A new international outlook for the Design and Technology Association

Britain has an impressive international reputation for excellence in a range of design led sectors from automotive design and motor racing to architecture and fashion design.

As an Association, we already have many international members and take a strong interest in developments in design education outside the UK.

Design Education International is the new global brand of the Design and Technology Association. It allows us to explore new ventures and partnerships throughout the world and feed information back into Design and Technology best practice in the UK.

For more information of international enquiries visit the website here.

The English Baccalaureate Certificate and what it means for D&T

The Government’s proposals for reforming KS4 qualifications were published on the 17 September (read them here) focused on the subjects which will make up the proposed English Baccalaureate Certificate. We have a number of concerns about these proposals and are urging our members to respond to the consultation.

We believe that the proposed EBC:

• will narrow the KS4 curriculum by focusing on traditional academic subjects at the expense of technical, practical and creative subjects;
• will have a negative, narrowing impact on the curriculum in KS3 as schools focus on EBC preparation;
• fails to recognise the benefits of different pedagogies, particularly learning by doing;
• fails to recognise the contribution technical, practical and creative subjects can make to addressing the skills shortages affecting engineering, manufacturing and creative industries;
• will, if implemented, result in D&T and other non-EBC teachers losing jobs as schools prioritise EBC subjects.

It is essential that all members respond to this consultation since the government says,

“... we will ask Ofqual to consider how these new higher standards can be used as a template for judging and accrediting a new suite of qualifications, beyond these subjects, at age 16, to replace current GCSEs."

In other words the EBC will directly affect how qualifications to replace GCSEs are developed in other subjects.

You can download the response form here. You will not want to respond to all questions but we would suggest you particularly answer:

• Q7 – should EBC subjects be assessed 100% by examination?
  Whilst this may or may not be appropriate for EBC subjects we believe coursework must continue to play a major part in any D&T qualification.
• Q8 – should EBCs take the same amount of curriculum time as current GCSES?
  Any move to increase the time allocation to EBC subjects will seriously affect the time for other subjects. We believe the EBC subjects should take up no more time than current GCSEs and should guarantee adequate timetable time for pupils to select a range of other subjects.
• Q18 – do you believe any of these proposals have the potential to have a disproportionate impact, adverse or positive, on specific pupil groups?
  We believe these proposals have an adverse impact on all pupils by reducing their opportunity to study one or more technical, practical and/or creative subjects.
• Q28 – asks for views on responding to the call for evidence.
  Unusually there is no specific question/space for additional comments other than Q28. We would comment that in the response form there is no opportunity to comment on the selection of subjects making up the EBC and the potential narrowing of the curriculum that will result.

The consultation closes on 10th December.

Registration open! - Book your places now

The Big Bang UK Young Scientists & Engineers Fair, London, ExCeL, 14 - 17 March 2013

Inspiring the scientists and engineers of the future

Book now to guarantee your places

Booking is open for The Big Bang Fair, the largest celebration of science and engineering for young people in the UK. Designed to inspire your students and to make the link between the classroom and great careers, The Fair uniquely combines a wide range of explosive theatre shows and interactive exhibits with the opportunity to meet some of the country's leading scientists and engineers.

Find out more and book your free places now here

Warning over shortage of engineering graduates

"The UK needs to increase by as much as 50% the number of science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem) graduates it is creating, a report says"
Read more at www.bbc.co.uk

The Ebacc, the skills gap and the future of D&T?

Whether the Government’s latest proposals on the English Baccalaureate will raise academic attainment has been the subject of heated debate in the media recently. However we have heard very little about how Design and Technology will feature in these proposals.

