Sustainability is a crucial part of Design and Technology and one of the topics at GCSE where pupils frequently make mistakes or show an incorrect understanding. This 20 page PowerPoint resource has been written by a former senior examiner for one of the three main examination boards and has been tried and tested with students in the classroom. It introduces the 6Rs (rethink, reduce, refuse, repair, reuse, recycle), explains to learners what each means and shows how each can be used. It also introduces activities to help students to remember the 6Rs and demonstrate the knowledge needed for the examination. It is suitable for the both the current and new GCSE D&T courses where sustainability and/or the 6Rs is covered by the specification. What teachers have said about this resource: 'Thanks for this resource - well made and very useable for my students.' - SG

This is a PowerPoint resource to guide pupils in understanding and taking practical steps to reduce the amount of stress that they might feel when preparing for and sitting their GCSE exams. Exam periods can be very stressful times for pupils, particularly when sitting their GCSEs. This resource has been written by an experienced teacher with a proven track record of achieving outstanding exam results to help pupils to reduce the stresses that they may feel during this key period, and guide them in how to channel their energies positively. This resource is suitable for any subject where examinations are a key component of the course, or can be used as part of a wider PSHE scheme of work.

This is a PowerPoint explaining the common command words that could be used in exam questions for the subject, alongside a sample question and answer for each type of question. In order to maximise exam performance, it is vital that pupils fully understand the questions that they are being asked so that they are able to answer them effectively. This can make a huge difference to the grades that they achieve. In addition, with the increased emphasis on literacy in schools it is more important than ever that pupils can understand exactly what they are being asked to write and demonstrate a good command of the English language when presenting their answers. This PowerPoint based resource, written by a former senior examiner, is designed to be used by teachers in class to guide pupils through the common command words that could be used in AQA GCSE Design and Technology examination questions. These include which, state, give, describe, explain and discuss. It can also be printed/placed on a VLE for students to use as part of their GCSE revision. In addition to an explanation of each command word, the resource also provides a sample question and answer for each, giving pupils clear examples of how to structure their answers to each type of question.

This is a guide to using learning walks as a tool for departmental improvement, with a supporting example feedback form. It has been written by an experienced leader who worked in a school that improved its inspection rating by two grades. The resource is appropriate for use across all secondary school subjects. This resource includes: Guidance notes on the importance and implementation of learning walks, how they can be used as a department improvement tool and criteria that can be used when observing lessons. Example feedback form that can be completed during the learning walk, with criteria linked to learning, teaching and progress, marking and assessment and the classroom environment. Fully editable. Example of a completed learning walk feedback form.

Create outstanding customised starters and plenaries for your Food Preparation and Nutrition lessons in minutes! This resource contains over 60 slides. Its objective is to support literacy in the new GCSE in Food Preparation and Nutrition, by focusing on key terms in food safety. The slides include picture recognition, cloze questions and anagrams. Simply copy and paste the appropriate slides for your own lessons. This is suitable for use to support teaching of the new GCSE in Food Preparation and Nutrition or at Key Stage 3. It has been written with direct reference to the AQA specification, but due to common content could be easily adapted for courses from other awarding bodies.

This pack contains series of five different word search based worksheets mapped directly to each section of the new Design and Technology national curriculum (Design, Make, Evaluate, Technical Knowledge, Cooking and Nutrition). It is designed to support literacy skills within KS3 D&T. Follow up questions are presented for each word search which ask learners to state the meaning of key words, thus getting learners to both spell and understand key words in the new curriculum effectively. Each worksheet comes with its own answer sheet giving the solution to the worksheet and example answers to the follow up questions on each sheet. These worksheets can be printed for use as quick lesson starters or plenaries. They can also be set as homework activities to reinforce key words learnt in lessons. The answer sheets can be used by teachers to mark pupil responses, or used by pupils as a peer assessment activity. Included in this Resource: One worksheet for each of the five diffierent strands in the new D&T national curriculum, each with a word search and follow up questions asking learners to state the definition of the key words. An answer sheet for each work sheet. Introductory notes explaining how to use the resource.

