Members' Blogs

From vision to impact: Celebrating Women and Girls in Science

By Tim Bradbury posted 14 hours ago
Today is International Day of Women and Girls in Science, a global moment to celebrate achievements, spotlight role models, and keep pushing for full and equal participation in STEM. UNESCO’s 2026 theme is “From vision to impact: redefining STEM by closing the gender gap”, a great reminder that inspiration is powerful, but it’s the systems around young people (access, opportunity, belonging, funding, mentoring) that turn inspiration into STEM futures. A space story that starts on Earth At our Family Space Day (Dec 2025), we heard from ESA reserve astronaut Meganne Christian, who shared her journey, what it was that shaped her ambition, and ...

Weekly news round up: 10/2/26

By Tim Bradbury posted yesterday
The Week in Education (3–10 Feb 2026): what STEM teachers might want to notice A conversational long-read pulling together education headlines (and a few wider stories) from Schools Week, FE Week, Tes, Sky News and the EEF. 1) Reading, curriculum access, and the “what do we put in front of pupils?” question A noticeable thread this week is “access” — not just whether pupils can decode text, but whether the stuff we ask them to read feels worth reading. Sky reported on a campaign to get children “back into books”, with an emphasis on ensuring reading materials reflect contemporary Britain and pupils’ lived experience. That’s not a STEM headline on the ...

Leadership, development and real-world routes: Celebrating National Apprenticeship Week

By Tim Bradbury posted yesterday
Leadership, development and real-world routes: Celebrating National Apprenticeship Week February’s Focus of the Month is Leadership and Development, and few pathways develop confidence, capability and career readiness quite like a high-quality STEM apprenticeship. National Apprenticeship Week is a brilliant moment to spotlight the practical, employer-led routes that help young people step into meaningful STEM careers while learning on the job. Apprenticeships don’t just build technical knowledge; they grow communication skills, resilience, teamwork and professional identity, some of the attributes we talk about so often in leadership development. ...

International Day of Women and Girls in Science: Standing on the shoulders of pioneers

By Tim Bradbury posted 2 days ago
Each year on 11 February, we celebrate International Day of Women and Girls in Science, a moment to recognise the achievements of women in Science and to reflect on the work still needed to make science and engineering truly inclusive for everyone. Across the STEM Community and here at STEM Learning, we recently asked colleagues and members which women in science have inspired them most. The responses weren’t just lists of famous names, they were stories of persistence, quiet brilliance, and, in many cases, of contributions that weren’t fully recognised at the time. What quickly became clear is something many of us already know from our own classrooms: talent ...

IOP Teacher of Physics and Technician Awards are open for nomination!

By Tim Bradbury posted 6 days ago
We are delighted to announce that the 2026 IOP Awards for Teachers of Physics and School and Further Education Technicians are now open for nominations. Visit iop.org/awards to find out more and make a nomination. Complete your nomination by Sunday 15 March 2026. The Teachers of Physics Awards celebrate the success of secondary-level physics teachers who have raised the profile of physics and science in schools and colleges. The School and Further Education Technician Award enables the community to recognise and celebrate the skills and experience of individuals employed as technicians or technical ...

You’re Qualified - Not Finished

By Tim Bradbury posted 8 days ago
You’ve qualified and you feel you should know everything, but secretly you don’t – now what? Liz Gibbs I was lucky in my early career. My first teaching job was in a tiny village school where everybody knew everybody. I took over from the local butcher’s wife who had taught Year 2 in the same classroom for 30 years. Talk about big, experienced shoes to fill. One day a pupil wanted to move his learning on by solving a column subtraction. Looking back, my degree course had not prepared me well for this moment and I found myself in a position of showing the boy a method I had learnt at junior school. I defaulted to the old “borrow one, ...

AI Sprints: Finding the Stories Worth Telling

By Alex More posted 13 days ago
AI Sprints are about people, stories and truth. So often in education, we hear from people who claim to predict the future by describing the present, and they do it with such conviction. Somewhere in the noise lie the reliable voices. Those who have genuine stories to tell, ones of transformation and hope. This is why I started the AI Sprints – to surface the stories worth telling, and to give people a space to share them. If you are curious what an AI Sprint is, I will do my best to define it. In essence, it’s a fast-paced exploration into the issues and ethics that surround artificial intelligence (AI). It’s not a podcast as it’s a live event. It’s also ...