While standards of English, Maths and Science are clearly important it is hard to see how, on their own, they will deliver the level of innovation, growth or employment that are so badly needed to secure economic recovery. Throughout our New Vision for Design and Technology campaign, business leaders told us that what they are really looking for are the applied skills that are developed in D&T classrooms, such as creativity, problem solving and the ability to present ideas. These skills are going to be crucial for the future growth of our economy, to help young people thrive in an advanced technology-driven jobs market and to help address the crisis of persistently high youth unemployment as evidenced by the Department for Education’s NEET figures

As our patron Sir James Dyson makes clear:

“Raising standards in education is a priority, but we must gear up a generation to develop tangible ideas and exportable products. Hands-on learning combined with academic rigour creates these people – Design and Technology has the potential to do this well, but so far has been left out of the plan. If testing knowledge retention over creativity and problem solving is the approach of the English Baccalaureate, where will these vital skills come from?”

The Prime Minister noted, in the first meeting of his new Cabinet On Wednesday 5th September, that educational policy is going to be critical in tackling our current economic challenges:

“What really matters now... is that we demonstrate this is a government that means business”

“Every department is an economic department.”

“The education department is about training a new generation of young people and making sure they are ready to work in business, in industry, in commerce and increase the wealth of our nation”

There is a risk that on their own the Government’s proposals could lead to a widening gap between the experience of school and the workplace and between the needs of economy and the skills that schools deliver. The London Design Festival and London Fashion Week have shown the enormous contribution that Britain’s creative sector makes to the world, but this creativity needs to be actively nurtured in Design and Technology classrooms for it to continue in the future.

We look forward to finding out more about the Government’s plans for Design and Technology and to working with them to make sure that our schools deliver the skills that we will need for the future. Below are links to the Government’s statement and consultation papers on the English Baccalaureate proposals:
Statement can be found here:
Consultation can be found here:

Feedback on D&T grades

We have had a number of comments from members about moderation of GCSE and A Level coursework this year. We are currently gathering information to try to identify the nature and scale of the problem so that we can work with Ofqual to resolve any issues. If you have concerns, please email the details to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . As you would expect, any information provided will be treated as confidential.

David Cameron directs DfE to prioritise skills for industry

On Wednesday 5th September, Prime Minister David Cameron held the first meeting of Cabinet since his Government reshuffle. At this meeting he emphasised the importance of every government department working towards growth and deficit reduction.

In particular he urged the Department for Education to focus on training young people for employment in business and industry to help future growth.

“What really matters now... is that we demonstrate this is a government that means business” “Every department is an economic department.” “The education department is about training a new generation of young people and making sure they are ready to work in business, in industry, in commerce and increase the wealth of our nation”

During our New Vision for Design and Technology campaign we established that Design and Technology is uniquely placed as a subject to deliver the skills that employers have told us they need, such as creativity, problem solving and the ability to present ideas. We now look forward to working with DfE to help deliver the skills that the UK economy needs for growth.

See link to video footage of cabinet meeting here.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation launches new educational resources

The resources, named ‘System Reset: Design and Technology for a circular economy - Teachers’ Guide’ have been created to offer teachers a comprehensive overview and guide to accompany the classroom activities that have been created to develop students’ understanding of the circular economy. Most importantly, the guide introduces the Design and Technology teaching activities and explains how they can be used and adapted.

These materials are designed for the imaginative teacher looking to inspire their students, a teacher who believes in the value of Design and Technology and its ability to improve the world. They are forward looking and engaging – indeed, when they were being trialled in schools, teachers commented on how much they themselves had learned and how much the resources seized students’ imaginations.

For more information see the new resource bank

The Royal Society’s Partnership Grants scheme is now open!

Schools can apply for up to £3000 to work with scientists and engineers on inspiring research. Funds are available for projects working with students aged between 5-18, as long as the project involves a UK school or college and a practising scientist or engineer. The next round for applications closes on 2 November 2012.

For more details visit: http://royalsociety.org/education/partnership/.

