Designers into Schools Week

Background on secondary schools

The following information may be useful when planning your visit.

Secondary school provision in England is divided into three age phases:

Key Stage 3: Ages 11 to 14 (taught as Year groups 7 to 9)
Key Stage 4: Ages 14 to 16 (taught as Year groups 10 and 11)
Key Stage 5: Ages 16 to 19 (taught as Year groups 12 and 13)

Designers into Schools Week is aimed at students in Key Stage 3 and 4, but Year 11 will not be attending school as they will have taken their final examinations.

Design & Technology (D&T) is one of 11 National Curriculum subjects and is divided into six areas:

Graphic products
Textiles
Resistant materials
Food technology
Electronics
Systems & control.

Students study all six areas until the end of Key Stage 3 when, aged 14, they choose one area to study up to GCSE level.

To find out more about D&T in schools, you might like to visit the following websites:

www.nc.uk.net
This is the National Curriculum website and details what is covered in all primary and secondary school subjects.

www.qca.org.uk
The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) website has schemes of work for D&T. Many schools use them. They are not obliged to implement them but if they choose not to, they have to show that the schemes they have devised are of equal quality.

www.ofsted.gov.uk
The website of the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted). Choose the Publications tab at the top of the screen, type 'design' into the search engine box and choose Ofsted Subject Reports - 2000-01 - Secondary - Design & Technology from the publications list to read Ofsted's most recent findings on D&T teaching and learning in secondary schools.