Members' Blogs

The future of STEM education in England post 2024 General Election

By Siwan Morris posted 3 days ago
The 2024 General Election has concluded, bringing a new direction for the UK's education system. The Labour government is now set to implement its promises from their manifesto - but what does this mean for STEM education in England? Labour aims to raise standards in education to break down barriers to opportunity. As part of this, they intend to recruit more than 6,500 expert teachers, funded by ending the VAT exemption for private schools. STEM Learning recognises the need for expert teachers in every classroom, which is paramount in allowing all children to succeed. While plans for the recruitment of new teachers is necessary, it is essential that the ...

Weekly news round up: 23/07/24

By Tim Bradbury posted 3 days ago
Welcome to this week's round up, designed to bring you the latest developments in STEM education and broader educational news from the past week. This summary includes insights into policies, practices, and innovations that could shape the future of teaching and learning in the UK. We hope you find this informative and engaging as you reflect on the changes and consider their impact on your classrooms. BBC News - Education Unis Told to Manage Own Budgets After Call for Bailouts Universities have been advised to manage their budgets without relying on government bailouts, emphasizing financial self-sufficiency amidst economic pressures. Read more ...

Adapting the Teach Computing Curriculum - Computer Systems & Networks

By Catherine Elliott posted 10 days ago
This is the final blog in the series about how we can adapt the units in the Teach Computing Curriculum to make them more accessible and inclusive for learners with specific learning needs and disabilities. Today I'll be discussing how to adapt the Computer Systems & Networks units. You can read the previous blog posts here: Adapting the Teach Computing Curriculum - Creating Media Adapting the Data & Information units in the Teach Computing Curriculum Adapting the Teach Computing Curriculum - Programming The Teach Computing Curriculum has been written to support all pupils, with units containing a number of scaffolding activities ...

Weekly news round up: 16/07/24

By Tim Bradbury posted 10 days ago
In the past week, several noteworthy developments have emerged in the field of education, particularly relevant to STEM subjects. This blog aims to provide a comprehensive summary of these stories, offering insights and reflections for educators. Here are the highlights from prominent news sources: BBC News - Education 1. Concerns About International Students’ Entry Grades Universities are under scrutiny for potentially lowering entry standards to attract higher-fee-paying international students. This raises questions about maintaining academic integrity while navigating financial pressures. 2. Zambia’s Free Education Initiative ...

COMPETITION: STEM Summer Resource Splash!

By Tim Bradbury posted 11 days ago
The STEM Community is buzzing with innovative educators, and we want to tap into that collective wisdom. This summer, we are launching the "STEM Summer Resource Splash" competition, where you can share your most impactful resource for STEM educators. Whether it's a cutting-edge digital tool, a creative lesson plan, a hands-on activity, practical experiment, or any other resource that has transformed your teaching or learning experience, we want to hear about it! How to Enter: Submit your Resource: Link to an Existing Resource: If your resource is available online, share the link. Upload a Copy: If the resource is not online ...

Weekly News Round-up 9/7/2024

By Tim Bradbury posted 17 days ago
Introduction In this week's educational landscape, significant strides and critical discussions have emerged. From innovative policies to pressing challenges, this summary provides UK STEM educators with the latest news, insightful analysis, and potential areas for reflection and action. This roundup covers stories from major education news platforms, ensuring a comprehensive overview for teachers seeking to stay informed and inspired. ### Major Headlines #### **BBC Education News** 1. **Education Secretary Begins Push to Recruit 6,500 New Teachers** The new Education Secretary has launched a campaign aimed at recruiting 6,500 new teachers to address ...

Professional development - make the most of it!

By Dave Gibbs posted 18 days ago
High quality Continuing Professional Development (CPD) leads to improved pedagogy and subject knowledge, which has the biggest influence on student outcomes and progression leading to improved life chances. Not exactly a shocking or surprising statement. However, Learning Policy Institute research ( ‘Effective Teacher Professional Development’, 2017 ) shows that, all too often, “professional development initiatives appear ineffective in supporting changes in teacher practices and student learning”. As someone who leads on professional development programmes, you might wonder why I am telling you this. It’s because we all want teacher and technician CPD to ...