This resource is an example of a departmental maintenance schedule. It was prepared by an experienced Head of Design & Technology and Engineering (HOD) and a Health & Safety Consultant. It was initially intended for use in the HODs own school, to provide guidance to the technician on which activities to carry out on a daily/weekly/termly basis. In use, the technician enters the date on the relevant table and ticks off the activities carried out. This allows monitoring of the activities and provides a record of the maintenance carried out. Please note that for use in other schools, it will need to be edited and customised for the specific processes available and working environment. Some blank lines have also been included for school-specific additions.

A series of 16 worksheets designed to support literacy in Design & Technology, focused around the design process. This resource comprises of: A pdf document containing a series of worksheets. A PowerPoint presentation, giving the answers to the worksheets. The worksheets are designed to support literacy in technology, through the use of key terms, the development of correct recall and spelling. The worksheets range in difficulty from simple, such as wordlinks or missing letters, to more complicated, such as codebreakers or crosswords. For some worksheets there is a differentiated version, where the possible answers are shown in a box below the puzzle. These versions could be used to provide additional support to lower-ability learners.

A fantastic collection of more than 50 numeracy based brain teasers and puzzles. Great for use as engaging lesson starters in Maths. The brain teasers are ranked by challenge level. They range from some suitable for key stage 3 through to problems that will present a challenge to GCSE and AS/A2 students.

Setting cover work can be a time consuming and difficult process that often has to be completed at short notice. That's why we created our Key Stage 3 D&T Cover Pack! This is a pack of resources designed to help teachers and department leaders save time when setting cover work for Key Stage 3 Design and Technology classes. It contains a mixture of one-off cover lesson design tasks, literacy and exam style worksheets and mini-projects for covering longer term absence. This resource does not include Food Preparation, Cooking and Nutrition. A separate cover pack will be made available shortly for this subject. Included in this pack: 15 pupil activity sheets ideal for setting as one-off cover lessons. These are mainly design based activities but also cover other elements of the design process. 3 five lesson mini-projects with PowerPoint presentations and worksheets needed for delivery. Ideal for covering longer term absence. 30 worksheets focussing primarily on literacy and exam skills within D&T. Ideal as short tasks within cover lessons, or for when pupils have completed other set cover work. Teachers' notes explaining best use of the resources.

This resource provides a form in an Excel format that can be used to carry out the risk assessment of Design & Technology workshops. Electronic copies can be used when updating the risk assessment, saving time by reducing the need to re-enter data or values that have not changed. The format used is based on that recommended in the D&T Association publication 'Risk assessment in Secondary Schools & Colleges Design & Technology Teaching Environments'. Included in this resource: An Excel spreadsheet tool to assist in carrying out risk assessments of D&T rooms. Notes explaining the effective use of the resource.

Create outstanding customised starters and plenaries for your Design and Technology lessons in minutes! This resource contains over 100 slides. Its objective is to support literacy in the new GCSE D&T, by focusing on key terms in manufacturing tools, equipment and processes. The slides include picture recognition, cloze questions and anagrams. Simply copy and paste the appropriate slides for your own lessons. This is suitable for use to support teaching of the new GCSE in D&T or at Key Stage 3. It has been written with direct reference to the AQA specification, which has been approved for first teaching in September 2017.

This is a 12 slide PowerPoint presentation prepared by an experienced, award winning teacher and former senior examiner to assist in the delivery of the systems approach knowledge as part of the Engineering and/or D&T GCSE 9-1 specifications. It could also be used as a training resource to support colleagues unfamiliar with or new to this area of the specifications. Included is an overview of what makes a system, examples of input, process, driver and output devices, the use of block diagrams and feedback. Four exam style questions are presented so that students can test their knowledge and understanding.