2012 D&T national examination statistics now available

Members can now access Excel spreadsheets for A and AS – including

• entry numbers and trends from 2000 – 2012
• A*-B numbers and percentages from 2000-2012
• D&T performance compared to all subjects
• entry and results compared by awarding body

and for GCSE

• entry numbers and trends from 2000 – 2012
• A*-C numbers and percentages from 2000-2012
• D&T performance compared to all subjects
• Full and Short course and Applied Double award entry and A*-C results compared by awarding body
• GCSE Full course entry trends 2008-12

Data is also included on

• Diploma principal learning entries and results compared by awarding body
• BTEC entries

Results here

Design and Technology, skills and employment

The latest NEET figures (not in education, employment or training) make for dismal reading.

Although down marginally year on year, according to the Department for Education, one in six 16 to 24-year-olds in England were not in education, employment or training at the end of June this year. Behind the numbers are the experiences of these young people themselves, who week by week find their confidence and their self-worth and their stake in society ebbing away.

So what is the connection with Design and Technology?

From the consultation that we carried out as part of our New Vision for Design and Technology campaign, a clear consensus emerged that Design and Technology as a subject is uniquely placed to build the skills that young people need to help them into both employment and self-employment.

Though the teaching of design as a process, Design and Technology also has the potential to deliver the kind of universal employability skills that employers have repeatedly told us they are looking for, such as creativity, problem solving and the ability to present ideas.

As a subject, Design and Technology can help the ablest students to make creative and innovative use of their existing skills and academic knowledge. It can also help engage the less able students who find STEM subjects a struggle, helping them into more applied, vocational careers. D&T is often named as the most popular and least truanted subject.

Design and Technology can also help highlight career opportunities and routes into higher education, by offering a practical insight into different sectors such as graphic design, product design, fashion, food, engineering and architecture.

In building these skills it also builds feelings of confidence and empowerment that young people often lack when entering jobs markets for the first time.

The Government’s proposed changes to the curriculum, focussing on raising attainment in English, Maths and Sciences may raise academic attainment for the brightest, and provide a strong academic foundation. However what is also needed is the practical and creative application of these principles, the development of the universal employability skills that are needed in the workplace and a subject that helps to engage the less academically motivated. There is a risk that on its own, this will need to a widening gap between the experience of school and the workplace, between the able and the less able and between the needs of economy in an advanced technological society and the skills that schools deliver. University Technical Colleges will make a difference for a small minority of children, but they will not solve this problem.

What is needed is a strong and well funded Design and Technology subject at the heart of education, where young people build skills and confidence through the key stages that will help them participate as skilled, economically active citizens in their future working lives.

For more information on the latest NEET figures refer to the Department for Education website

Olympic Opening Ceremony

The Olympic opening ceremony on Friday, provided an opportunity to showcase British design to the world.

The Olympic Cauldron, designed by British designer Thomas Heatherwick, was just one example, featuring 204 copper petals, each representing one of the competing nations. See here for more info

Another was the Olympic torch itself, designed by Hackney design studio BarberOsgerby.Visit design studio

Welcome to December’s D&T Stream... ...the latest news for Design and Technology

Our response to the English Baccalaureate

On 29 November we delivered a formal response to the consultation on the Government’s English Baccalaureate proposals to reform Key Stage 4 qualifications. You can find a link to the letter we sent to Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Education here.

We believe that in their current form these proposals will critically undermine the ability of our schools to supply the talented designers, engineers and technicians of the future.

We are urging the Government to end the uncertainty that has faced Design and Technology as a subject and acknowledge its crucial role in education by:

• confirming its place in the National Curriculum at Key Stage 3 and
• including Design and Technology in the English Baccalaureate

We now ask all of our members to send a clear message to the government by:

• Responding to the consultation by Monday 10 December here,
• Signing up to the campaign to include Design and Technology in the English Baccalaureate at www.includedesign.org/ and
• Writing to Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Education at
  http://www.michaelgove.com/contact, expressing concern that excluding Design and Technology from the English Baccalaureate will:
  • Critically undermine the ability of our schools to supply the talented designers, engineers and technicians of the future.
  • Risk the exclusion and disengagement of technically gifted and creative students
  • Undermine the development of both technical ability but also applied skills such as problem solving, team working, presentation skills and the ability to follow a brief.

Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards

Thursday 6 December 2012, IET London: Savoy Place, from 18:00
The prestigious IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year Award (YWE) honours the very best female engineers working in the UK today and seeks to highlight the achievements of women in engineering and encourage others to enter the profession.

This free event offers fantastic networking and career opportunities for all who attend, with an exhibition from our sponsors plus the chance to meet winners past and present, along with other inspirational women in engineering. Delegates will enjoy a free mulled wine reception with festive canapés upon arrival and the ceremony will be followed by a sparkling wine reception and buffet – places are limited so please register your place now.

For more information please visit www.theiet.org

Early Years Foundation Stage courses in February – London & Midlands

Are you responsible for teaching the Early Years Foundation Stage framework?

We are running a series of courses during February to help head teachers and subject leaders plan high quality Design and Technology experiences.

Design and Technology offers great opportunities for fun, engaging, hands–on learning for young children. These courses provide the knowledge and inspiration that you need to get you started and help you understand the Early Years Foundation Stage framework.

This course is intended for all those who are involved in teaching Early Years children.

Food technology news

New Key Stage 3 resources from the Potato Council

Potato Council has launched a new set of resources for KS3 that focus on the taste and versatility of potatoes. They include factsheets, recipes, videos, worksheets and PowerPoint presentations, and feature the new fluffy, salad and smooth classification designed to help shoppers choose the best varieties for different cooking methods.

You can find them here

Mission: Explore Food – activity cookbook from the Geography Association

The activity cookbook challenges children to go cannibal, cook in acid, make chocolate poos (including nuts and sweetcorn), ask the Queen for a swan and work out the best way to slaughter a lamb. Mission: Explore Food is a ‘guerrilla geography’ book that has been created to tantalise children’s taste for adventure and tests their understanding not only of where their food is from, but also of where it goes once they’ve finished eating.

Children who complete missions from the book can visit the Mission: Explore website to be rewarded with points and badges for their efforts.

Free samples of the book are available here

Schools encouraged to get involved with Farmhouse Breakfast Week 2013 – taking place 20 – 26 January

Farmhouse Breakfast Week is an annual celebration championing the importance of breakfast. Their aim is to encourage people to enjoy a healthy breakfast more regularly.

Managed by HGCA, the campaign started in 2000 and takes place every January. It is more successful each year with over 1,000 events and promotions taking place in 2012 alongside extensive media coverage.

All stages of the food chain, from farmers to food producers and retailers to consumers are encouraged to get involved and hold events to promote the importance of starting the day with breakfast. Activities include tasting sessions, breakfast competitions, cookery demonstrations, special breakfast menus and school breakfast clubs to name just a few.

Is your Food Technology classroom safe?

Many teachers will have new responsibility for food safety this year. If it is you, make sure you get the training you need.

We can organise accredited training for anyone involved in teaching food technology. These one–day courses help you meet your safeguarding responsibilities under Ofsted’s and enable you to teach food safety in a confident and informed way. Our qualified trainers will enable you to achieve specialist food health and safety accreditation and the Level 2 Food Safety Certificate in one day. Accreditation lasts for 5 years.

If you are interested in attending this course or require more information, please contact:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 01789 473 908. All courses are advertised on the D&T Association website here. All food publications may also be purchased from our online shop.

Digital technology news

Learning report from Nesta on the use of technology teaching

The report finds that technology like interactive whiteboards, digital tablets or educational game software can be effective in supporting learning, with examples of best practice. It also suggests that schools need plan how to use technology by adopting tech–focused teaching styles and providing better training for this technology to be effectively used.

