How non-specialists can teach inspiring DT lessons

“To be honest, it’s really hard to find CPD (continuing professional development) for design and technology (DT) as a primary teacher,” says Rebecca Johnston, an art and design lead at a primary school in West Sussex.

“In secondary, it’s a different bag. There, teachers specialise in a specific skill, like textiles or electronics, so they’ve already got the qualifications. But in primary, you’ve got to teach yourself.”

Thomas Turnham is head of upper school at The Belham Primary School, and he agrees, saying that the lack of specific development in DT has been a problem for years.

When thinking back to his PGCE, he remembers having just two days’ training on DT. In his role today, he has redesigned his school’s DT curriculum, but much of the knowledge and skill needed to do that, he has had to acquire during his own time and through experience.

The curriculum doesn’t offer much support for those with a non-DT background, either, he says.

“It’s not a detailed document. Not only are teachers battling with having no subject knowledge, the curriculum isn’t very helpful in constructing a scheme of work or a lesson sequence,” he explains.

“Some of the statements are quite vague. You’ve got to really take the time and think, ‘right, what are the skills I want children to gain?’”

So, with professional development lacking and curriculum detail thin on the ground, how can novice primary teachers deliver inspiring DT lessons to students?

Boosting confidence 

Ben Harris is a Year 6 teacher and DT lead in Essex. In his experience, it is confidence that teachers really need to enable them to teach inspiring lessons. Therefore, the first thing every teacher should do, he says, is to make sure there are clear risk assessments in place, which then can provide the security and assurance needed.

“Children need to take the lead in DT and have as much independence as possible,” he says. “But, so often, there is a nervousness from teachers: they worry about them using the oven or hammering nails. But having risk assessments in place can help to alleviate those fears and boost teachers to approach DT with a positive mindset.”

Three simple steps

Once your risk assessments are in place, Turnham recommends having a clear process to follow. He says the easiest way to manage DT is to structure lessons around three stages: plan, design and review.

“If you break it down into that simplicity of tasks, then you’re more likely to get more of the skills you need. For example, our Year 1s are making a salad. In the planning stage, they learned about the vegetables, they had a session on cutting safely and designed what the salad would look like. They then made it, ate it and reviewed it,” he explains.

Further up the school, this can become more elaborate: in Year 5, students do a biscuit project. In the planning stage, they taste-test biscuits, and decide what they like and dislike about them in terms of taste, texture and smell. When they plan their biscuit, then, it’s based on their consumer research.

“You’re subtly building in those important skills: it doesn’t matter if your biscuits aren’t fantastic, the skills are in the design and you don’t have to be a subject expert to do design,” he adds.

In DT, it’s easy to focus on the end product rather than the skill developed, says Turnham. If teachers cast aside the desire to want 30 perfect Roman brooches, for example, and instead focus on the process and skills being fostered, DT becomes much easier.

“Too often, you see these projects in which children just follow a set of instructions. If you’re clear on what it is you’re teaching and then they’re designing something which applies the skill you taught them, it’s more likely to be effective,” he says.

“They then go on their own journey of DT. If they’ve measured something that’s a centimetre too short, they will figure it out and adapt. Whereas if they’re following your instructions, they’re helpless.”

Give students time

Harris agrees: he says in key stages 1 and 2, the most important thing is to allow the children time to make and discover things for themselves. It doesn’t need to be complicated, he says: getting children to make pop-up cards - where you open a card and something pops up out of it - can be really effective, and it teaches them about paper mechanisms.

“In Year 2, it takes me five minutes to make a simple pop-up card and then, as soon as they get the practical experience of making something very simple and very easy, the lesson sorts itself out. They start to think, ‘what would happen if I did this, or that?’ Lessons are inspiring when you allow them to explore things for themselves.”

Reach out to businesses 

If students are discovering DT for themselves, teachers don’t have to be the experts in a particular skill and, actually, Turnham says that you can lean on other experts from the local community to help you.

For example, in one unit at Turnham’s school, students in KS2 design pizzas, and the local pizza shop selects a few designs to sell for weeks. They do the same with cakes, with the owner of the local coffee shop coming in to judge the cakes once they’ve been made. 

“Businesses love it because parents and children come into their restaurants and cafes, and the pupils love it because they are designing a product they know could end up being sold: it makes it more meaningful for them,” he says.

“The businesses often come in and deliver workshops alongside teachers, too: so teachers can rely on their expertise with specific skills.”

Engage the local community 

The community is great when it comes to materials: DT can be so expensive to deliver but, if you reach out to community groups, and even your parent body, you’d be amazed at what’s donated, says Harris.

“I walked past an interior design store the other day, where they were chucking out loads of materials, and they were happy for me to have them for school.”

“It’s about being creative: when you’ve had a big delivery of stock at school, take the cardboard boxes to use in lessons. Lots of people give away things for free on things like Facebook marketplace - wood pallets, for example, can be broken down into individual planks of wood,” he says.

And although a lack of professional development can leave teachers feeling isolated, Johnson says there is a network of people out there willing to offer advice and guidance, if you know where to look for it.

“Twitter is brilliant. There are lots of DT specialists on there who are always happy to offer ideas, and Facebook is great, too. There are quite a few DT teacher forums and I’ve found that, actually, it’s good to join the secondary ones because those teachers have so much expertise they are willing to share,” she says.

YouTube also has plenty of “how-to” videos on a whole range of skills, and organisations such as the Design and Technology Association and Kapow, have lots of resources teachers can access.

“Don’t be afraid to ask something: mostly, people are really friendly and supportive. There is help out there - you just need to go looking for it,” she adds.

This article is sponsored by the Intellectual Property Office