Why is Lobbying Essential?

Lobbying is essential as it can be all too easy for other subjects to take priority and precedence in schools. Lobbying can also help raise awareness of the importance of design and technology across all design, engineering, and manufacturing sectors. We have developed our Blueprint 1000 initiative to bridge the gap between education and industry by bringing ‘real world’ context to learning, providing ‘in-subject’ careers information and guidance, engineering clubs and our ‘Teachers in Residence’ initiative, which places teachers on short industry placements, informing them of current practice and allowing these teachers to replicate current industry practice in their classroom.

 The Design and Technology Association recently worked with partners to fund and commission the Education Policy Institute (EPI) Paper ‘A spotlight on D&T education in England’. This paper collected secondary research and presented a bleak picture of the subject’s current position nationally. From this paper, a clear message emerged that action must be taken if the subject is not to disappear to the very periphery of the school curriculum.

 Since the publication of this paper in March 2022, the Association has arranged and held a series of roundtable events designed to examine the subject’s current position, but more importantly, to set a direction for the subject, allowing it to move forward and grow. The ‘Reimagining D&T report’ has emerged from these discussions; we believe this sets an immediate and short-term direction both for the Association and for the subject itself. You can download a copy of the report here.

What can you do to support the subject?

• Write to your local MP (You can identify them and find their contact details here)
• Join us either as an individual member or with a school membership. In recent years our membership numbers have rocketed from under 9,000 to almost 33,000. Every new member strengthens our lobbying position.
• Businesses can either join us as Corporate Members or as Blueprint 1000 Your support helps strengthen the subject in schools and allows you to reach and influence a more diverse future workforce, identifying and engaging highly talented young people nationally.

We are working hard to protect, develop and grow the subject nationally, ensuring that all young people can study design and technology as part of a broad and rich curriculum. Join us, and let’s do this work together!

As our patron, James Dyson, describes:

“Design and technology is a phenomenally important subject. Logical, creative and practical, it’s the only opportunity students have to apply what they learn in maths and science - directly preparing them for a career in engineering. Policy-makers must recognise design and technology’s significance for the UK economy and strive not just to preserve it – but to ensure it appeals to the brightest of young minds.”

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Download the Report - Reimagining Design and Technology