Meaningful, structured and creative STEM activities build to an exhibition to be held in bedrooms, kitchens, shoeboxes, gardens across the country. Inspired by the original Great Exhibition of 1851, The Great Exhibition at Home Challenge asks young people to explore how engineers can help protect the planet. Weekly activities, digital resources and a fantastic video challenge for participants. The Challenge is suitable for home-working or classroom, for primary or secondary ages, and can be completed alone or with friends. The challenge can be started at any time, but will be especially suited to providing an instructive, inspiring and fun activity during the summer term. 

The Great Exhibition of 1851 was an international celebration of innovation. To Prince Albert and his team of commissioners it was the ultimate demonstration of a modern world – fast moving and dynamic.        

The Great Exhibition at Home Challenge is inspired by the wonder of such a momentous undertaking and the ambition of those involved. It provides an opportunity to connect schools and communities today in the spirit of the Exhibition of 1851, to look to the future and engineer a better world.

The Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 has partnered with The Royal Academy of Engineering to deliver the Great Exhibition at Home with Big Ideas. Students throughout the UK are invited to take part in a seven-week project, culminating in a video challenge. This final challenge asks students to create and share a Great Exhibition, wherever their classroom may be. Free resources are available and winning participants will receive £500 worth of equipment to supersize STEM subjects in their school, as well as other prizes to be announced soon!

Nigel Williams, Secretary of The Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 says, “The Great Exhibition at Home Challenge is very much in the spirit of Prince Albert’s legacy. He would urge us to tackle the immediate challenges we face with the pandemic, but not to lose sight of the long-term goals. Prince Albert was a master of innovation and sought to promote it all his life, reminding us of the need to support and develop our young people and to nurture their curiosity. I am looking forward to seeing what young people today make of Albert’s story and the ways in which it will inspire them to create new inventions for 2020 and beyond.”

Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE, CEO of the Royal Academy of Engineering, says “Young people are natural engineers – creative, problem solving, adaptable. This is an amazing opportunity for them to think about how they might use engineering to help protect the planet and showcase their ideas, in the style of the famous Great Exhibition of 1851. We will be encouraging students to take part through our Connecting STEM Teachers network and look forward to seeing future engineers step up to this important challenge. As our This is Engineering campaign shows, engineering is a great career for anyone who wants to make a difference and shape the future.”

Dr Virginia Crompton, CEO of Big Ideas says, “Our everyday lives may have changed beyond recognition, but that’s all the more reason to offer engaging and meaningful content for young people, especially as schools are closing. The idea of a Great Exhibition is a brilliantly simple and immediate way to get us all involved and inspired. It really doesn’t matter if the setting is a classroom or a cupboard! We are looking forward to supporting students across the country to take part in this exciting and creative challenge and are honoured to be working with our partners at The Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 and the Royal Academy of Engineering to provide this flexible and engaging home-friendly challenge.”

To receive a free copy of the Great Exhibition at Home resource pack and challenges for Week 1, sign up at https://www.big-ideas.org/join1851/

The deadline for entries is July 2020. 

An Internet connection, a smartphone, tablet or a computer gives the ability to unlock an almost infinite world of learning opportunities and interaction. Here digital learning experts Dr Alex Fenton, from the University of Salford Business School and Dr Aleksej Heinze from Kedge Business School in France, give their top tips for maximising the opportunities for online learning.

1. Make sure that you have the technology to engage in the learning process

This means a reliable Internet connection and using the best screen possible. If you know where in your home the WiFi hub is, position yourself closer to it. If you have a chance to use a wired connection, this can also give you the most stable and fastest Internet speeds in your home. If you have a choice between a smartphone or a tablet – choose a tablet with its bigger screen, which is also easier on your eyes. Make sure you take regular breaks from the screens – take some exercise and make a drink.

2. Identify your learning objectives and study goals

Your attitude and motivation will largely determine your success and effectiveness of your learning process. Decide how much time you would like to devote to learning and what you would like to achieve.

3. Build a study routine

When learning online, it is also important to have a study routine. Commit to certain goals each day and then take a break. Reward yourself – eat one of your favourite treats for example. It is important to experiment with which time of day works best for you. Some people are early birds and like to learn first thing in the morning when they are less distracted and have not connected to the world news, social media or other distractions. Others like to wind down with learning and do it before they go to sleep and forget about the daily worries. Reading offline or listening to audiobooks and podcasts as part of your routine will also break up screen time.

4. Find learning buddies 

Learning together is more fun, better for learning and also helps you to overcome challenging times together. Many learning tools allow for interaction with the other learners and tutors. This is great if you are struggling with something and want someone to help you as well as making friends and developing existing relationships. Using audio or video conferencing technology and additional communication tools that are free such as Skype can help you to make the learning process more interactive.  

5. Don’t give up!

Every time that we start something new it is a challenge. Online learning presents a number of these challenges such as connectivity, ability to follow the time management routine as well as following the learning instructions.

