used a hole punch because I needed a neat circle.”

Safety is taught alongside skill, in simple routines. Children learn to sit or stand in a steady position, hold the material still with one hand and keep fingers out of the way of the cutting edge. They carry scissors closed and hand them to someone else handle first. They also learn to tidy their workspace and to put tools back. A teacher or helper always supervises. Some schools also introduce a junior hacksaw and a bench hook for cutting thin wood in Year 2, used one child at a time with an adult right beside them, while others keep to card and paper at this stage.

Accuracy comes with practice. Many five- and six-year-olds find cutting along a line tricky because it needs both hands to work together, with one turning the paper while the other opens and closes the scissors. Teachers help by marking a bold line, using a template, or letting a child practise on scrap paper. By Year 2, children are expected to be neater and more careful, but a slightly wobbly edge is perfectly normal.

Words your child will hear

Tool: Something you hold and use to do a job, such as scissors or a hole punch.
Equipment: The other things that help you work, such as a mat, a ruler or an apron.
Cutting: Dividing a material into pieces or shapes.
Shaping: Changing the form of a material by folding, bending, rolling or moulding it.
Joining: Fixing two pieces together, for example with glue, tape or a split pin.
Finishing: Adding the final touches, such as colour, patterns or neat edges.
Safe: Not likely to cause harm to you or anyone else.

What the National Curriculum says

The programme of study for Key Stage 1 says:

When designing and making, pupils should be taught to select from and use a range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks [for example, cutting, shaping, joining and finishing]
Through a variety of creative and practical activities, pupils should be taught the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in an iterative process of designing and making.

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Try it: making a card fish with a moving tail

A child wants to make a card fish with a tail that swings. Which tools do they choose, and in what order?

Mark and cut. Draw the fish body and the tail on thin card, using a template if there is one. Hold the card still with one hand and cut slowly with child-safe scissors, turning the card, not the scissors, round corners.
Shape. Fold a small fin along a pencil line so that it stands out from the body, and press the fold flat with a finger.
Join. A tail that swings needs a joint that turns, so the child chooses a split pin rather than glue. A hole punch makes a neat hole near the edge of each piece, and the pin goes through both before the legs are opened out flat at the back.
Finish. Add an eye and scales with felt pens or small paper circles, and trim any rough edges.
Tidy and check. The child puts the scissors and hole punch back, and tests that the tail swings. If it is too tight, they loosen the pin.

A strong Year 1 or 2 answer links each tool to a job and a reason: “I used a split pin because I wanted the tail to move.” It also shows safe habits, such as keeping the free hand away from the blades.

Common mistakes and how to help

Using the nearest tool or joining method for every job

Young children pick what is in front of them or what is easiest to hold, so glue gets used when tape or a split pin would be better.

What helps: Ask “What does this part need to do?” before they choose. If it must move, try a joint that turns. If it must stay fixed, use glue or tape.

Moving the scissors, not the paper, when cutting curves

Children copy the movement of their hands, and turning scissors in a tight curve is awkward and often slips.

What helps: Show how to keep the scissors pointing forward and turn the paper with the other hand. Practise on scrap with a thick curved line.

Using too much glue

It seems that more glue makes a stronger join, but the extra soaks the card, takes longer to dry and squeezes out of the edges.

What helps: Try a small dot or a thin line spread with a spatula or finger. Let your child test one thin and one thick join, and see which dries first.

Thinking safety rules are just for the teacher

Children can see rules as a list of things not to do, and forget them once they are excited about making.

What helps: Give a reason with each rule: “We carry scissors closed so no one gets poked.” Praise a safe habit when you see it.

How to help at home

Cutting practice with scrap paper. Draw a thick straight line, a zigzag and a gentle curve on old paper and ask your child to cut along them with child-safe scissors. Sit with them and keep the tool use calm and unhurried.
Play dough shaping. Rolling, pinching, pressing and cutting out shapes with a blunt plastic cutter builds the hand strength needed for later tool use. Ask which action made which shape.
Try different ways to join. Fix two pieces of card together with a little glue, with tape and with a split pin. Ask which is quickest, which is strongest and which lets the pieces move.
Set up and put away. Before and after making anything, lay out a mat or tray, then put each tool back in its place. Talk about which tools are for an adult and which are safe for your child.

Leads on to

Key Stage 2: Using tools accurately
Key Stage 2: Choosing materials