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What happens when a senior leader who grew up in the workshop helps design three SEMH schools from the ground up? In this episoode, I sit down with Paul Quinn to unpack a bold, practical vision for Design and Technology that prioritises access, safety and pride in making. Instead of chasing every shiny gadget, Paul explains why reliable hand tools and a hard-working laser cutter deliver outsized gains for learners who need quick wins, clear routines and visible success they can take home.

We talk about Paul’s journey from mainstream D&T to leadership, exploring how accountability pressures squeezed creative subjects and why specialist provision offered a chance to redefine success. He shares the realities of equipping new workshops, including what paid off, what didn’t, and how the team kept the focus on learning rather than kit. Expect straight talking on 3D printers, the value of repetitive processes for regulation, and why textiles—introduced with careful safety planning—unlocked confidence for many students.

Throughout, we return to the simple truths that make D&T transformative in SEMH settings: short, well-structured lessons; culturally relevant projects; heavy scaffolding with teacher prep; and outcomes that look and feel good. When students are welcomed into spaces they were once excluded from, behaviour shifts, confidence grows and qualifications follow. This is practical pedagogy you can apply tomorrow—design for success, choose tools that fit your learners, and keep the relationship at the centre.

Subscribe for more conversations at the intersection of D&T, inclusion and real-world making, and share this episode with a colleague who’s rethinking their workshop. Leave a review to help others find the show, and tell us: what tool would you buy, and what would you skip?

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A noisy workshop can feel like a storm, but what if the path to learning starts with rhythm, not rush? We sit down with D&T teacher Ailis Brown from a specialist SEMH school in Leeds to unpack how safety, trust, and regulation turn short lessons into meaningful progress. From clocks and board games to careful joinery, Ailis shows how a flexible bank of projects meets pupils where they are and gently moves them forward.

We compare mainstream pressures with the reality of SEMH: small classes that still stretch a teacher’s attention, 40-minute slots that yield 15–20 minutes of true learning, and the need to plan projects that run in parallel because attendance and readiness vary. You’ll hear how TAs act as experts on the child while the subject teacher guards the craft, and why writing individual objectives on the board can become a quiet briefing that keeps everyone aligned. The standout insight is rhythm: repetitive tasks like sanding and filing act as regulation tools, helping students steady their breathing, settle their senses, and rejoin cognitive work without confrontation.

Ailis is candid about shifting aims—from grade targets to life readiness—and honest about the moral weight of results-driven systems. We explore practical strategies for mainstream teachers supporting students with SEMH needs: build calm routines, reduce waiting, prepare fallback tasks that still feel purposeful, and remember the mantra, “you can’t fight chaos with chaos.” Expect takeaways you can try tomorrow, along with a renewed sense that design and technology isn’t just about products; it’s about giving young people a safe place to practise patience, precision, and pride.

If this conversation helped you rethink your workshop or classroom, subscribe, share it with a colleague, and leave a review so others can find it. Have thoughts or a story to add? Send a voice memo via Speakpipe or email us—links in the show notes.

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Nicola Brown shares her experience teaching design and technology at Springwell Leeds North, an SEMH school catering to students aged 7-16 with social, emotional, and mental health needs. She discusses how building relationships, establishing micro-routines, and adapting teaching approaches helps students thrive in a subject that offers unique opportunities for personal development.

• Working with SEMH students requires understanding dysregulation and supporting emotional regulation
• Key Stage 2 (ages 7-10) sessions focus on basic skills like using scissors, threading, and completing small projects 
• Key Stage 3 students access a full workshop with power tools, building trust and respect
• Level 2 Construction and Arts Award qualifications are offered to Key Stage 4 students
• The school practices early transitions to reduce anxiety about the new school year
• Misconceptions about special schools are challenged - "it's just being in the right place for you at the right time"
• D&T education creates meaningful progression pathways to further education and employment
• Small class sizes (10 students with 3 adults) and specialized support enable personalised learning

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A museum floor changed underfoot and so did my thinking. After a visit to the V&A’s Design and Disability exhibition, I came home energised and unsettled—in the best way—and unpack how inclusive design moves from a nice‑to‑have to the engine of real innovation and dignity. It caused me to question a stubborn myth: that able‑bodied designers solve problems for others. The stories on display point to something richer—design with, led and instigated by Disabled people, where everyday hacks and tools carry more power than glossy manifestos.

I connect those moments to our work in D&T education, including a new chapter by Debi Wynn on inclusion in and inclusion through design and technology. I talk about how accessibility has driven mainstream breakthroughs, like multi‑touch interfaces born from hand pain, and why policies such as the plastic straw ban can miss the mark when they ignore lived reality. Activism enters the frame too—kerb cuts, tactile paving, and accessible transport happened because people organised, pushed, and redesigned the rules.