Established Leader – f) Supporting Other Schools - Primary Leadership Journey

By Phil Wickins posted 22 days ago
This is the final incremental blog in the Established Leader section of the Primary Computing Leadership Journey . The elements in this section are covered in more detail in the brand new whole day face to face course: Leading Primary Computing Module 3 . Please click on the infographic below to navigate through the different sections and access all of the resources and training: When you feel on top of computing in your school, or even if you feel like you’re almost there, that may be the time where you begin to have the capacity to support other schools and other leaders. Do you remember how you felt when you first set out as computing leader? What ...

Established Leader – e) Careers - Primary Leadership Journey

By Phil Wickins posted 22 days ago
This is the 5th incremental blog in the Established Leader section of the Primary Computing Leadership Journey . The elements in this section are covered in more detail in the brand new whole day face to face course: Leading Primary Computing Module 3 . Please click on the infographic below to navigate through the different sections and access all of the resources and training: When I show children the list of computing, technology and digital jobs on the National Careers Service website, there seems to be a job in there for everyone (the games tester is a particularly popular one!). We also talk about jobs that aren’t specifically in the area of ...

Established Leader – d) Budget & Funding - Primary Leadership Journey

By Phil Wickins posted 22 days ago
This is the 4th incremental blog in the Established Leader section of the Primary Computing Leadership Journey . The elements in this section are covered in more detail in the brand new whole day face to face course: Leading Primary Computing Module 3 . Please click on the infographic below to navigate through the different sections and access all of the resources and training: Since when have primary schools had any money? We are constantly looking to scrimp and save here and there, trying to figure out the maximum impact a resource or scheme will have before we pay a subscription, wondering if we can really afford that amazing school trip, trying ...

Established Leader – c) Key Stage Transition - Primary Leadership Journey

By Phil Wickins posted 22 days ago
Welcome to the 3rd incremental blog in the Established Leader section of the Primary Computing Leadership Journey . The elements in this section are covered in more detail in the brand new whole day face to face course: Leading Primary Computing Module 3 . Please click on the infographic below to navigate through the different sections and access all of the resources and training: As primary school teachers and leaders it is often difficult to engage with secondary schools to whom we are a feeder school. What we hear mostly from pupils who have gone to secondary school when we ask about computing, is that they seem to be re-doing a lot of the learning ...

Established Leader – b) SEND & Inclusion - Primary Leadership Journey

By Phil Wickins posted 22 days ago
This is the second incremental blog in the Established Leader section of the Primary Computing Leadership Journey , talking about SEND and Inclusion. Please use the infographic below to navigate to all areas of the journey: SEND was right at the top of the list when we asked which areas of teaching computing you felt you needed the most support and CPD in, during the Big Primary Computing Leadership Survey : The Teach Computing Curriculum from the NCCE is a fantastic place to start in terms of a free, up to date and research led scheme of work, but how do we adapt it for our SEND pupils? How can we use adaptive teaching and assessment for ...

Established Leader – a) Adaptive Teaching - Primary Leadership Journey

By Phil Wickins posted 22 days ago
This is the first blog in the Established Leader series on the Primary Computing Leadership Journey . During the Established Leader section, we will be exploring in more detail some of the aspects that become the focus once a good foundation of computing has been ingrained. These are covered in more detail in the whole day face to face course: Leading Primary Computing Module 3 . Please click on the infographic below, which suggests activities and features in a sequenced journey for computing leaders. It serves as a good place to start if you are a new leader , or a kind of check list to look back on if you are a developing leader or established leader. ...

