Teach Design

What was Teach Design?

Born out of a lack of leadership in the design and technology education sector, myself and Steve Parkinson set up TD, with the ethos For Teachers By Teachers.

We worked with 25 of the very best D&T teachers in the UK, launching network events, Teachmeets, professional training programmes, resource development, and a national magazine, all for free at the point of demand. Funded by national sponsors including Autodesk, Innovation First, Boxford, and Rapid Electronics, we also used large grant funds which we bid for throughout 2012 to 2016.

Teachmeet D&T

Teachmeets being relatively new in 2012, was an opportunity to put subject teachers front and centre of their own professional development, by building a community and national programme of free events that encouraged peer to peer skills and knowledge sharing. Below is a video of our team hosting the first at the National STEM centre in York.

The London Schools Excellence Fund

One successful grant bid with the LSEF programme resulted in a STEM initiative impacting every borough in London, and saw the set up of 40 robotics clubs serving the most deprived communities. We received recognition for this work through a National Level 1 and 2 social impact award following completion of the programme.

TD Tech Centres

Our 25 expert teachers became a network of hubs providing UK wide D&T teachers with local on demand support, on everything from teaching practice to 3D printing. Each centre was supported with free materials and 3D printers, which were donated by 3D Systems.