Hopefully my chatter is practical and provocative: co‑design over token empathy, user research that doesn’t "other" people, modular solutions that embrace edge cases, and assessment that treats inclusion as a core quality attribute.

I also share what fell short—the exhibition book that couldn’t carry the feelings home.

If you care about design that serves everyone, and classrooms that teach students to lead with inclusion, you’ll find ideas here to test tomorrow.

Enjoyed the conversation? Subscribe, leave a review to help others find the show, and share it with your D&T community. Got thoughts or a story to add? Send a Speakpipe voice note or email—links in the show notes.

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If you like the podcast, you can always buy me a coffee to say 'thanks!'

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Ever been told art and design and technology are basically the same because they share the word “design”? Let’s test that claim with real data and grounded classroom experience. In this episode I unpack how teachers and stakeholders describe the value of D&T and the value of art and design, then draw a clear map of where they overlap, where they diverge, and what leaders risk when they blur them into one.

First, I outline five widely reported value themes for D&T: transferable skills, careers and the economy, the human–technology relationship, making and creating, and creative and critical thinking. These insights come from a larger, validated body of research and speak to the discipline’s focus on users, systems, materials and evidence through iterative making. Then we contrast early qualitative findings for art and design: career preparation, societal impact, skills for life, and creativity and expression. Here, empathy, cultural awareness and personal voice take centre stage, with a strong link to creative industries, innovation and sustainability. The conversation surfaces a simple truth: both subjects champion creativity and problem solving, yet each serves a distinct purpose that deserves protection.

I share practical ways to collaborate without erasing identity: agree non‑negotiables for cross-teaching, and design joint projects where D&T’s functional rigour and art’s expressive depth enrich each other rather than compete. This is a toolkit for faculties, middle leaders and senior teams who want the benefits of a shared banner without collapsing two powerful traditions into one bland compromise. If your timetable or staffing model pushes subjects together, this guide helps you hold the line—respectfully, clearly and with evidence.

Got thoughts or examples from your school? Add your voice to the ongoing survey, share the episode with your faculty, and help us build a richer, more rigorous picture of what these subjects offer. If you find value here, subscribe, leave a review, and pass it on to colleagues who care about getting design and the arts right for young people.

Link to the survey: https://bit.ly/Valueofdesigned 

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In this episode, I'm excited to share three brilliant opportunities for you to get involved in research that's shaping the future of design and technology education. First, I'll tell you about the Redesigning Design and Technology project I'm co-leading with Ciaran, Andrew, and Amanda. We've identified 18 contentious questions that divide our community and created a survey where you can share your views on these crucial debates. This research feels particularly timely with England's curriculum and assessment review underway, and I believe teacher voices need to be heard loud and clear in policy discussions.

I'll also discuss the evaluation I'm leading of the Design and Technology Association's Inspired by Industry resources. Working alongside Kay Stables and my colleagues at Nottingham Trent, we're examining how these resources impact pupils' progress in D&T. It's a fantastic opportunity for participating schools to gather rich data about their own practice whilst contributing to sector-wide understanding.

Finally, I'm launching an urgent call for contributors to a new podcast series addressing special educational needs and disabilities in D&T. This is such an under-researched area, yet absolutely vital to our practice. Whether you're facing challenges or have developed innovative approaches, I want to hear from you.

Each of these projects represents a chance to contribute to evidence-based practice in our subject. They're about empowering teachers to shape research rather than simply consuming it. The insights we gather will benefit the entire D&T community.

What conversations about D&T practice do you think we need to be having more openly in our schools and professional networks?

Take part in the Redesigning D&T survey: https://bit.ly/ReDandT_Phase3

Join the evaluation of the Inspired by Industry projects: https://bit.ly/IBIinterest

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If you like the podcast, you can always buy me a coffee to say 'thanks!'

Please offer your feedback about the show or ideas for future episodes and topics by connecting with me on Threads @hardy_alison or by emailing me.

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Reconnecting with purpose is essential when facing professional challenges. In this  reflective episode, I share my experience of an unsuccessful professorial application and how it prompted me to rediscover why I'm passionate about design and technology education in the first place.

The start of a new academic term offers the perfect opportunity to step back from the excitement and apprehension of returning to teaching and consider our fundamental values:

• What drives us to teach design and technology?
• Why do we advocate for this subject?

These questions matter because when we lose sight of our purpose, we risk becoming mechanical rather than inspirational in our practice.

Through conversations with colleagues working on the "Learning to Teach Design and Technology in Secondary School" book and planning a primary D&T podcast series, I've reconnected with what  motivates me – developing children's ability to make design decisions that shape their world and fostering critical engagement with the made environment. This renewed clarity came unexpectedly from various sources, including a chance conversation with my young cousin who simply chose to study subjects she loves.

