V&A Design & Technology school programme launched

Museum of art and design V&A has announced a new school programme to champion Design and Technology (D&T) as an essential subject and exciting career pathway.  

Available to every school in England, V&A Innovate introduces key stage 3 (KS3) students to core design principles used in industry to support teachers and prepare students for the new D&T GCSE.
 
Based on V&A’s collections, exhibition research and industry practice, V&A Innovate has been created with teachers and designers to equip young people at KS3 level with the confidence and skills to develop solutions for real-world issues. V&A Innovate can be delivered over one term, in an after-school club, over a few weeks, or intensively over one day.
 
V&A’s new online resource hub features free, downloadable resources and to sign-up to a new V&A National Schools Challenge, which opens September 2019. Key features include toolkits, animated video guides, and a range of activities to bring the challenge to life in the classroom and unlock the creative potential of the next generation of designers, makers and creatives.
 
A series of interviews with contemporary designers and makers on their practice are included in the programme resources. Professional Development training will be also available for teachers through workshops delivered nationally by V&A Learning practitioners, designers and creatives.
 
Part of the V&A Innovate programme, the V&A National Schools Challenge invites KS3 students in state funded education to submit their projects – from September onwards – with the chance to have them showcased at a special awards day hosted at the V&A in early 2020. Finalists will be invited to pitch their ideas to a panel of judges who include some of the most high-profile creatives and designers in fashion, sustainability, manufacturing, art and design.
 
V&A Innovate 2019/20 themes are inspired by the V&A’s exhibition programme:
GO – How might we give more people the ability to be mobile, and give people and the planet a better chance to breathe? (Cars: Accelerating the Modern World)
EAT – How might we ensure that the way we eat is sustainable, and give more people access to affordable and healthy food? (Food: Bigger than the Plate)
WEAR – How might we ensure that what we wear is part of building a better world? (Mary Quant).
 
V&A Innovate introduces KS3 students to the design thinking model used by industry. The model includes three stages; Collect, focuses on equipping young people to think critically and collaborate through exploration and research of their chosen idea; Make, nurtures problem solving skills and building confidence through testing and prototyping; and Share guides young people through a series of activities and design processes with suggestions for how to refine and articulate their narrative to help make change happen.