Key Stage 3 design and technology · Evaluate

KS3 design and technology: impact and responsibility of designers

In Key Stage 3, pupils are taught to understand developments in design and technology, the impact those developments have on individuals, society and the environment, and the responsibilities of designers, engineers and technologists. Every product has effects beyond its main job, from the resources used to make it to what happens when it is thrown away. Pupils learn to look for those effects and to take them into account in their own projects.

Impact and responsibility of designers, explained

The curriculum asks pupils to think about three kinds of impact. For individuals, a product can help, for example by making something accessible to a person with limited movement, or harm, for example through an unsafe design or a habit-forming feature. For society, products change how people live and work: the washing machine freed hours of household labour, and the car changed where people live. For the environment, products use raw materials and energy, create waste and pollution, and add to climate change. Pupils are expected to see both the benefits and the costs, not only one side.

One of the main tools is the life cycle of a product. Teachers ask pupils to follow a product through extracting raw materials, manufacturing, transport, use and disposal, and to ask where the biggest effects happen. Sometimes the surprise is that use matters most, as with a product that needs electricity every day. Pupils often learn a ladder of ideas for reducing impact, such as rethink, refuse, reduce, reuse, repair and recycle, with recycling coming last because it still needs energy. Schools may use a different set of words, but the idea is that the best way to reduce waste is to make less of it in the first place.

Responsibility is the second half of the topic. Designers, engineers and technologists make decisions that many other people have to live with, so they are expected to think about safety, honesty, fairness and sustainability. This includes choosing materials from sources that do not harm workers or habitats, making products that can be repaired rather than designed to fail, considering people with different abilities, ages and needs (inclusive design), and following the law and safety standards. Pupils discuss real dilemmas, such as whether to use a cheaper material that is harder to recycle, or whether to build in features that collect data about users.

There are rarely simple answers, and teachers do not look for a “right” opinion. They look for reasons. A pupil who argues that a reusable bottle is better than a single-use one should be able to explain the whole life cycle, including that the reusable one needs more material to make and therefore has to be used many times to make up for that. A pupil should also be able to see another point of view, such as the cost to a family or the convenience for people who cannot easily carry a bottle.

This topic connects with others in the Key Stage 3 programme. It builds on the study of past and present designers, because their work shows how impact and responsibility have changed over time, and on investigating emerging technologies, because new technologies bring new questions. It also feeds into the way pupils choose materials and evaluate their own products, so you may see the ideas appear in nearly every project.

Words your child will hear

Life cycle: All the stages of a product’s life: raw materials, making, transport, use and disposal.
Sustainability: Meeting present needs without using up resources or harming the environment for people in the future.
Carbon footprint: An estimate of the greenhouse gases released by making, using and disposing of something.
Inclusive design: Designing so that as many people as possible, of different ages and abilities, can use a product.
Ethical sourcing: Buying materials in a way that treats workers fairly and avoids harming people or habitats.
Planned obsolescence: Designing a product to wear out or become out of date quickly so that people replace it.
Stakeholder: A person or group affected by a product or by decisions about it.

What the National Curriculum says

The programme of study for Key Stage 3 says:

When designing and making, pupils should be taught to understand developments in design and technology, its impact on individuals, society and the environment, and the responsibilities of designers, engineers and technologists
When designing and making, pupils should be taught to investigate new and emerging technologies

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Try it: weighing up the impact of a drinks bottle

A teacher asks: “A company is deciding whether to sell a single-use plastic bottle or a reusable bottle. Evaluate the impact of each and say what the designer should consider.” How might a pupil answer?

Break the question into life-cycle stages and consider each product at each stage.

Stage      Single-use    Reusable
Material   less per one  more per one
Making     cheap, fast   more energy
Use        used once     used many times
Disposal   waste/litter  waste after
                         years of use

Look at the individuals affected. The user wants a cheap, light, safe bottle. A reusable bottle must be easy to clean and not leak, and designers must check that the materials are safe for drinking. Some users, such as people with weak grip, need a lid and a shape they can manage.
Look at society and the environment. Single-use bottles create large amounts of waste, and some end up as litter. A reusable bottle needs more material and energy to make, so it only comes out ahead if it is used many times. If people use it a few times and then replace it, the benefit is lost.
Say what the designer’s responsibilities are. They should choose safe materials, design for a long life (a strong lid that can be replaced, a shape that can be cleaned), make recycling easy by using one material and clear labelling where possible, and be honest in advertising instead of making claims that cannot be shown.
Reach a judgement with a condition. A reusable bottle is usually the better choice for the environment if it is well made and used for a long time. The designer should also consider cost and whether people will really use it.

A strong answer covers several life-cycle stages, more than one group of people, both benefits and costs, a clear statement of the designer’s responsibilities and a conditional conclusion, such as “better if reused many times”. It avoids the claim that one option is simply good and the other simply bad.

Common mistakes and how to help

Thinking recycling solves the problem of waste

Recycling is the most visible action, so pupils see it as the whole answer. But recycling uses energy, not every material can be recycled and some items are collected but not recycled.

What helps: Introduce the ladder of reducing, reusing and repairing first. Ask “could we have used less, or kept it longer?” before asking which bin it goes in.

Believing natural materials are always better for the environment

“Natural” sounds clean. But cotton can need large amounts of water, and cutting down forests harms habitats, while a long-lasting plastic part may have a lower overall impact.

What helps: Follow the life cycle and compare the stages. Ask how long the product will last and what happens to it at the end.

Seeing environmental impact as only about disposal

Litter and landfill are what people see. The effects of mining, manufacturing and transport are invisible.

What helps: Draw the life cycle as a circle and shade where the biggest effects are likely to be. Ask where a product’s materials came from.

Thinking responsibility belongs to the customer, not the designer

It is easy to say “people should recycle” or “people should read the instructions”, which moves the problem away from the person who made the choices.

What helps: Ask what the designer could do so that the right choice is easy for the user. A lid that cannot be lost or a clear symbol puts responsibility where it belongs.

How to help at home

Follow a product’s life cycle. Choose something in the house, such as a pair of trainers or a toaster, and talk through where its materials came from, how it was made and delivered, and what will happen to it at the end.
Try repair before replace. When something small breaks, such as a loose handle or a ripped seam, mend it together with an adult doing any sharp or powered work. Talk about whether it was designed to be repaired.
Compare two versions. Take two versions of the same product, such as a cheap and a well-made bag, and compare how long each is likely to last and what it would cost per year of use.
Spot inclusive and exclusive design. Notice things that are hard for some people to use, such as small print, heavy doors or tight jar lids, and things designed well for everyone, such as ramps and large handles. Ask how you would change one.
Discuss a dilemma. Raise a real question, such as whether a family should buy a cheaper phone that is harder to repair. Ask your teenager to give a reason for each side before saying which they prefer.

Builds on

Key Stage 2: Analysing existing products
Key Stage 2: Design criteria and evaluating work
Key Stage 2: Inventors and designers who shaped the world