I challenge you to reflect on your own D&T values as you begin this academic year. Perhaps create a mind map, discuss with colleagues, or identify your "word of the year" for teaching design and technology. Where do you find refreshment and challenge that keeps you passionate about the subject? 

Have you considered what values drive your teaching practice? Share your thoughts, subscribe to the podcast, and if you're using Inspired by Industry resources in your teaching this year, consider participating in our evaluation research project. Your voice matters in shaping the future of design and technology education.

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Please offer your feedback about the show or ideas for future episodes and topics by connecting with me on Threads @hardy_alison or by emailing me.

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Recommended read: 

Derek Jones and Alice Hellard explore the concept of design studio as a transformative educational approach that extends beyond physical space to encompass social dynamics, extended cognition, and embodied knowledge.

• Design studio is not just a physical space but a collection of practices involving social interaction, extended cognition, and listening in
• Virtual design studios reveal important insights about how students learn through observation and "legitimate peripheral learning" 
• The process of enculturation into design practices requires students to develop confidence in the language and methods of design
• Studio practice allows students to externalize thinking through models and drawings as part of the cognitive process
• Current assessment frameworks often fail to recognize or value the types of knowledge central to design practice
• Implementing aspects of studio practice in secondary schools faces challenges but offers opportunities for more authentic design education
• Students need opportunities to design without predetermined outcomes, though this creates tensions with traditional assessment models

If you want to support the podcast financially, you can become a patron. Links to SpeakPipe, Patreon and my website are in the show notes.

Support the show

If you like the podcast, you can always buy me a coffee to say 'thanks!'

Please offer your feedback about the show or ideas for future episodes and topics by connecting with me on Threads @hardy_alison or by emailing me.

If you listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, please take a moment to rate and/or review the show.

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Michelle Gregson, General Secretary and Chief Executive of NSEAD, discusses the relationship between art and design and design and technology education, exploring their distinctiveness while highlighting their shared values and challenges.

• NSEAD operates as a learned society, subject association, and specialist trade union for art and design education
• Both art and design and design and technology subjects face similar challenges of reduced curriculum time and resources
• Michelle describes a "spectrum of practice" where art and design focuses more on internal/artist expression while design and technology addresses external/user needs
• Curriculum "blurring" between subjects is often driven by budget constraints rather than pedagogical innovation
• Both subjects share dispositions like curiosity, critical thinking, and problem-solving but apply them with different intentions
• Creativity exists across both subjects but manifests differently depending on context
• Children lose authentic learning experiences when subjects are narrowed down to what can be taught cheaply
• Education should value children for who they are today, not just as "units of currency for the future"
• Both subjects uniquely give students opportunities to be in control of their learning

Find me at dralisonhardy.com where you can connect with me, support the podcast as a patron, or leave me a voice memo via SpeakPipe with your thoughts or ideas for future episodes.

Support the show

If you like the podcast, you can always buy me a coffee to say 'thanks!'

Please offer your feedback about the show or ideas for future episodes and topics by connecting with me on Threads @hardy_alison or by emailing me.

If you listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, please take a moment to rate and/or review the show.

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If you are interested in helping the Association evaluate their Inspired by Industry programme, sign up here: https://bit.ly/IBIinterest

What happens when we look beyond textbook projects and expose 11-14 year olds to real industry design challenges? Tony Ryan, Chief Executive of the Design and Technology Association, reveals how they're transforming technical education from the ground up through their ambitious "Inspired by Industry" programme.

Six years into his leadership role, Tony shares his passion for rebuilding design education with a fundamentally different approach: focusing on complex problem-solving rather than simply making products. "If we go to government and say, 'You need to back design and technology because we make stuff,' we're finished," he explains. Instead, they're creating resources that develop future innovators who can tackle "gnarly complex problems" with tenacity and creativity.

The Association has partnered with over 300 companies to create authentic, challenging design briefs that elevate student expectations. One example involves a professional designer's project creating dinosaur suits – not just costumes, but immersive experiences that teach ergonomics, materials science, and design thinking. These free resources include comprehensive teaching materials with videos featuring young professionals students can aspire to become.

Complementing this secondary focus is remarkable growth in primary school engagement, where 20% of English schools now hold membership. Through initiatives like "Projects on a Page" and equipment loan schemes for 3D printers and sewing machines, non-specialist teachers are gaining confidence in delivering high-quality technical education.

The work extends beyond resources to research and advocacy. A planned evaluation programme will measure outcomes, providing crucial evidence for lobbying efforts already yielding results – as seen in the recent House of Lords report calling for "urgent action" to address the decline in design education. As Tony puts it, their mission is creating a subject that's "design-driven" and produces students "not afraid of tackling complex problems and not just replicating what's been done before."

Explore how the Design and Technology Association is reimagining technical education for a generation that will change careers 16-17 times and interact with technology "at a pretty high level, whether they like it or not." The future of design education starts here.

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