Design and Technology Association

Challenging All Learners in KS3 D&T

Published 10th June 2025

How can D&T teachers ensure that all students, regardless of background or ability, are stretched, stimulated, and inspired in Key Stage 3? This was the central question explored in a recent National Association for Able Children in Education (NACE) webinar, delivered in collaboration with the Design & Technology Association.

The session, led by our curriculum consultant and former head of department Lol Conway, focused on inclusive, practical strategies for raising challenge across mixed-ability groups. Drawing on real classroom experience and the latest research into cognitive engagement, the webinar highlighted the importance of planned, intentional challenge as a way to help learners of all levels think harder, stay motivated, and develop resilience.

“Challenge isn’t about adding extra tasks at the end or rewarding fast finishers,” Lol reminded attendees. “It’s about creating learning that requires all students to think deeply, problem-solve, and justify their decisions—core parts of good D&T practice.”

Cross Disciplinary Skills

The webinar also reinforced KS3 as a critical phase in the development of D&T, not only in preparing students for KS4 qualifications, but in embedding the subject’s unique value. Lol reflected on the vacuum that would exist if D&T were to disappear from the curriculum, highlighting the high-level thinking, real-world contextualisation, and cross-disciplinary understanding it nurtures.

“Our subject is inspiring, rigorous, and crucially practical. That’s what makes it so powerful. It draws on maths, science, computing, art and engineering, but it also contextualises those disciplines. Students aren’t just learning theory, they’re applying it to meaningful design problems. They’re investigating, designing, formulating, assembling, and evaluating. They’re doing higher-level thinking almost by default.”

Lol linked this to Bloom’s taxonomy, showing how D&T naturally operates at the top of the cognitive hierarchy across creation, analysis, and evaluation in nearly every project.

Reimagining KS3

Many schools rely on project-based models in KS3, often because of material costs, time, technician support, or storage space. These models have clear advantages: predictable outcomes, consistency in delivery, and alignment with GCSE preparation. But she also challenged departments to consider where these models might limit innovation and fail to provide stretch for all learners.

“A well-structured KS3 curriculum should do more than deliver projects. It should build intellectual curiosity, develop creative resilience, and create a space where students genuinely think for themselves.”

Refreshing and reinvesting in this phase could not only inspire students but also make life easier at GCSE by building stronger foundations in problem-solving, design thinking, and technical skills.

Introducing the ‘Inspired by Industry’ Resources

The session introduced teachers to the free ‘Inspired by Industry’ resources, open-ended project contexts co-developed with real businesses and organisations. These resources are designed to spark curiosity and extend learners’ thinking by providing authentic, challenging design problems.

Whether it's developing sustainable packaging, rethinking public spaces, or exploring future transport, these industry-backed scenarios push students to explore multiple pathways, manage complexity, and draw on technical knowledge and creativity.

Why Challenge Matters for Equity

The webinar was underpinned by NACE’s long-standing belief that challenge should be for all, not just for the “most able.”

When you raise the bar for all students and support them to reach it, you’re giving every young person the chance to realise their potential.

Resources and CPD Access

You can find more information by visiting:

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