Pack of two practice examination papers for the new GCSE in Design and Technology (9-1) (written in the style of AQA). What better way for students to prepare for their GCSE examinations than by completing our expertly written practice exam style papers? These papers are written by teachers and former senior examiners to support students in preparing for the examination in the new GCSE in Design and Technology (9-1). Included in each pack: Two practice exam style papers. Associated mark schemes for each paper. Teachers’ notes, suggesting how the resource can be used effectively. What other teachers have said about our practice exam papers: ‘Thanks for these papers – they are fantastic!!’- AM, Shropshire ‘The exam papers look like a great resource’ - DW, Middlesex ‘Delighted with the papers, they will be extremely helpful’ - LD, Rutland ‘They really test and stretch the students’ ability to apply their theory knowledge!’ - MF, London

Create outstanding customised starters and plenaries for your Design and Technology lessons in minutes! This resource contains 60 slides. Its objective is to support literacy in the new GCSE D&T, by focusing on key terms in new and emerging technologies. The slides include picture recognition, cloze questions and anagrams. Simply copy and paste the appropriate slides for your own lessons. This is suitable for use to support teaching of the new GCSE in D&T or at Key Stage 3. It has been written with direct reference to the AQA specification, which has been approved for first teaching in September 2017.

This resource is a set of time saving marking grids for providing formative feedback to students and recording improvements in their performance. It is linked directly to the 2014 Key Stage 3 Design and Technology National Curriculum. It has been used successfully in the classroom as presented, but can be adapted and modified to suit individual school and departmental requirements. It has been created by an experienced middle leader and advisor for the subject. A marking grid is provided for each bullet point of the programme of study, split into the strands of Design, Make, Evaluate, Technical Knowledge and Cooking and Nutrition. The grids also include criteria for literacy and presentation skills within Design and Technology. In addition to the main marking grids two types of student self assessment sheets have been provided as a bonus resource, one of each type for each strand of the curriculum. Included in this Resource: Instructions on how to use the resource and an example of how it can be used. A marking grid for each bullet point of the KS3 programme of study (19 in total). Student self assessment sheets - two types for each strand of the programme of study (10 in total).

A series of 19 worksheets designed to support literacy in Design & Technology, focused around the use of ACCESS FM for product analysis. This resource comprises of: A pdf document containing a series of worksheets. A PowerPoint presentation, giving the answers to the worksheets. The worksheets are designed to support literacy in technology, through the use of key terms, the development of correct recall and spelling. The worksheets range in difficulty from simple, such as wordlinks or missing letters, to more complicated, such as codebreakers or crosswords. For some worksheets there is a differentiated version, where the possible answers are shown in a box below the puzzle. These versions could be used to provide additional support to lower-ability learners.

Schools use attainment criteria to facilitate the assessment of progress. However, the Secretary of State for education has disapplied the attainment criteria previously used for Key Stage 3 Design & Technology. One of the weaknesses of the previous attainment criteria was that there was no direct link to progression at Key Stage 4/GCSE Engineering. This disapplication gives the opportunity to adopt new assessment criteria, which more accurately reflect the development of skills that will be assessed in GCSE Engineering. The following descriptor statements are based on the NEA assessment criteria in the new GCSE 9-1 Engineering specification. They were developed by a group of examiners for use in their own classrooms. They were not prepared by, and have not been approved by, any exam board.

This is an Excel spreadsheet based tool to assist Design & Technology departments in ensuring that they are addressing all of the requirements of the National Curriculum 2014 Programme of Study. Every project or significant activity in Key Stage 3 Design & Technology should be evaluated to determine which areas of the National Curriculum 2014 Programme of Study (PoS) are being addressed. Across any Key Stage as a whole, learners should have the opportunity to address every area - this will normally be achieved by addressing different requirements across several different projects. This resource can be used to identify areas where action is needed to improve how well the PoS is addressed.

Schools use attainment criteria to facilitate the assessment of progress. However, the Secretary of State for education has disapplied the attainment criteria previously used for Key Stage 3 Design & Technology. This disapplication gives the opportunity to adopt new assessment criteria, which more accurately reflect the development of skills that will be assessed in GCSE 9-1 Design & Technology. The following descriptor statements are based on the NEA assessment criteria in the new GCSE 9-1 Design & Technology specification. They were developed by a group of examiners for use in their own classrooms. They were not prepared by, and have not been approved by, any exam board.