STEM education in schools teaches children far more than science, technology, engineering and mathematical concepts.
With a focus on hands-on learning and real-world applications, STEM in schools develops life-long skills such as:
- curiosity
- critical thinking
- problem-solving
- creativity
- communication
- collaboration
STEM in schools builds connections across the curriculum, giving a firm foundation to support learning. With exceptional provision, pupils can, and do, achieve the highest levels of success.
At Park Lane, pupils from the very beginning of their school career begin building STEM skills and understanding. In Early Years we focus on free inquiry, exploration and discovery.
As they progress through school they develop more complex skills and understanding through exploration and explicitly taught science skills. These include:
- identifying and classifying
- understanding and following the scientific process
- fair testing
- analysing and presenting data
- forming conclusions
Discussions
It is crucial to promote scientific excitement and engagement with hands-on practical, integrated experiments.
We create mini-projects and incorporate them into wider subjects, uniquely embedding other subject areas and skills. For example, a Year 6 project based for British Science Week focused on improving quality of life with assistive devices.
Pupils interviewed a visiting speaker with a prosthetic leg and asked him about his challenges, needs and the benefits of his prosthetic leg.
The conversations with our visitor inspired the pupils and led to many more questions. There were discussions about the impact on mental health, after suffering an injury requiring prosthetics.
Pupils also talked about how innovation in prosthetics can improve people’s quality of life. These conservations created a natural link between science and PSHE.
The pupils then continued to research online about current assistive devices and presented their findings to the class.
They went on to design and create their own assistive devices, planning the logistics required to create their innovative devices.
One single school project incorporated all aspects of STEM. It also provided strong cross-curricular links, clearly connecting science to the real world.
Passions
We take every opportunity to embed this real-world context into our pupils’ understanding of science.
During the Mars landing there was a real buzz around school. Pupils were excited about the mission and it sparked great conversations and discussions. There was plenty of opportunity for them to reflect on what the future of space travel might hold.
We always try to encourage and nurture high aspirations at school. Every Friday afternoon Park Lane transforms into Griffin University. Every pupil selects from a wide variety of options for exciting activities.
Giving pupils agency enables them to develop and follow passions they may never have discovered without these opportunities. High quality activities help raise aspirations and a love of learning that will last a lifetime.
We also offer fun, engaging workshops for the whole school cohort. Pupils explore STEM concepts through virtual workshops, creating their own prototypes by following a virtual presenter.
Extracurricular STEM opportunities
There are plenty of opportunities outside the school gates too that help promote a love of STEM and make direct connections to the world.
We have The Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) in Coventry. This promotes engineering and STEM and supports diversity and inclusivity in the STEM community.
MTC volunteers provide stimulating, exciting activities and workshops for our pupils, including:
- team challenges
- virtual reality demos
- coding challenges
Tours of their cutting-edge workshop which features the latest manufacturing technologies and state of the art 3D printers, leave our children with a sense of awe and wonder around STEM.
School STEM environment
Providing a rich environment for discovery is an important consideration. At Park Lane we have several natural areas for pupils of all ages to explore.
This includes the mud pit in our Early Years area and a seasonal woodland and forest school. Our wildlife areas encourage exploration and give pupils agency over their learning.
Pupils can also choose to dip into our ‘Science Lunchtime Boxes’ and independently investigate and experiment without guidance from a teacher. This allows pupils to follow the enquiry process at their own rate, test their ideas and form conclusions.
The boxes were originally suggested by our Science Ambassadors, whose role is to give the pupils a voice in decision making across the Trust.
Our Pupil Leadership Teams play a pivotal role in provision. We pride ourselves on them being at the very core of all decisions made. Class ambassadors share their classmates suggestions and ideas for new equipment or experiences.
Seeing their suggestions become reality promotes responsibility, respect and excitement.
Aspirations
Computing is a high priority. We have a collegiate HUB across three GST schools in Warwickshire. We use this to share the expertise of specialist scientists and computing experts, as well as resources.
A class set of VR headsets has widened pupils’ horizons with new experiences – from descending to the depths of the ocean, to viewing and manipulating a 3D image of a beating human heart.
Pupil voice about these sessions is overwhelmingly positive and there is always high excitement when sessions are scheduled.
Building aspirations and widening horizons are at the heart of our Trust’s ethos. All our schools offer extensive, free extra-curricular activities, providing quality experiences outside the usual expectations of pupils.
At Park Lane school we offer multiple STEM choices in our extracurricular activities:
- Lego We Do
- coding
- computing
- model making
- stop motion animation
- cooking
- investigative science club
High attendance levels in the clubs shows the interest pupils have in STEM. They want to immerse themselves in science!
Ideas for celebrating STEM in school
- Annual science events – World Space Week, National Stem Day, Maths Week, British Science Week and International Women in Science Day. These provide the perfect backdrop for STEM to take the spotlight and allow pupils to discover and develop their talents and passions.
- Each year all 13 Griffin Schools celebrate STEM at the Griffin Science Symposium, one of GST’s proud traditions.
- All pupils look forward to a week packed with STEM activities and exploration. One year, plant scientists from around the world helped pupils delve into real-world issues, both current and future, through live-streamed workshop sessions.
Alex Ladbury is headteacher at Park Lane Primary and Nursery School, Nuneaton, part of Griffin Schools Trust.