You can find the full report here

Upgrade your skills for the new–year, with our CAD, CAM and Electronics courses

Find a course near you on the Digital Design and Technology website:
http://www.digitaldandt.org/index.php/current-courses

Free e–book on design and creativity in the classroom

The Council on Technology & Engineering Teacher Education (USA’s Technology Teacher Ed’s organisation) have released the 2011 Year book – it makes for interesting reading

The book is entitled Creativity and Design in Technology and Engineering Education. Fifteen different authors from a variety of professions including architecture, art education, design education, engineering, neuroscience, and technology education have all contributed to this work. The ¬book is available in its entirety, or broken into sections such as individual chapters, abstracts for each of the 12 chapters, author information, and an index. These electronic versions are available in PDF format, which makes them easy to search through for key words or terms. The URLs for references and citations have also been activated so that anyone doing research can immediately go to the original source.

Find it here

Final call for Nominations for the D&T Association Excellence Awards 2013

Have you got a colleague who has made a significant and outstanding contribution to Design and Technology? Then why not nominate them for the D&T Association Excellence Awards?

Do you know anyone who is a trainee near the completion of training or a teacher in their first two years of teaching and who has shown outstanding ability during their training and demonstrated the capacity to become an outstanding teacher?

Do you know anyone who is developing and teaching outside the UK and has demonstrated outstanding commitment to promote the subject? This must have had positive impact on D&T Education in the UK.

Started in 1999 by the Design and Technology Association Trustees the D&T Association Excellence Awards gives professional recognition to individuals for their contribution to Design and Technology Education.

To nominate and to see the other categories please visit our website

Last chance to enter the Student Design Competition from the Design Council – entries by Monday 10 December 2012

The Student Design Competition is open to all young people aged 14 – 19 years who are currently studying on UK design courses, or those who take a keen interest in design. Inspired by current exhibition Designed to Win, the theme this year is Celebration.

For more information and to enter the competition visit the website. Deadline for entries is Monday 10 December 2012.

Opportunity to join the D&T Expansive Education Network

We have formed an exciting new partnership with Bill Lucas and Guy Claxton and the Expansive Education Network. This will offer D&T teachers the chance to learn how to undertake their own small scale action research, share thinking with like–minded colleagues, publish a really simple poster or report version of their findings and enjoy the resources of the Expansive Education Network.

The benefits of membership include:

• free attendance for all eligible teachers at three action research professional development (PD) events organised by your regional university
• access to the member only part of the site to download free resources
• opportunity for members to create their own professional development profile, organise local/regional/national/virtual professional development (PD) events and collaborate with other like–minded members using a secure part of the site
• termly digests of summaries of research into all aspects of expansive education
• significantly discounted rates at all national and regional eedNET events.

For more details visit http://www.expansiveeducation.net/

Design and Technology Association Branch Events

Surrey Branch Event – Wednesday 11 December 2012

Louise Davies, Deputy Chief Executive of the Design and Technology Association will give an update on the curriculum and the future of D&T.

Northumberland Branch Event – Wednesday 12 December 2012

This branch meeting will give you an opportunity to meet other colleagues in the area and share teaching methods, resources and ideas. Have you done/used anything good in the classroom recently? Come and talk about it and share it with others. There will also be an opportunity to learn of training events.

Please book either of these events, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Would you like to become a Branch Event Co–ordinator?

The Design and Technology Association is looking for new Branch Event Co–ordinators. Are you passionate about D&T? Could share this passion with like minded people?

Branch co–ordinators also receive one year’s free D&T Association membership or a free day conference place at our annual conference.

Becoming a branch event co–ordinator is a great way to network with colleagues and share ideas. A branch event could be an evening or weekend workshop. Running a local branch is simple, as administration, promotion and accounts are all provided by the D&T Association. We also offer to provide presenters and ready–made events if they are needed. For more details contact email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 01789 473906.

Recommend a friend

Help us to grow our membership and gain further support for the future status of D&T by recommending membership to a friend or colleague. You’ll find details of the benefits of membership under ‘Join Now’ on the website.

