Commenting on the Education Policy Institute (EPI) report
revealing that student entries in design and technology have
halved over the last decade, Geoff Barton, General Secretary of
the Association of School and College Leaders, said:
“The government talks a lot about its plans for a ‘skills
revolution’ but has unfathomably not only neglected the
importance of Design and Technology, but actively devalued the
subject.
“As this report highlights, there are a number of factors which
have contributed to the decline in students entering these
qualifications.
“However, it did not help that the government decided to
prioritise a set of traditional academic subjects in its English
Baccalaureate suite of subjects – which underpin school
performance tables – at the expense of other subjects such as
Design and Technology and the creative arts. This has had the
inevitable effect of driving non-EBacc subjects to the fringes of
the curriculum.
“While schools strive to provide their students with a full and
rounded curriculum, they have to do this under the glare of
intense accountability pressures, squeezed budgets, and a
government which has made it clear that certain subjects are more
important than others.
“It would be the most obvious thing in the world for the
government to support and promote Design and Technology as part
of its skills revolution and we are sure it would be welcomed too
by many employers.”
