Redesigning DT

For all its many benefits, one of the disadvantages of the national curriculum has been to encourage convergence in thinking and practice; and the spread of orthodoxies rather than rigour and creativity. 

Academies present an opportunity for innovation, particularly at key stage 3, which, although subject to inspection, is free from the convergence points of national exams and qualifications.

In my last job as director of design at the Royal Society of Arts I argued that learning design – let’s call it a structured approach to creative problem-solving – could help everyone to be more resourceful and self-reliant, both in their careers and in their day-to-day lives. It was basically an argument for universal design education and naturally led me to look at how design was taught in the universal context of secondary school.