AI Sprints: Finding the Stories Worth Telling

By Alex More posted 14 days ago
AI Sprints: Finding the Stories Worth Telling AI Sprints are about people, stories and truth. So often in education, we hear from people who claim to predict the future by describing the present, and they do it with such conviction. Somewhere in the noise lie the reliable voices. Those who have genuine stories to tell, ones of transformation and hope. This is why I started the AI Sprints – to surface the stories worth telling, and to give people a space to share them. If you are curious what an AI Sprint is, I will do my best to define it. In essence, it’s a fast-paced exploration into the issues and ethics that surround artificial intelligence (AI). ...

Weekly news round up: 28/01/26

By Tim Bradbury posted 14 days ago
The Week in Education: What mattered for STEM 21–28 January 2026 Policy pulse: phones off, AI on Phone-free school day affirmed. The education secretary wrote to heads stating schools should be “phone-free environments” all day, including breaks and not using phones as calculators. Expect inspectors to check policies and consistency in practice. Sky coverage: phone-free letter AI tutoring & edtech pilots expand. DfE set out a trial of “safe AI-powered tutoring tools” targeted at disadvantaged pupils, alongside a £23m expansion of AI/edtech pilots to >1,000 schools and colleges from September. STEM heads should weigh device access, safeguarding, ...

Weekly news round up: 20/01/26

By Tim Bradbury posted 22 days ago
This Week in Education (UK) – 14–20 January 2026 Welcome back to your weekly round-up tailored for UK STEM teachers. Below you’ll find the key developments from the past seven days, with a STEM-first lens but a full view of the wider education landscape. Where stories overlap (e.g. multiple outlets covering the same announcement), I’ve consolidated to avoid duplication and highlighted the most actionable angles for classroom and leadership teams. Each item includes a link to the original coverage. Policy, Online Safety & Mobile Phones Government to consult on an under-16s social media ban; phone-free schools pushed via new guidance. Ministers ...

Samsung Solve for Tomorrow: Breaking barriers in STEM

By Tim Bradbury posted 26 days ago
Last week on STEM Community Live, I was joined by Jessie Soohyun Park, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at Samsung, and Becky Patel, Head of Education and Learning at Tech She Can, to explore a topic that feels more urgent than ever: how we break down barriers into STEM and technology, and how schools can help young people develop the skills they’ll need for a rapidly changing future. At the heart of the conversation was Samsung Solve for Tomorrow, a free, tech-for-good education programme and competition for 11–18 year olds across the UK and Ireland, and the partnership behind it. https://solvefortomorrowuk.com/ Why diversity in ...

The 2025 Chemist-tree Champions

By Tim Bradbury posted 26 days ago
The Winners of the 2025 Chemist-Tree Competition are... 🥇 1st Place @Katherine Groves Katherine takes the top spot with a show-stopping Chemist-tree creation that wowed the community. 🥈 2nd Place @Laura Winter Laura’s beautiful and cleverly crafted decoration earned her second place. 🥉 3rd Place @Louise Mair Louise’s entry impressed with its balance of design and STEM inspiration Highly Commended Entries We couldn’t let these outstanding creations go uncelebrated! 🏅 @Olivia Wansbury – Virus Snowflakes brought a microbiological twist to the holidays and showed how beautiful biology can be. 🏅 @Emma Nicholson – ...

Apprenticeships with Altitude: Discover Engineering Careers with Virgin Atlantic

By Tim Bradbury posted 26 days ago
This National Apprenticeship Week , we’re delighted to be hosting Virgin Atlantic – Apprenticeships with Altitude , an inspiring online event designed to open young people’s eyes to the exciting world of aviation engineering and the many career pathways that apprenticeships can unlock. From keeping aircraft safely in the sky to designing and maintaining complex engineering systems, aviation is powered by a highly skilled STEM workforce. This exclusive webinar offers students a rare chance to hear directly from those working at the heart of one of the UK’s most iconic airlines. What is Apprenticeships with Altitude ? Apprenticeships with Altitude ...

Online STEM mentoring is open!

By Tim Bradbury posted 30 days ago
Help your students feel confident about life after school: online STEM mentoring is open As teachers, we know how daunting “what comes next?” can feel for students, particularly in Years 12 and 13. University, apprenticeships, vocational routes, employment… the choices are wide, the stakes feel high, and confidence doesn’t always keep pace with ability. That’s where online STEM mentoring can make a real difference. Through STEM Learning Online Mentoring , students are matched with trained STEM Ambassadors for structured, online conversations that help them explore ...

