Bridging the Gap: Connecting Craft, Design, and Technology in Schools with Nicky Dewar

In this episode of the Talking D&T podcast, I had the pleasure of interviewing Nicky Dewar, the Director of Learning and Skills at the Crafts Council. We discussed the importance of craft in design and technology education and the challenges faced by schools in incorporating hands-on making experiences for students.

Nicky shared her insights on how the craft element in both art and design and design technology has been slowly eroding over time. She emphasized the significance of engaging children and young people with materials, allowing them to understand how different materials react and how they can be used to tell stories or respond to challenges.

We also talked about the mental health benefits of craft and how it can help students feel calm and release feel-good hormones. Nicky highlighted the need for supporting teachers through specialist training and encouraging them to take advantage of the rich offerings available from organizations like the Crafts Council.

Throughout our conversation, Nicky stressed the importance of recognizing the value of craft in education and how it can make a significant difference in various aspects of life, from economic value to community well-being. She also shared details about the Crafts Council's initiatives, such as Craft School and Material World, which aim to inspire and support teachers in delivering engaging craft activities in their classrooms.

Links

• Craft School - a free programme for teachers which has CPD and resources around teaching craft in schools
• Instagram - @craftscouncil
• Material World - the current Craft School challenge in partnership with the Eden Project, focusing on sustainability and environmental responsibility (registration deadline for this year is February 14, 2024, but it will run again from September 2024 onwards)

Other links to things mentioned in the show are  only available to subscribers

Join my online workshop on 6 November at 4pm to prepare your response to the government's curriculum review. Get insights, discuss key issues, and learn how to submit your views effectively. Your expertise matters - make it count before the 22 November deadline!
Register NOW!

Chapters

• 0:54 Crafts Council and Design Education Perspectives
• 6:45 Craft and Design Education Importance
• 13:46 Power of Craft in Education

Transcript

Alison Hardy: 0:55

you're listening to the talking dnt podcast. I'm dr allison hardy, a writer, researcher and advocate of design and technology education. In each episode I share views, news and opinions about dnt. Today's episode is part of the shaping design and technology series that I'm doing and I'm really thrilled to have nikki jewer here, who I've met once, actually at a design council organized event. Um, nikki is the director of learning and skills at the craft council and I'm sure many people have heard about it, but I'm really excited to have nikki on to talk about her perspective and the craft council perspective about design and technology education and design education. So before I go on, she's already laughing playing around with her headphones. That's absolutely fine. Nikki, would you like to introduce yourself, say who you are, what you do?

Nicky Dewar: 1:47

Thanks, yeah, lovely to chat after we um the end of last year. So, as you said, I'm learning and skills director. Um I look after lots of things for the crafts council. Um, so I look after the teams that do our education work, our participation work, but also the, the work we've done around supporting our makers, businesses, the, the wider sector. Um I look after things like our work around data and insight, our reporting, things around environmental responsibility, so lots of all of those different things about how we support our um, our sector and our work really so just to clarify for people what what does the crafts council do and what does it not do.

Nicky Dewar: 2:33

Well, it's always a good question. So we've been around for over 50 years, so our remit has evolved and changed quite a lot over that time and we do lots of things. We are, I suppose, the biggest organisation that supports craft in the UK. We have a dual role, I suppose, suppose in terms of doing work ourselves, so we have direct programs and things that we do. But we also are that representative body, so we try to support others to do their work as well.

Nicky Dewar: 3:05

So we have the national collection of craft objects. So we have about 1700 objects in our primary collection, and I think what's very unusual about our primary collection is that a lot of those objects the makers are still alive, which is really exciting for us. But we also have a handling collection. We have a library and an archive as well and we're really excited that we've got um some funding at the moment to um open up the access to that collection a little bit more. So thinking about how we can um create um access to it physically so you can come and visit it and engage with it, and also what else might we do with it. So getting some of those, those pieces of work, out to other places, um, so we have the collection, but we also have a nice building.

Nicky Dewar: 3:51

We're in angel um in angel islington, um which we can hold. We have the collection, but we also have a nice building in Angel in Angel Islington which we can hold. We have different exhibitions and different moments to bring to people together and celebrate craft and have conversations about craft and hold events and bring people together, which is great. We look after Collect, which is perhaps one of the biggest craft um events in the in the calendar in the uk. So, um, we we're very we're. We're working towards our 20th edition of collect in about four weeks time, so it's very exciting. We'll be at somerset house with 40 galleries from around the world showcasing the most exquisite craft and it's a buying fair. So it's about trying to get people to come in and purchase and buy. So it's just a wonderful place and a couple of days to come and see and talk to people and see this amazing pieces of work. So when's that happening? That's happening at the uh beginning of march so this might come out afterwards.

