Alternative (draft) Programme of Study for Design and Technology!

On Friday 19th April 2013 the Design and Technology Association (D&TA) and Education for Engineering (E4E) met at the Royal Academy of Engineering, London, with around 50 representatives from schools, higher education, industry (design, engineering and food), the cultural sector (museums) and subject associations to discuss a re-drafting of an alternative Programme of Study for Design and Technology. The meeting came about as the result of the Department for Education (DFE) giving the D&TA and E4E permission to present a reworked proposal on Monday 22nd April 2013 (today) – so quite a tight turn around!

I am pleased to say that the group worked solidly all day Friday and developed a redraft, a version of which had been presented at the beginning of the day. The drafting team worked ‘flat out’ over the weekend to respond to feedback and create a document that was ready to present to the DFE. You can click here to download and read the new proposal.

So what can you do?

We would encourage you to read the proposal carefully and feel that you can support this document as it is presented to the DFE, as a more accurate representation of what D&T should be as a forward looking subject. You could:

  1. Email John Husbands at the D&T Association, with your name, title and institution, to signal your support (identifying your support either as an individual or an institution);
  2. Leave a comment or join in a discussion on the Believe in D&T website;
  3. Email your MP and ask them to support this proposal;
  4. Email Elizabeth Truss MP (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Education) directly;
  5. Share this blog post and the document with as many teachers as you can and encourage them to respond;
  6. Use social media (Facebook, Twitter) to spread the word;

If you have any thoughts, responses or questions on the Alternative Programme of Study feel free to leave a comment on this blog and share the link!

Download the proposal: D&T Assoc and E4E Draft D&T PoS April 22.pdf