Ofsted has criticised the standard of design and technology (D&T) teaching in English secondary schools.
Although primary schools were seen as good performers in the report, secondary education took quite a knock from the school inspectors for not keeping up with trends and not teaching more complex subject matters.
Keeping the curriculum for D&T up to date with the advances in technology was seen as a "considerable challenge" by Ofsted, but it was "essential" for ensuring pupils could get by in the "technologically advanced society" we live in.
There were some schools Ofsted praised highly for helping children learn about how technology it could change the world. Of the 89 primary schools examined, 54 had either good or outstanding pupil results and just under half of the secondary schools achieved the same.
But Ofsted warned not all students were given this same level of teaching. Whilst nine secondary schools had pupils achieving "outstanding" results, four were classed as "inadequate."
The report claimed there was a lack of continuity in the move between primary and secondary schools when it came to planning lessons, meaning students often found classes too easy or a repeat of what had gone before.
There was also criticism teachers were not provided the opportunity to update their own knowledge of technology through training, leaving them behind the curve and unable to teach about current innovations.
Computer-aided design and manufacture (CAD and CAM) were particularly neglected, which Ofsted directly correlated with the low take up of D&T at GCSE level which, for the IT sector, continues to prove problematic as it hopes for young blood to join the industry.
"To enable education in England to keep pace with global technological change, new approaches are needed to teaching pupils how to apply electronics in combination with new materials and how to apply control systems in all aspects of the subject," the report concluded.