Step into the world of Seymour Science

By Tim Bradbury posted 17-12-2025
BBC Bitesize Primary has launched two new games that invite children to join Seymour and his friends as they learn all about science. The games are set in Seymour’s workshop where he films his very own TV science shows. Friends join him as they share their expertise on the seasons as well as light, sound and electricity. In Seymour’s latest Key Stage 1 game, Smashing Seasons, children learn what makes each season special. They can help a blackbird to build her nest in spring and find food for a hibernating hedgehog. Pupils can explore how weather changes and describe how the daylight varies in each season. Plus, with a little help from Seymour ...

Weekly news round up: 16/12/25

By Tim Bradbury posted 16-12-2025
The Week in Education: What mattered for STEM A neutral, classroom-focused round-up for UK teachers • 10–15 December 2025 Free schools shake-up: 46 projects scrapped; special/AP pipeline paused Schools Week Government cancelled dozens of mainstream free school projects and placed many special and alternative provision schemes in limbo, diverting capital towards local authorities instead. For STEM, the near-term impact is pressure on places, SEND capacity and local planning for specialist facilities. Read the Schools Week report SEND funding tilt: mainstream expansion raises special-school concerns Tes Sector voices questioned whether ...

Weekly news round up: 09/12/25

By Tim Bradbury posted 09-12-2025
The Week in Education: What mattered for STEM A classroom-focused round-up for UK teachers • 3–9 December 2025 Secretary of State in the hot seat: recruitment, SEND, phones Schools Week At the 3 December Education Committee session, Bridget Phillipson addressed teacher supply, SEND budgets, language take-up and expectations around mobile phones. The headline for classrooms is continuity on standards with firmer behaviour and attendance messaging, while funding and recruitment pressures remain unresolved. Read the Schools Week summary Ofsted annual report: attendance, behaviour and the “out of step” warning Schools Week Ofsted warned that ...

Unleash Your Inner Bauble Boffin – The Chemist-tree Competition is Back for 2025!

By Tim Bradbury posted 01-12-2025
Back by popular demand (and possibly because someone set off a glitter explosion in the prep room again), the STEM Community Chemist-tree Challenge is lighting up our feeds once more! Don’t let the name fool you, we welcome all STEM-themed festive creations , not just chemist trees. Whether you’re building a Fibonacci fairy, wiring up a light-up laser star, or 3D-printing a snowflake that explains Newton’s laws, we want to see it! To enter: Create your STEM-themed festive masterpiece. Take a photo. Post it on this discussion thread: https://community.stem.org.uk/communities/community-home/digestviewer/viewthread?MessageKey=9c3035ea-7e81-452b-af14-1128e40ee7c0&CommunityKey=efa20286-1785-472d-87f6-6ff52714b61c#bm9c3035ea-7e81-452b-af14-1128e40ee7c0 ...

Weekly news round up: 25/11/25

By Tim Bradbury posted 25-11-2025
The Week in Education: What STEM Teachers Need to Know (19–25 Nov 2025) 1) Four-day teaching weeks floated in Scotland Scotland’s education secretary tabled proposals for four-day teaching weeks , giving teachers one day a week for planning, assessment and wider responsibilities. Ministers are also exploring later starts and longer breaks. Unions welcomed extra professional time in principle but raised concerns about detail, delivery and process. For schools near the border or with families moving between systems, this is one to watch for timetable knock-ons and pupil equity. Read more: Sky News coverage . Sky News 2) Area-based partnerships ...

Oracy, the Digital Divide and AI Equity

By Tim Bradbury posted 19-11-2025
This month our Focus of the Month is all about Oracy in STEM, and it ties in perfectly with our latest episode of STEM Community Live: AI Sprints where we were joined by Kate Paradine, CEO of Voice 21, and Daniel Emmerson from the Good Future Foundation. If you haven't watched it yet, the session is now available on demand , and it is well worth an hour of your time. It was packed with insight, practical advice and some honest reflections on what learners really need from us in a world rapidly becoming shaped by AI. Below is a summary of the key themes that came out of the conversation and why they matter for STEM classrooms right now. Why oracy needs ...