Future minds
The Interactive Digital Magazine from CLEAPSS
CLEAPSS NEWS
Since the last edition of Futureminds we have been working on a number of projects which have led to some new guidance and updates to MRATs, the list of the updates can be found in the smallprint, and by looking for the ‘what’s new’ links on the website.
As many readers will also have done, CLEAPSS submitted a response to the DfE Curriculum and Assessment review. This involved a significant piece of teamwork across science, primary and D&T and art at CLEAPSS. As you would expect, there was a strong emphasis on ensuring that practical work was central to the curriculum in these areas.
We are looking forward to hearing the outcome from this review, but we have been told to expect evolution, not revolution.
On November 28th, we held a webinar to launch the network of networks, which you may have read about in the last Futureminds. If you have, or are thinking of starting, a D&T network this webinar is available to watch here.
We have lots of resources to support network events so please get in touch if you would like more information.
Trudi attended the DATA D&T Awards presentation evening on behalf of CLEAPSS, it was a fantastic celebration of the subject of design and technology and all of us at CLEAPSS congratulate the superb winners!
We also carried out a number of safety audits and ran training for a number of schools and colleges.
D&T Stakeholders meeting:
We held one of our round table meetings for stakeholders in D&T education. By coincidence this took place on the deadline day for submissions to the DfE curriculum review.
Some notes from the meeting:
The curriculum review should be publishing an interim report in Q1 of 2025, with the final report due out in October 2025.
The scope of the review was made public on the DfE website, and has a focus on English and Maths, but also looks at whether the present curriculum prepares pupils for life.
There was some frustration at the limited remit of the review, as it does not cover funding, or staffing. These aspects are likely to form part of the spending review due in the spring.
The Inspired by Industry work being carried out by the Design and Technology Association continues to develop, with 12 completed projects available, and more on the way.
The DfE facilities team gave an outline of the work being done on room and facility design. CLEAPSS is closely involved in this, and continue to meet regularly with the DfE to offer guidance and support. One area where there is little valid research is a KS3 D&T curriculum that is not carousel based, if anyone reading this has such a scheme, please let us know.
The Food Teachers Centre continues to thrive, with over 9500 members, and is running lots of training and projects, including working with Teacher Training Providers, as well as existing practitioners, to help upskill the workforce.
A concern raised by many of those in attendance is the lack of specialist staff in D&T, food and Art and Design in schools.
The three major awarding organisations gave an update on the support they are offering centres, and the work they have been doing since the summer examination series.
Teachers forum meeting
We have also held a meeting of our teachers focus group. This group contains a cross section of fee paying and state schools, from rural and inner-city areas, and of different sizes.
Some notes from the meeting:
We looked at a variety of questions, exploring important aspects of the subject, and how they are delivered. We also invited the teachers to suggest aspects of our work that could be developed further to help schools.
Some of the interesting discussions revolved around how to overcome legacy issues, such as the need for pupils to make something to take home, against developing items that do not go home. One school does a number of short, focused, practical activities that build a bank of skills for the pupils, whilst also giving them something to take home, rather than spending several weeks on one design and make project.
There was a discussion on how life experiences limit access to design thinking, as pupils who have limited experiences can find it difficult to develop a broad range of creative ideas and outcomes. This led to further discussion on how facilities can hinder or support the subject. One school has a suite of multimedia rooms, with no material specialism, but other schools have woodwork rooms, metalwork rooms etc. which limits what can be taught. This is an aspect of D&T in schools which we are working on with the DfE and others.
A lot of time was spent talking about staffing. Recruitment is an ongoing problem in most schools, and when staff have been recruited, there were concerns about their breadth of knowledge and experience. The lack of training for teachers both as trainees and as qualified teachers was discussed. There is very little quality CPD that teachers can access, which is one reason why events like the Big D&T Meet are so important. (see below).
The importance of having an experienced technician was also discussed, with many of the accounts of good practice being prefaced by reference to the fact that the department had “an excellent technician” without whom much of what followed would not have been possible.
There were also discussions on how to engage with parents, and the importance of weaving sustainability into the subject.
There was one comment made which we all felt was worth repeating:
“D&T is the most human subject”
