24th August 2022
D&TA providing specialist training for SCITT trainees at Pioneers Partnership SCITT For 30 years I have taught in or led Design and Technology departments, and in the last few years, I have seen...
Written by: Paul Woodward
16th November 2020
Editorial for Designing 117 to be released in November 2020 I write this at the beginning of October and schools have been back for just over a month. At the time of writing the number of positive C...
Written by: Tony Ryan
10th September 2020
The title used for this D&T Practice Magazine editorial is also the title of an excellent book by Guy Claxton. This is a book that I read and re-read as a headteacher as I regularly sought to step...
Written by: Tony Ryan
6th May 2020
Andy Mitchell explores the importance of good timetabling for design and technology Importance and context Recent posts in social media have included requests made by Subject Leaders, asking for...
Written by: Andy Mitchell
16th December 2019
I certainly don’t consider myself to be good at writing but the other day I was embarrassed to be complimented on something I’d produced. I responded by saying that’s it’s less than one’s ability to w...
Written by: Andy Mitchell
10th June 2019
If there was ever an example of journalists, fabricating and fanning the flames of an education ‘story’, in pursuit of a salacious report, then this was it. It all started as parent (or someone repres...
Written by: Andy Mitchell
7th June 2019
With the GCSE Non-Examined Assessment (NEA) and written examination now done and dusted, this feels like an opportune time to commit this to paper. It was clear when I took up this post that there w...
Written by: Tony Ryan
3rd June 2019
Andy Mitchell reflects on the publication of the new GCSE Contextual Challenges that comprise 50% of the mark in the recently introduced Design and Technology GCSE. It’s been interesting to read th...
Written by: Andy Mitchell
18th April 2019
Like the next person, I get excited by the potential for the use of future technology and its positive impact on both my own immediate and the wider world. No more so than when I read articles like th...
Written by: Andy Mitchell
24th July 2018
With the school summer holidays now upon us, this seemed as good a time as any to reflect on the academic year just passed and specifically my almost seven months at the D&T Association. In a y...
Written by: Tony Ryan
22nd August 2016
Although I have spent about 26 years of my career teaching D&T at various educational stages, I’m currently not based in a school or other educational establishment. Nevertheless, this time of ye...
Written by: Andy Mitchell
1st August 2016
I know many fellow textiles specialists are concerned about how textile fits in to the new GCSE fearing a reduction in creativity and the loss of the unique nature of textiles as a material area. I co...
Written by: Julie Boyd
28th January 2016
The National Curriculum subject D&T has presented controversy for the entire period of its existence. Some might say that is good. Others would say it is inevitable as its nature, purpose and co...
Written by: Graham Samuel
19th January 2016
Are you happy for creative subjects to be marginalised or removed from the curriculum? What are you thoughts?.. sign our petition
Written by: Debbie Woodbridge
30th September 2015
For some time now, the Association has been expressing concern over the inability of the subject to move forward in response to changes in National Curriculum - and I'm not simply referring to the mos...
Written by: Alison Hardy