Release date: 7 February 2013
In response to today’s announcement that the Secretary of State for Education, the Rt Hon Michael Gove MP, made on the reform of GCSEs, school accountability measures and National Curriculum consulation, John Mathers, Chief Executive, Design Council commented:
“Today sees a major breakthrough for the campaign to Include Design in the Ebacc - Gove has listened to the designers and design businesses who asked the government to reconsider the omission of creative subjects from the EBacc. This is good news for the UK and our ability to compete globally."
"The Department for Education has put forward a new progress measure for schools that includes subjects such as design & technology and won’t create a separate suite of qualifications (EBCs) for the English Baccalaurate subjects. A two tier system between the English Baccalaureate subjects and 'creative' subjects should hopefully now be avoided."
"As stated in the joint open letter to Gove that kick started the campaign, the innovation that fuels UK growth relies on knowledge, the skilled use of materials and command of ideas. Design and the Arts are vital components of an accessible and varied education system that can provide these skills. The prospect that future generations would grow up to consider these subjects as less important is simply incomprehensible."
"In response to today’s launch of consultations on the new draft National Curriculum by Department for Education, we feel the new programmes of study for Design & Technology and Art & Design do not go far enough in developing the current curricula to be one of ambition, innovation and relevance. We urge everyone to respond to the consultation on this potentially retrograde proposal for design in our schools.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
1. The Design Council is a charity which enables people to use design to transform communities, business and the environment for the better. Its work places design at the heart of creating value by stimulating innovation in business and public services, improving the built environment and tackling complex social issues. The Design Council inspires new design thinking, encourages public debate and informs government policy to improve everyday life and help meet tomorrow’s challenges today.
2. The Department for Education has also launched today its consultation period for the new programmes of study for all curriculum subjects, including Design & Technology and Art & Design. We will be responding in full to the proposal set out by the deadline of 16 April. Our initial response is that the new programme of study does not go far enough in developing the current D&T curriculum to be ambitious, innovative and anticipate new ways of living and working . Design Council welcomes the opportunity to discuss their feedback directly with the Department.
3. The ‘Include Design’ campaign is a web based campaign (#includedesign; http://includedesign.org/)
4. 'Include Design’ is part of the Bacc for the future campaign (http://www.baccforthefuture.com/), and encourages participants to sign the online petition