Summer 2021 Newsletter

Hello Summer!

Firstly we would like to say a big THANK YOU to all of our schools for your continued support. We have managed to rebook 98% of all workshops that were originally scheduled for the spring term. If you haven't already, it is not too late for you to rebook, however we do now have limited availability.

As a result of rebooking, we now have a very busy term ahead of us running our annual competitions; the Gloucestershire K'Nex Challenge, Worcestershire Primary STEM Challenge and QinetiQ Robotics Challenges. Entries for the the recently launched Worcestershire Middle School Challenge are also flying in and we are excited that our collaboration on the Mewburn Ellis project has been extended to the end of the academic year.

If you are struggling for ideas on how to fill SATs and residential weeks with fun then take a look at our website to see what we have on offer.

We are working hard to be COVID secure, adapting our workshop routines so that they are in line with any updated Government guidance. We work closely with all of our schools to meet their protocols and are regularly carrying out Lateral Flow Testing. In addition to this we currently only visit one school a day and we are quarantining/sanitising equipment in between workshops. Please contact us if you would like a copy of our workshop risk assessment.

Neon is an exciting new website, designed to bring STEM to life through real-world engineering, connecting the user with STEM experiences near them of which you will find STEMworks are listed. They also provide access to hundreds of inspiring career resources.

Neon are now offering £300-700 bursaries to schools who work with young people who are under-represented in the Engineering profession. This is to help these schools overcome barriers to participating in activities listed on Neon and improve the impact for their students.

Any school that meets the EngineeringUK EDI Criteria are eligible to apply.

The bursary can be spent flexibly, for example on:

Paying for a Neon activity
Teacher cover
To overcome digital poverty through purchase of digital devises or data
Resources to support the young people to participate in the activity
Hiring or buying specialist equipment to complement a Neon activity

The next round of applications deadlines are 28th April and 26th May. For more information, click here.

Worcestershire Middle School STEM Challenge 2020-21

We recently launched this exciting new competition and the response we have received so far has been great! The challenge forms part of the Inspiring Worcestershire Careers Hub initiative in collaboration with Worcestershire County Council and the Worcestershire LEP.

The ‘Field to Fork STEM Challenge’ aims to celebrate food manufacturing within Worcestershire whilst also inspiring the next generation of STEM professionals. The challenge is suitable for Year 7 and/or 8 students and we have produced resources so that teachers have the tools and guidance to deliver the challenge.

To take part in this challenge, please register your school by emailing admin@stemworks.co.uk. The deadline for entries is Thursday 24th June.

Worcestershire Primary STEM Challenge 2020-21

Time is running out to register for this year's challenge. We now only have a limited amount of places available due to the reshuffling of cancelled workshops. To find out more and register your school, please click here.

Introduction to Coding and Next Steps in Coding Workshops

Our ‘Introduction to Coding’ workshops have been well received, so much so that we are now looking into expanding our availability of this workshop in order to support as many schools as we can. If you weren't already aware, this workshop was developed to support the delivery of the Computing curriculum from Reception to Year 2 pupils. Students use Robo Wunderkind kits to construct robots and learn how to programme them using an app. To follow on from this, we have also developed a ‘Next Steps in Coding’ workshop for Year 3 and 4 pupils. These sessions provide progression in learning and deepen pupil understanding of computer control. Both workshops can accommodate a maximum of 30 pupils and are half a day sessions.

If you would like more information or to book, please contact admin@stemworks.co.uk.

Gloucestershire K'Nex Challenge 2020-2021

With the continued support of Renishaw plc, this long running competition is again proving very popular. In order to accommodate the large numbers of schools and remain safe, we are only visiting one school per day, so have extended workshop dates until mid June 2021. In addition, we have been working closely with Renishaw to ensure a final can take place – even if it has to be held in a different format this year. With only 15 places left for this year – don’t miss out!

If you would like more details and to download the registration form please click here,

Racing Rockets with CREST Awards

STEMworks have been busy creating a set of videos to support teachers, parents and students with their CREST Award projects. This term, take a look at the Super Star Racing Rockets Activity Video and accompanying Organiser's Card. In this activity, Students are set the challenge of designing a rocket that will travel the furthest, encouraging them to think about shape.

More information about CREST Awards can be found at crestawards.org.

Free CREST Awards for Schools within Bristol extended

We are excited to share with you that the Mewburn Ellis Free CREST Award scheme has now been extended to the end of the academic year. Mewburn Ellis LLP are one of Europe’s leading intellectual property firms and they have partnered with the British Science Association and CREST Awards to offer free Awards and funding for schools serving disadvantaged students in each of its four UK office locations including Bristol.

The funding will cover Award fees at all levels (Star/SuperStar, Discovery, Bronze, Silver & Gold) for eligible schools between October 2020 – August 2021. In addition to supporting around 1,000 students through the free Awards scheme, Mewburn Ellis is also providing £100 additional funding to invest in resources for the first ten schools per region to register.

To be eligible for the funding, your school's postcode must begin with BS and you must meet one of the following criteria,

Over 30% pupils receiving pupil premium funding
Over 30% pupils from ethnic minority backgrounds
All pupil referral and alternative provision units
All SEND schools
Schools who have a rural postcode*

*In a postcode listed as any type of “Rural” area under their government’s Rural Urban classification system. You can look up the Area Type for any UK postcode at https://www.ukpostcodecheck.com/

If you would like to know more about the FREE awards, please complete the REGISTER YOUR INTEREST form. We will then be able to provide you with a voucher code to access the funded awards. The voucher code will be valid until the 31 August 2021. If you still have any questions, then please email admin@stemworks.co.uk.