A new report has laid out a series of recommendations to reverse the alarming slump in design and technology (D&T) education in England.<\/p>\n
The government this week published its Curriculum and Assessment Review<\/a>, which looked at how education in this country needs to evolve.<\/p>\n Led by Professor Becky Francis, the taskforce set out to ensure \u201cthe curriculum is fit for the future, addresses the rich knowledge and skills young people need to thrive in our fast-changing world, and encourages a love of learning.\u201d<\/p>\n The section on D&T painted a grim picture of the state of the subject.<\/p>\n \u201cThe evidence gathered during the Review suggests that D&T in schools has long been in poor health,\u201d the report states. They pointed to \u201ca substantial decline in entries for GCSE D&T\u201d which have fallen 68% in the past ten years.<\/p>\n In 2024\/25, 57% of state schools entered students for GCSE D&T. But crucially, 17% of Key Stage 3 students who wanted to go on and study D&T were unable to, the highest percentage of any subject in the national curriculum.<\/p>\n This is party down to problems recruiting teachers \u2013 in 2023\/24, only 27% of the target for training new D&T teachers was met, the report explains.<\/p>\n And the drop-off to A-level is pronounced \u2013 only 1% of A-levels taken in 2023\/24 were in D&T.<\/p>\n All of this makes for worrying reading, especially given that the creative industries is one of the \u201chighest potential sectors\u201d which the government hopes will drive the UK economy.<\/p>\n And the report points out that access to D&T is \u201cespecially pronounced along lines of disadvantage.\u201d 60% of the schools with the most disadvantaged students had no GCSE entries in D&T, compared to only 17% of the schools with the lowest proportion of disadvantaged students.<\/p>\n This finding echoes recent concerns about access to the creative industries.<\/p>\n The Sutton Trust\u2019s A Class Act<\/em><\/a> report highlighted how people from working class backgrounds are significantly underrepresented in creative fields. And writing for Design Week<\/em>, Lawrence Lartey of Ravensbourne University London called on the industry to focus on addressing these disparities<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cAI will continue to evolve, but it\u2019s human creativity that will determine the future,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cTo meet the challenges ahead, we must first fix the pipeline. Only then can we build a more resilient, inclusive, and forward-looking creative economy \u2013 one that doesn\u2019t just survive, but thrives.\u201d<\/p>\n To help address the decline in D&T, the report made several recommendations, \u201cto refresh the subject and make it more relevant and easier for schools to deliver.\u201d<\/p>\n The D&T curriculum has become \u201coutdated\u201d and needs to evolve to \u201cclarify the subject\u2019s distinctive and practical nature.\u201d In particular, the report wants more focus on creative and conceptual thinking, including \u201cproblem solving, iteration and testing.\u201d Taken together, the recommendations aim to make D&T more \u201caspirational\u201d and modernise it in line with the UK\u2019s thriving creative industries.<\/p>\n These changes, the report hopes, will help reposition D&T, \u201cas an exciting and ambitious subject that can introduce students to skills in design and making, as well as prepare them for technical careers in design, creative and advanced manufacturing industries.\u201d<\/p>\n Minnie Moll, chief executive of the Design Council, welcomed the recommendations.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a landmark moment for design education,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are delighted to see the government embrace the importance of design thinking and sustainability in preparing the next generation with the skills our planet needs.<\/p>\n \u201cThe changes announced today are a testament to the collective efforts of the design and education community to ensure that design is recognised as a vital capability for solving the biggest challenges of our time.\u201d<\/p>\n The government will introduce a new national curriculum in 2028.<\/p>\n
\nThe curriculum should focus more on \u201csocial responsibility and inclusive design\u201d to better equip students to meet the changing nature of the problems designers are being asked to solve. The report points out the current curriculum, \u201cdoes not explicitly mention sustainability or the benefits of a circular economy.\u201d
\nThe report calls for more focus on materials, to give students a broader range of experience handling different materials and more understanding of how and why they are chosen. It said that in the current course, \u201cpupils are simply required to memorise a list of materials and their properties in isolation.\u201d More understanding of materiality would, the report suggests, \u201calign the D&T curriculum better with modern, real-world design practice.\u201d
\nThe report calls for a clearer definition of what \u201cfinal product\u201d in a D&T context means, \u201calongside a clear emphasis on the full design process, including design content and theory.\u201d<\/p>\n