Alison Hardy: 4:58

So what? Okay, but I'll put links in the show notes to everything um on the site, because I did have a rummage around the site and uh, and saw stuff that I thought people might be interested in. So I've put some links there already.

Nicky Dewar: 5:07

But that that sounds that sounds yeah, so it's an annual event, so look out for it each year.

Alison Hardy: 5:12

We will be back at sunset house in 25 right, and I see that you're on instagram as well, so the crafts council. So again, I'll make sure those links. Links are there for everybody. So what? What do you not do then? Because you kind of have some parameters, haven't you around this?

Nicky Dewar: 5:25

yeah. So I suppose you know we, we, um we did used to deliver a huge amount of work around business support and delivered training programs to support businesses maker businesses to really evolve. But we started that work 12 years ago when there was little else happening in the sector and now there's lots of other people doing really great pieces of business training and work to really make sure our businesses can flourish, of business training and work to really make sure our businesses can flourish. So we've stepped back from that and rather are looking at other ways in which we can support makers and businesses in a sort of more strategic way. So I think there's a role for us as an organisation to look at where there are gaps and where can we take some risks in exploring new ways forward for the craft sector and having new conversations both, you know, at grassroots levels, with our makers, with the people that are participating, and then with government and policy makers and decision makers. So I think we have that, that bridge between those two different um areas and and working out what's needed, where the gaps are and where might we sort of secure some some interesting new ways of working, and then I suppose, when things have been proven to work.

Nicky Dewar: 6:39

It's about of that, that being taken on by the right people to do that, and we then track, or perhaps what the next big thing is. So you know that there's often, I say, arguments from people who who might have loved a particular project that we did in the past and wish we were still doing it, and it's well, that's not how we can continue working, in a way. So it's about evolving and being relevant. I suppose you know we're really keen to better engage in the conversation around social justice and social impact. What does craft really look like in our communities, in placemaking, you know, I think that's really really important and so having those conversations with different people around examples of where that's really strong, um, and that brings in education, business support, tourism, all of those agendas in one one area. So I think that's why, for me, craft is so important, because it's it, it links into so many different conversations and agendas.

Alison Hardy: 7:38

You know it absolutely is, is is there in some way shape or form in so many different contexts yes, that kind of links us on to your role in this group that Matilda at the design council has set up, which is where we met in terms of thinking about shaping design education, and and that group is is broader than design and technology as a school subject, includes art and design. But but what do you see then in your role um director of learning and skills, what? What do you see as the current issues that are happening in schools around curriculum, whether that's locally, nationally, strategically that are positively or negatively around curriculum, whether that's locally, nationally, strategically that are positively or negatively impact on craft in that context of design education?

Nicky Dewar: 8:19

Yeah, I think it's really interesting that the craft element of both art and design and design technology has slowly been eroded and has disappeared really, and I think it's so interesting that it used to be craft, design technology back in back in the old days, you know, and it's a long time since.

Nicky Dewar: 8:39

That was, you know, the, the way in which we define the subject, but, but, but so fundamentally I think craft is about the materials and that, those, those material skills. There's material, that material knowledge and that, that hands-on engagement with materials, and I think the, the, the, the, the thing we champion at the crafts council around crafts education is around that, that that engagement for children and young people, around actually touching and and and feeling these materials and understanding what that looks like and how that makes them feel and how they can use those materials to tell a story or to respond to a challenge or to do so many different things. So I think my part in those discussions around design technology has been a reminder and just a flag waving around the importance of hands-on experiences, um, for, for all our children, because of all of that, I think um, there's been a sidelining, hasn't there, of of seeing that that design can be done just almost cerebrally, you know, on a computer, on a piece of paper, forgetting that actually the process is the handling.

Alison Hardy: 9:56

I mean, we're not recording the video of this, but my hands are like going all over the place because, it is. It's about touching, isn't it?