Tell us what’s happening in your school?

We are always keen to hear about what is happening in D&T departments around the country and help share it with others. If you have a project you have completed and some student work you would like to show off, let us know and we will try to publish it on our websites or in our Designing or D&T Practice magazines.

Designing and D&T Practice magazines regularly feature case study articles with examples of some of the best Design and Technology teaching. We also feature downloadable resources and case studies on our Primary website: http://www.dandtprimary.org.uk/

If you would like to appear in one of these magazines, or have some teaching resources to share (worksheets, planning documents, presentations, etc) send a photograph and a brief outline of the project to: Neil Whitton at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Primary D&T continues in the National Curriculum in England

The Design and Technology Association is delighted that Design and Technology in primary schools will continue in the new National Curriculum. Today Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Education, has written to Tim Oates, the chair of the Expert Panel for the National Curriculum review. In his letter he states that the Government has decided to maintain the requirement to teach all current National Curriculum foundation subjects across the primary years. For Design and Technology at key stages 1 and 2 this means that the subject will be compulsory within the new National Curriculum and will have new statutory programmes of study. Read the full announcement here.

Together with the other foundation subjects, Design and Technology will have slimmer programmes of study to provide primary schools with greater flexibility and more scope for curriculum innovation at local level. Building on D&T in the new Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework, the Design and Technology Association looks forward to working in collaboration with the DfE and stakeholders in the community to develop and support the new National Curriculum in primary schools.

The new requirements for maintained schools in England are expected to be introduced from September 2014. Until then the current National Curriculum study programmes of study for key stages 1 and 2 (1999) remain in force. The Government will make an announcement regarding the secondary National Curriculum in due course.

The Design and Technology Association will issue a full press release later this week when it is expected the Secretary of State will formally announce the Government’s proposals for the primary curriculum.

Launch of the ‘New Vision for Design and Technology’ campaign

The Design Technology Association today launched its New Vision campaign, a consultation programme with leading figures in business, design, engineering, government and education, to help shape the future of Design Technology and how it should be tailored to meet the needs of 21st century Britain.
The campaign is seeking to build awareness of the value of a Design and Technology education to business and society, seek to understand how organisations across all sectors of the economy perceive Design and Technology and generate debate on how the subject can be tailored to meet the needs of 21st century Britain.
The first event, entitled ‘How can D&T meet the needs of the creative industries’, took place on Monday 28th May at The Institute for Materials, Minerals and Mining, London, W1.
Katie Stallard, Media & Technology Correspondent at Sky News chaired a panel to discuss:

• How should a modern D&T curriculum provide a suitable environment to facilitate the exchanging of knowledge, ideas and creativity?
• What are the needs of the creative industries and how can D&T meet these expectations?
• How best the D&T Association can work with the creative industries to inform and engage young people in this sector?

On the panel were leading figures from the UK’s thriving creative sector:

• Professor Frances Corner OBE - Head of the London College of Fashion
• Richard Green, CEO – The Design and Technology Association
• Catherine Large, CEO - Creative & Cultural Skills
• Adam Mack, Chief Strategy Officer EMEA - Weber Shandwick
• Andrew Sedgwick, Global Arts and Culture Business Leader - ARUP
• Dr Richard Wilson, CEO – The Independent Game developer Association (TIGA)

This will be followed by a further three events:

• Monday 18th June – London Panel Debate - “Perspectives from the food industry –D&T and Britain’s largest manufacturing sector”
• Monday 25th June – Sunderland Question Time - “D&T meeting the challenges of high volume manufacturing”
• Tuesday 10th July – London Question Time - “D&T meeting the challenges of the future”

Following the final question time event, the survey will close and the D&T Association will review all the information gathered during the course of the campaign, before presenting its findings to the Education Secretary in September 2012.

To find out more about the campaign, to contribute your views to the survey and how you can get involved please visit: www.dandtnewvision.org.uk