Inspecting Post-16 Design and Technology with Guidance on Self-Evaluation

This Ofsted publication is one in a series that gives guidance on inspection of subjects studied at post-16, in this case Design and Technology. It describes inspectors’ need to look at issues that are common to all subjects:

• Standards and achievement
• Teaching and learning
• Other factors affecting quality
• Writing the report

The booklet seeks to provide guidance not only to inspectors but also to staff in schools and colleges to evaluate standards and quality in design and technology for students post-16. It complements the Handbook for Inspecting Secondary Schools (1999), the supplement Inspecting School Sixth Forms (2001) and the Handbook for Inspecting Colleges (2001). It replaces the earlier guidance Inspecting Subjects and Aspects 11-18 (1999).

The booklet is concerned with evaluating standards and achievement, teaching and learning, and other factors that affect what is achieved. It outlines how to use students' work and question them, the subject-specific points to look for in lessons, and how to draw evaluations together to form a coherent view of the subject. It is only concerned with General Certificate of Education (GCE) Advanced Subsidiary (AS) and Advanced Level (A-level) courses in design and technology (D& T), covering product design, food technology, and systems and control technology.

To help evaluation examples are provided of evidence and evaluations from college and school sixth-form inspections, with
commentaries to give further explanation. The booklets in the series show different ways of recording and reporting evidence and findings; they do not prescribe or endorse any particular method or approach.

The booklet was written by Her Majesty’s Inspectors, crown-appointed officers, who reported to the Secretary of State on standards of education and related areas. Under the Education (Schools) Act 1992, the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) was created. HMI became part of Ofsted and would supervise the inspection of each state-funded school in the country, and would publish its reports instead of reporting to the Secretary of State.