AfterDawn: Tech news

Ofsted: UK Design and Tech classes 'out of date'

Written by James Delahunty @ 27 Mar 2011 9:16 User comments (1)

Ofsted: UK Design and Tech classes 'out of date' A report by Ofsted in the UK has said that some of Britains design and technology classes are lagging behind.
It said that too many teachers in England are failing to keep pace with rapid technology innovation around the world. Teachers are making too little use of modern technology in their classes according to the report, which was constructed from inspections of 89 primaries, 89 secondaries (high school) and two special needs schools.

The report wasn't all that bad, marking D&T success in 60 percent of primary schools and 50 percent of secondary schools as good or outstanding. In the best environments, the teaching was challenging with interesting tasks that are relevant for the pupils. In such cases, the students could benefit from up-to-date information and communication technology.

Unfortunately, in a quarter of primary schools and the other half of secondary schools, there wasn't enough opportunities for the students to develop knowledge of electronics, computer aided design and other high-priority areas. That being said, no school was found to have an "unsatisfactory" level of its teaching in the curriculum.



"Most pupils in the schools visited enjoyed designing and making products, solving real problems for people in their communities and further afield, and seeing their ideas taking shape," said Ofsted chief inspector Christine Gilbert.

"This was vitally important to them. Achievement and provision in D&T was best where up-to-date technologies were used and explained accurately. But the variation between the best and weakest provision is unacceptably wide."

In China and France in particular, the study of computer aided design, electronics and robotics is emphasized to prepare students for the rapid expansion of technology is not expected to slow down any time soon.

Tags: UK
Previous Next  

1 user comment

127.3.2011 22:04

They should start by using the word "click" instead of "digitize"

Comments have been disabled for this article.

Latest news

Sony suspends memory card sales because memory chips are simply not available Sony suspends memory card sales because memory chips are simply not available (28 Mar 2026 6:49)
Sony has announced that it is temporarily suspending the sale of memory cards used in mobile phones and digital cameras, among other things. The company states that the reason is problems with the availability of memory chips.
Austria plans to ban social media for under 14 year olds Austria plans to ban social media for under 14 year olds (28 Mar 2026 6:17)
Austria is planning to ban social media for children under 14. The reform aims to protect children from harmful effects and addictions, but at the same time, it is problematic from a privacy perspective.
TP-Link urges users to update their routers - several vulnerabilities patched TP-Link urges users to update their routers - several vulnerabilities patched (26 Mar 2026 1:56)
Serious security vulnerabilities have been discovered in several TP-Link router models, for which patches were released at the end of March 2026. The company urges users to update their router software immediately.
Google: The feared Q-Day is now expected to happen in 2029 Google: The feared Q-Day is now expected to happen in 2029 (25 Mar 2026 4:32)
Google has advanced its estimate of when current forms of encryption will become insecure. The moment is called Q-Day, or Quantum Day, when the computational power of quantum computers will be sufficient to break currently used encryptions.
OpenAI shuts down its AI video service Sora OpenAI shuts down its AI video service Sora (24 Mar 2026 6:28)
OpenAI has decided to shut down Sora, its AI video creator, just months after its release. The decision is due to issues such as copyright problems and the deepfake phenomenon.

News archive