Nicky Dewar: 10:02

and it's about the knowledge that you gain through touching and doing the things to understand, then, when you want to design something, yeah, I think so and I think there's a sort of real, there's something about our very young children feeling confident and touching materials and learning what that means and how you can, how you can, how different materials react in different ways in different circumstances. You know, and how that can lead to all sorts of different outcomes development opportunities for young children, but also our children. You know, children that perhaps don't have English as a first language or who aren't able to communicate verbally. You know how you can actually use that as a way to to sort of, yeah, tell your stories and or your feelings, or to sort of say what you're thinking about something, um, and as well as then understanding, you know that problem solving and that that whole area around innovation and really sort of new thinking about the world we live in is, you know, I know there was a great example of an issue around prosthetics that a company was having and they really couldn't resolve a couple of key issues they were having with the core materials that they were using and they had a conversation with a glass maker who managed to come up with something really interesting and innovative which resolved their issues, and it was a completely different material but there, that craftsperson's knowledge of materials and understanding was able to sort of you know, change their way of thinking about that.

Nicky Dewar: 11:31

So I think it it's something sort of innate in us that we need to sort of be able to express and engage with, as well as being I think it's something sort of innate in us that we need to sort of be able to express and engage with as well as being, I think, an opportunity to really think radically about what those skills might mean for the future of children, young people, how they might use them yeah, it's a really interesting example actually that it's.

Alison Hardy: 11:50

you know you might have the technological expertise and you might understand what the person needs in terms of prosthetic, but actually sometimes to solve the issue you need a particular expert who's got a really in-depth knowledge about a material or process from the very fact that they've handled that material repeatedly and seen how it works.

Nicky Dewar: 12:11

And you can't pick that up all the time from a book in terms of you have to kind of feel it well, and I think, and I think making those mistakes, you know, by by thinking something's going to work, then testing it and then going, oh it's just that didn't work at all how I thought it was going to be, and then, and that resilience in in that of being comfortable with failure and going, that's part of my process. That's really exciting. What if I now use this alongside that material? What if I start to combine materials? What if I start to do my process completely differently? So I think there's something again about those, that the craftsman skills and the craftsperson skills and an approach to using the materials that is open to that, that way of developing ideas and to to not, you know, to be more comfortable with making mistakes and failing, and that that's that's a really exciting part of the process yeah, that is a really key component of design and technology.

Alison Hardy: 13:10

We talk about iterative design. Well, iterative, it's iterative because it's failed in some ways. You have to, you have to develop it, and I was just thinking that what's interesting is that example you gave. Again, it's not about the aesthetic, because too often when I think, when people talk about craft they're interested as a a lay person, they kind of think, well, it's all about the way it looks that this craft person has made something look good, but actually it's it's not, is it? It's all about the way it looks that this craft person has made something look good, but actually it's not, is it? There's more to craft than handling and making.

Nicky Dewar: 13:46

Yeah, and I think we know the power of craft and I think it's so evident in COVID, isn't it? I mean, how many of us turned to making in some way shape or form during that first and second lockdown. You know, and I think there was some really great stats from Hobbycraft, as one of those big craft retailers was saying, that in their first lockdown people were buying sort of introductory level craft materials and in the second lockdown they increased sales of more complex craft um products. So there was a real sense of people developing their skills and their confidence during those times we were doing, because it made us feel better, we felt, you know, we could share what we did and it was that process.

Nicky Dewar: 14:29

And there's, you know, huge academic research that shows that hands-on making that's repetitive, that's slow, that you know you're going to feel good about producing something, releases all those feel-good hormones in your head. You know that way you can't you feel calm. That slow making movement, you know it makes you feel better, it's proven, it's good for you. So I think if our, if our children and young people are encouraged to understand that that's something, that this practice is good for them, when we know that they're starting to struggle. You know, we know that the the statistics on our distress and the well-being and the mental impact of our, of our young people is not great.

Alison Hardy: 15:09

So put put some, put some clay in their hands and encourage them to make you know so yeah, so we're seeing the current issues around the lack of opportunity, the sidelining of handling materials, crafting with materials the, the challenges.

Nicky Dewar: 15:28

You know, I suppose, because craft isn't sort of named, it's not talked about in the way it perhaps used to be.

Nicky Dewar: 15:35

In the same way, it's much easier to think well, out and design is 2d and design technology is, is, is is all the things we know it is.

Nicky Dewar: 15:44

But that that means you know that there's there's less commitment to materials, to purchasing and budget allocations to the kit. You know, we knew, we know that there was a huge number of kilns in our schools at one point, but the sort of maintenance and then the training to sort of keep those up and running fell by the wayside. You know, and and you know how many really messy art spaces um are there in our schools now when they have to be multifunctional and you're on a carousel timetable. So I think you know, not only do people not see it as an important part of what those subjects include, they don't have the kit, they don't have the training and they don't know what to do with it. And it's scary, isn't it? And I think, particularly at primary level, you know, we have so many non-specialists um trying to teach these subjects and I think that's a real issue is how do you say actually the process is important rather than that final piece.

