D&T Under Threat

In January this year, the Government announced that it would be launching a National Curriculum Review to consult on major changes it wanted to make to the primary and secondary national curricula in England – for children in schools aged 5 – 14 years. We now know that there is a serious intention to slim down the national curriculum dramatically in order to provide school management and teachers with much greater freedom to decide what is best to teach their students. The latest thinking means that the only subjects which remain as a statutory part of the National Curriculum are English, Mathematics, Science and Physical Education. All other subjects may become optional and therefore will be taught only at the discretion of the school.

Whilst we fully believe in schools’ abilities to provide a broad and balanced curriculum for all students, we are concerned that too few schools currently recognise the importance and value of a D&T education. Removing it from the National Curriculum would seriously undermine both the life chances of young people and the country’s economic prospects now and in the future.

The main challenges facing the subject, include:

• The afforementioned curriculum reviews in primary and secondary education
• The introduction of the English Baccalaureate
• Changes to vocational education recommended in the wolf report
• The introduction of Academies, University Technical Colleges (UTCS) and free schools
• Changes to testing and eximinations
• Changes in initial teacher training
• Reduced funding for many schools
• The loss of government funded support agencies and local authority support networks
• Ensuring the D&T curriculum is fit for the 21st Century