Supported by both The Design Council and The Design and Technology Association, we asked the Government to put design thinking at the forefront of Design and Technology lessons in schools, including more real-world application of skills.

Our research* showed, nearly two thirds (60%) of young people in the UK are considering a career in technology but 96% of them believed there are barriers to entering the tech industry. 65% believe that their personal background impacts their ability to harness their creativity through tech. A lack of education (40%), practical experience (36%) and lack of contacts or mentors in the industry (31%) were listed as the top barriers to entry for young people.

We believe fostering early positive hands-on experiences with tech are crucial for young people as they make key decisions about their future careers during their time in school and hope this will further help break down gender and other stereotypes about careers in tech. 

To help aid a curriculum refresh, we invited Government ministers and stakeholders to its youth forum, a forum led by the thoughts of young people currently in, or who have recently left, the education system. The forum allows young people to share their experiences, ambitions and discuss how the education system can help them achieve their goals.

We submitted evidence as part of the Government’s ongoing National Curriculum Review and shared an open letter with support from The Design Council and The Design and Technology Association, calling for a refresh of the Design & Technology curriculum to protect the future of innovation.

The final report, published in November 2025, recognised that D&T in schools has long been in poor health with a substantial decline in entries for GCSE D&T. The following recommendations were expressed:

• Although there are wider barriers to delivering D&T, changes can be made to curriculum content to refresh the subject and make it more relevant and easier for schools to deliver.
• Social responsibility and inclusive design should be more explicitly embedded, teaching children and young people how they can use D&T to solve problems and create solutions for societal and environmental issues.
• Update the purpose of study and aims of D&T to reflect these changes and clarifications, so that it is seen as an exciting and ambitious subject that can introduce students to skills in design and making, as well as prepare them for technical careers in design, creative and advanced manufacturing industries.