Nicky Dewar: 16:42

And here's some ways in which we can help you. You know, do that playing together and exploring and materials, because that's what graftish should be about. So I think there's that. The challenges are on so many fronts at the moment it's difficult to sort of. You know, I think our starting point is our teachers. You know, if we could, if we can think of ways in which we can support them, we can problem solve creatively, how we think around our materials and those issues, and then you can start to really use it within your, your school and your, the topics and the conversations you're having in your school, in your setting yeah, and when we, when we met before christmas, that was one of the big things that came out, wasn't it was about supporting teachers, professional development for teachers um, rather than focusing on what we don't have, is focusing on as a group, a community, about what we do have.

Alison Hardy: 17:40

And we have teachers who are there, who are good but, as you say, are restricted by. I know, when I was teaching, I was restricted by what I knew and what I didn't know, as well as by the kit. So, yeah, I think that investment in teachers is absolutely key, but also that recognition of the importance of learning processes, learning about materials by handling, by doing, and that failure. So those are the kind of the things that are the current issues and some of the things I suppose when we're thinking in England at the moment, in a general election year, politicians coming in interesting that the shadow secretary of state for education gave a speech relatively recently about curriculum, mentioned art design, but not design and technology. Quite interesting to see how it's not having that, that profile. But if you had the ear of the secretary of state, what would you say? From a Crafts Council perspective, needs to be done strategically.

Nicky Dewar: 18:40

Supporting our teachers, giving that the space and the support for specialist training, that sort of the space and the support for specialist training, recognising that there's a huge sector out there who's really keen to engage and support that. And it's about finding ways to sort of make that more achievable for our schools, because we know that that's tough for them at the moment. So I suppose it's about let's take advantage of this rich offer that's out there and that can be locally and nationally. You know, organisations like the Crafts Council has a free programme for teachers which has all sorts of CPD and resources around teaching craft in your school. But there'll be things locally as well that you can start to build your local network.

Nicky Dewar: 19:23

So it's about how do we, how do we recognise it as being valuable, how do we make sure our teachers are encouraged and supported to to engage with that offer? And how do we then, as a sector, make sure that we're more joined up so that that that that that offer is is really easy for people to access? Um, and then I think everything else starts to fall into place. You know, I don't think we're asking for, you know, big budgets in any way, because we know that's not where we're realistic, so it's about the things we can achieve are about recognition and importance and a change in conversation, I think, and a change in opportunity and engagement engagement.

Alison Hardy: 20:08

Yeah, yeah, and, as you say, you've got to be realistic with what you can do. So you've sort of started to touch there a little bit on what the craft council is doing. I've looked up and found about the craft school, the material world and make your future. Do you want to give people a bit of an oversight, because they might not have heard about those? Yeah, I mean we've.

Nicky Dewar: 20:22

So we've delivered a range of different education projects over the last 10-12 years. So so firing up was the first one which we went in and we got all of our kilns reopened and refired and we taught the teachers how to do it. And then from that, we delivered a project called make your future and we did it in um london, in birmingham and and leeds, and it was all about universities connecting with secondary schools to deliver teacher CPD, which could then go back into their schools and, with the support of a maker educator, deliver great inspiring activity into the classroom. So they were really really great, great projects that ran up until about 2020. They're really expensive and they were, so we were sort of limited in the number of schools we could engage with, and that was incredibly frustrating for me because I would be getting schools going. I want to be make your future school and I'd love you to be, but we haven't got the funding to cover it. So craft school came about as a way of taking all the really sort of solid pieces, the really exciting bits of support um, but that could be open access to any school that wanted to deliver it. So that's how we've evolved it. So craft school is a challenge, yeah, um, and the challenge is in the form of three briefs and we set those briefs with a partner, um, so the first craft school was done in partnership with yinka ilori, um, which was wonderful because we could start to talk about identity and storytelling. Um, and he set three amazing briefs and we then produced some great films with him. We produced a really strong student uh, student workbook and a teacher workbook and we had online CPD sessions and we've finally mastered the art of actually showing Blue Peter style making in a Zoom sort of setup so that everybody can make along and learn practice and really do some really interesting craft processes online. And so that's what we did. We did Yinka's Challenge. We repeated it for a second year as we worked with the Eden Project interesting craft processes online. And and so that's what we did. We did yinkers challenge. We repeated it for a second year.

