The Designing and Making Educational Trust (DesignEd) has been established  to provide a wide range of both in-school and out-of-school educational activities, with the overall strategic aim of developing individual capabilities, competencies, skills and understanding of designing and making. We are a small charity operating in West London, working largely with Primary Schools and their pupils as well as young disabled people and Community Groups.

D&T is an important component of the National Curriculum; however, with the pressures of league tables and financial austerity, many schools are struggling to provide pupils with their Design & Technology entitlement. This means that children who are interested in Designing and Making are often unable to explore that interest. We find that some children who can struggle with the traditional academic subjects can often excel at working in a more creative way and our workshops allow children to explore this creativity over several days guided and supported by professional product designers. We find the creative process, as well as being enjoyable, leads to increased self-esteem and supports well-being. Children learn to work in teams and independently, using tools and processes that are new to them and this in turn expands their horizons. Our young designers will also speak with the children about careers in design and we find this is very inspiring for the students.