Why ‘manipulatives’ belong at the heart of secondary maths classrooms

By Stephen Lyon posted 23 days ago
During my time as an Advanced Skills Teacher (AST) I spent some time in primary schools , supporting K ey Stage one and two maths coordinators as part of my role. Despite being there a s a ‘maths specialist ’ , d uring my visits I learnt as least as mu ch as the primary teachers I worked with - and what I learnt had a great impact in my own classroom. The main change was how much equipment I used in lessons in order to help students explain their thoughts . Students in primary school were forever exploring mathematics through objects, and explaining what they had done using counters, multi-link ...

Weekly news round up: 02/07/24

By Tim Bradbury posted 24 days ago
This week's news in education has seen a mix of developments. Here’s a roundup of key stories that teachers in STEM and other subjects might find insightful. Key Stories Almost 1.8m People Owe £50,000 or More in Student Debt The BBC reported that almost 1.8 million people in the UK now owe over £50,000 in student loans. This substantial debt burden highlights the ongoing debate around the affordability and value of higher education in the UK. Read more Online Safety Warning as School Holidays Begin in Scotland With the school holidays kicking off, there’s an increased focus on online safety for children. This BBC article discusses ...

Developing Leader – e) Physical Computing - Primary Leadership Journey

By Phil Wickins posted 29 days ago
This is the fifth in a series of incremental blogs in the Developing Leader section of the Primary Leadership Journey. Click on the infographic below to navigate between blogs, more will be added as they are written: Physical computing has got to be my favourite part of the computing curriculum. Thankfully, there are so many accessible options available these days to ensure that even schools with the tightest budget can allow pupils to engage in these exciting projects. When I conducted the Big Primary Computing Leadership Survey , many of you said that Physical Computing was top of your list for subject knowledge areas you felt you needed more CPD ...

Developing Leader – d) Leading Change - Primary Leadership Journey

By Phil Wickins posted 29 days ago
This is the 4th blog in the Developing Leader section of the Primary Computing Leadership Journey. Leading change in your school is covered in much more detail in the Leading Primary Computing – Module 2 course, in session 1. Click on the infographic below to navigate the other blogs in the series, more will be added as they are written: Leading change in your school requires a carefully managed approach. We want to avoid knee jerk reactions, especially when we may be second guessing what Ofsted want, or we’ve seen something work in a school that may have a completely different context to ours. One example I have experienced recently was the sudden ...

Developing Leader – c) Enrichment - Primary Leadership Journey

By Phil Wickins posted 29 days ago
This is the third incremental blog in the ‘ Developing Leader ’ section of the Primary Computing Leadership Journey. This section is covered in more detail in the Leading Primary Computing - Module 2 course, in session 2. Please click on the infographic to navigate around all of the sections and blogs, more will appear as they are written: What is enrichment? Is it simply running an after school club? Or a lunchtime session? Can it involve trips and visitors too? Essentially, it is anything that will give pupils opportunities and experiences beyond the classroom and the curriculum. In most cases, we aim to give them opportunities and experiences they ...

Developing Leader – b) CQF - Primary Leadership Journey

By Phil Wickins posted 29 days ago
This is the second incremental blog in the ‘ Developing Leader ’ section of the Primary Leadership Journey. Please click on the infographic below to navigate the other blogs on the Journey, more will be added as they are written: After we’ve got computing relatively stable as a subject; the curriculum is understood and resourced, teachers have access to CPD, the subject is timetabled and assessment is happening, then perhaps it is a good time to perform a deeper diagnostic and analysis to find out what your next steps will be to improve the subject in your school. That’s where the Computing Quality Framework comes in. This is a free online tool ...

Developing Leader – a) Supporting Staff - Primary Leadership Journey

By Phil Wickins posted 30 days ago
This is the first blog in the ‘ developing leader ’ section, aimed at primary computing subject leaders who have been in role long enough to feel confident that computing is being taught regularly and the content meets the requirements of the National Curriculum. More explanation of this section of the leadership Journey can be read about in the ‘developing leader’ blog post on the NCCE website. If you missed it, please read the New Leader blog on the NCCE Website to understand the Primary Computing Leadership Journey further. Click on the graphic below for links to individual areas: This area of the Leadership Journey: ‘Supporting Staff’ is covered ...