Nicky Dewar: 22:30

Um, as we worked with the eden project to develop challenges for the current craft school challenge, which is called material world. Um, we knew that sustainability and environmental responsibility is such an important issue for children. They tell us less constantly. So, really thinking about how important craft and making and material knowledge is to that conversation, it absolutely made sense to think about challenges and briefs that respond to that. So the Eden Project have just been an amazing partner. They really see where the the links are. So, again, we've got three briefs, we've got some great films, we've done some ccpd online and we've got a great workbook for teachers to use in their classes.

Nicky Dewar: 23:16

And I think what's what's so good about craft school is that it it can be it. It can fit in all key stages. So key stage one to key stage four, it's it's been adapted and used by teachers really successfully who work with scnd provision, um, with um, pupil referral and alternative provision schools and settings. So it's it's about being really flexible and making it fit to whatever your school and your, your cohort, need. So I think that's the beauty of it. It doesn't say you can do this, this and this. So we we've tried to create something that's responsive and flexible but it gives you all the things you need to be able to do it as well, as well as of being part of a community, I suppose, and part of a practice um. So, yeah, I'm really, I'm really proud of of the way that our team have brought that together and really sort of sharing that widely with um teachers and other partners.

Alison Hardy: 24:07

I saw that I saw the different briefs and I'd look at who the winners were last year and that that was interesting to see. Um, and I was thinking, yeah, this podcast will probably come out after the last date that people can register, which is the 14th of feb, isn't, I think, 2024? Don't worry right.

Nicky Dewar: 24:22

Okay, there's, that's fine. So we will be doing Material World again, right, and so schools can sign up for the second year and we'll be launching that in September. So the sign-up will go up live at some point in June July I expect but we will be doing it again from September onwards. So there's a second chance to engage with that.

Alison Hardy: 24:48

Yeah, and actually I think if teachers have a look at it this year, they can think about how they can plan it into their curriculum. Yes, For next year it gives them that time and that space and what I'll do is I'll put links in the show notes and actually I might. I do a monthly newsletter so I might put some stuff on that to go in my March newsletter if people can kind of see and kind of find out about that so.

Alison Hardy: 25:08

I do wonder how many dnt teachers know about what the craft council is doing, so it's been good to have you on the podcast to talk about it. Um, I remember from my days of teaching about the craft council and stuff coming in, and I think I actually even came down to the offices a long time ago, or you know, I was passing and thought that's the craft council.

Nicky Dewar: 25:27

You know, so that I mean it's great. I think. I think you know we, we, yeah, we're we're so open to talking to everybody and finding a connection. You know, I think I think the, the sort of days of craft being defined as just the one thing is, is definitely, you know, over. I think that um, craft is important as um the the different, the difference of materials and disciplines, but also I think it's about the different way in which craft can really make a difference to the world in which we live in. So whether that's an economic value, because people buy beautiful pieces of craft internationally and they love British craft and it's such a high level, or whether actually it's making a significant difference within a community to bring people together who are really struggling with mental health or isolation, or our, you know, refugees, there's that it's. It plays a role in so many different ways. So I think making sure our children and young people feel comfortable and confident around engaging with it is so critical, it's so important.

Alison Hardy: 26:39

Absolutely, absolutely no so thank you very much for your time today. I know you're busy and um I'm not going to get to meet you at the next meeting, but my colleague Sarah Davis will be there and hopefully we can catch up again soon and find out more and get teachers involved design and technology teachers involved in what you're doing and hopefully they'll be more aware of what you're doing. But I think those ideas and those thoughts about what needs to be done, about what the current issues are and getting children involved in handling craft handling materials, engaging with that in for so many different reasons is really important.

Nicky Dewar: 27:11

So thank you thanks so much, alison.

Alison Hardy: 27:13

It's been lovely talking I'm dr alison hardy and you've been listening to the talking dnt podcast. If you enjoyed the podcast, then do subscribe, on whatever platform you use, and do consider leaving a review, as it does help others find the podcast. I do the podcast because I want to support the D&T community in developing their practice, so please do share the podcast with your D&T community. If you want to respond to something I've talked about or have an idea for a future episode, then either leave me a voice memo via Speakpipe or drop me an email. You can find details about me, the podcast and how to connect with me on my website, dralisonhardycom. Also, if you want to support the podcast financially, you can become a patron. Links to Speakpipe, patreon and my website are in the show notes. Thanks for listening.