CLEAPSS NEWS

Cleapss

We discussed what CLEAPSS is doing to support practical D&T, food and art in schools, including the work we have been doing about dust and fume controls, which could have a significant impact on the use of timber in schools. We also went through some of the newer guides and other materials we have been developing, including those about air quality and noise levels, and the latest updates from PUWER training. All of these are available on the website under the ‘what’s new’ sections.

DfE

The DfE representative explained some of the intricacies of getting new or refurbished facilities for D&T. The process begins with a meeting between the Headteacher and the DfE team to discuss the type of curriculum model that the school would like to develop. The pupil numbers and some other factors are then fed into the Schedule of Accommodation, which generates the number and size of rooms the school will need to satisfy its intended aims.

Each room has an area data sheet that includes a list of possible equipment. The data sheet and the GIFA (gross internal floor area) defines the specification of the rooms.

At this point the Headteacher may negotiate a change in the types of rooms, and may ask for more or fewer D&T food or art spaces.

The specification for what goes in a D&T room was defined 15 years ago. But the specification can be negotiated as the building programme is finalised.

One of the problems in this process is the lack of time for teachers, other than the Headteacher, to engage with the programme and have an opportunity to develop an individualised specification for the rooms.

In general, legacy equipment will be re-used and installed in new rooms. Where this for any reason, is not possible, new equipment will be supplied. This has led to some schools reporting to CLEAPSS that they have got equipment they didn’t want, or couldn’t use. The reason offered has been because “the DfE said they had to have it”. This is not the case, it is usually because the school staff were not engaged with the programme at the point that the contractor specified and installed the equipment.

It was also confirmed that under DfE funding programmes, schools will not get mains piped gas for D&T or food.

Awarding Organisations

The Awarding Organisations (AOs) each gave an update on the entries from summer 2023, and we discussed the trends that are forming:

• There is a general drift from D&T to art

• D&T numbers are slightly up on last year, which does not reflect more centres, but more entries from existing centres.

• Where centres have had candidate marks dropped from the teacher assessment, it seems to reflect staff experience. Schools with fewer experienced staff tend to have less robust systems in place to monitor and assess work.

• The numbers of students taking food are holding up.

• Some centres are moving from D&T to engineering, but this has implications for staff expertise and facilities.

University

The university academics explained their work, including the research and training they carry out. We discussed curriculum design and how this is the role of the teacher, but curriculum content is owned by others, including the National Curriculum or AO specifications.

It is felt that there is a need to empower teachers, so that they feel that they can change how they teach. But how is this done? It was argued that increasingly teachers are not only instructed what to teach but also how to teach it. There was a question of how teachers access support, Futureminds is an example where this support can be found. It was felt that support should be aimed at helping teachers to teach better, which will improve teaching overall.

Food

The representative from the Food Teachers Centre (FTC) explained that the organisation is more than a Facebook group. It is run without central funding and is monitored/moderated by volunteers and carried out a wide range of CPD and other online and in school activities. The group has existed for 10 years and was set up when food teaching was in a poor position. The group hoped to take back and build upon some of the good things that were wanted by teachers of the subject. There is an ongoing concern from teachers about the lack of a Level 3 qualification, particularly the removal of the A Level. An interesting point raised was where is the equivalent of the FTC for D&T? If this is something that is thought to be worth having, the D&T community should get on and set it up rather than waiting for someone else to do it. There are many Facebook groups, but none offer the services that are available from the FTC.

The British Nutrition Foundation (BNF) representative went through some of the work it is doing, such as looking into the skills and knowledge which are needed from the subject. This included considering the possible developments needed to get the present KS3 teaching ready for the EBacc, where food is not necessarily delivered at KS4.

BNF is also aware of concerns raised about the lack of capability of post 18 students when accessing HE, as there is no viable A Level. BNF has been doing a lot of work to support primary food teaching, and has done some work with CLEAPSS on this. There is also work being done on supporting chemistry in food.

Textiles

The representative from the Textiles Skills Academy explained how the organisation is modelled on the Food Teachers Centre and has been supporting textiles teaching since 2015. It was felt that textiles has not had a ‘voice’ recently and perhaps attending this meeting can be a starting point.

The community has put in place a system of teacher mentoring, delivered by volunteers from the textiles industry. It also runs basic skills workshops in schools, so that teachers can develop their confidence in using materials and equipment in textiles.

There is a weekly ‘tea and chat’ online session, which is supported by guest speakers, where there has been concerns raised about the progression route in textiles. The concern is whether what is being taught is fit for purpose, and may be because of the drift to textiles being delivered as part of the art curriculum, which emphasises creative textiles. Teachers at these sessions indicated that they would like a separate, dedicated textiles GCSE course, and progression to Level 3.

The community is trying to help teachers to be happy and excited about their subject, and the emphasis is on reskilling teachers who may be coming to the subject as a new, but not necessarily young, teacher, not necessarily.

Primary

The person representing primary works for STEM Learning and supports primary through a range of schemes, many of which receive ‘Enthuse Partnership’ funding. Recently more primary schools have been requesting access to the partnership system for D&T activity. As these partnerships are funded, this is a great incentive to engage, which is much less likely without funding. From this work, it seems that most primary teachers have little or no training to teach D&T or food, and have limited subject knowledge. There is no obvious progression route in primary for D&T because schools deliver such a varied offer of D&T and food. This may be because there is no significant time allocation for the teaching of D&T, and limited support from primary SLT for D&T. This may, in turn, be due to the lack of clarity about what D&T is. Additionally, there is often a very limited budget for D&T in primary schools. The national fall in pupil numbers will have a negative effect on funding in primary schools, which will, in turn have an impact on what they can deliver beyond English and Maths.