The biggest challenge for you is to motivate yourself and keep going and trying to understand if something does not work. For example, a number of tools might be expecting a certain version of a web browser or a certain Internet speed to connect and engage. Try things out, experiment and ask for help – the actual process of learning how to learn will be a great skill for your future. If you stick to these principles this could be a great way of maximising the opportunities available over the coming months.

Five educational resource ideas

Watch tutorials on video sharing platforms

If you like to go to a gym but it is closed, there are some great online resources that you could follow. For example, if you are missing your Metafit session – one of the High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), you could find a number of videos on YouTube, such as Joe Wicks, where you can join others and just follow them. Assuming of course that you have no medical conditions that prevent you from doing physical activity. 

Reading and online books

Your school, university or community library will have a variety of e-books that you can download and you can also find many low cost and free books to read through a Google search.  Project Gutenberg for example offers almost 60,000 free ebooks which are in the public domain as the copyright has expired.

Learning apps 

If you only have a smartphone and no computer or a smart TV, you can download and learn a number of things using smartphone apps. For example, you can learn new languages, history or geography for places you might want to visit once the confinement is over.  

MOOCS 

MOOC’s are Massive Open Online Courses and cover a wide variety of courses at little or no cost. They work on a combination of recorded materials and support from the wider learning community and it is sometimes possible to get a certificate of completion for those that finish.

Here at the Churchill Fellowship programme, we believe that the UK’s education sector can learn from new ideas and best practice in other countries. We also believe in people and in the potential of an inspiring individual to be a changemaker in their profession or community. 

In March we announced this year’s Churchill Fellows: a group of 141 dedicated individuals from across the UK who will be seeking international solutions to some of the UK’s most pressing challenges. Thirty of them will be looking for innovations in educational topics. They will bring these back to the UK and, with our support, will share their findings in their workplaces, schools and communities in order to bring about positive change. 

From education in rural communities or how robots in schools can help children with medical needs to participate in lessons remotely, to mental health programmes in schools or supporting young people following a crisis or bereavement, these 30 Churchill Fellows will explore a range of life-changing issues. Here are just a few of their upcoming projects… 

Supporting and training teachers with safeguarding responsibilities

Poor mental health, self-harm and suicide within schools are increasing, and teachers are not always equipped to cope with their safeguarding responsibilities. Integrative Child Psychotherapist Jane Brinson will visit models for clinical supervision of teachers and school staff in Australia’s and New Zealand’s health and social care sectors, which can be applied to education settings in the UK. Jane will use her findings to create a framework for UK schools and supervisors.

Teaching Science in schools

Scientific illiteracy is common in the UK and less than one in ten students leave secondary school with an A-Level in maths or physics, leading to a skills shortage in the UK. Science teacher Simon Palmer is investigating ways to improve the teaching of maths in secondary school science, in Singapore and the USA. Simon will share his findings with colleagues to help make the subject more accessible. 

Teaching sex education and relationships in primary schools

From September 2020, the teaching of relationships and sex education will become compulsory in UK primary schools, yet teachers have little clarity on the level of training they will receive. Primary school teacher Hannah Steele will explore how Estonia, the Netherlands and the USA have delivered sex and relationships education as part of initial teacher training programmes. Hannah will use her findings to influence teacher training programmes in the UK. 

Disability inclusion in schools

Only 6% of school leavers who have a learning disability go into employment. Head of Growth at the learning disability charity ENABLE Scotland Ashley Ryan will visit the USA and the Netherlands to research inclusive education and transitional support opportunities for people who have learning disabilities. Ashley plans to use her findings to influence UK government policy on inclusive education.

We’re hugely excited to see what ideas these new Fellows will bring back to the UK and what changes they will initiate. You can view more of this year’s Fellows’ projects in education here. 

Anyone can apply for a Churchill Fellowship, regardless of age, background or qualifications, so long as they are a UK citizen aged 18 or over. In the last ten years, we have appointed more than 150 Fellows in the area of education and have seen some incredible results. You can read some of their stories here. This year, our Education Fellows are jointly funded through a partnership with the Mercers’ Charitable Foundation, enabling us to support more in one year than ever before.

If you would like to find out more about applying for a Fellowship, and to be alerted when we open for applications, please visit www.wcmt.org.uk. We would love to hear from you.

Often, when new EdTech is introduced, people are asked to change their behaviour. Most humans aren’t keen on change – unless they believe they are making a change for the better.

The Government’s strategy for education providers and the technology industry – “Realising the potential of technology in education” – speaks about one of the barriers to the good use of technology as being the need for leadership to instigate change and to empower teachers and lecturers to be confident users of EdTech.

To successfully introduce new EdTech in schools, it’s critical to invest time in making change happen – the human way. This means recognising our uniquely human characteristics, and what makes us want to adopt new ways of working.  Some people will embrace change quickly, whereas others need more support and time to adjust.

Below is a simple four step checklist to ensure you are one of the organisations where your attention to the people side of change means you are six times more successful. It will enable you to achieve the return on investment and benefits from your school technology – rather than meeting resistance and disappointment.

Step 1: Create a desire to change

• Say how this technology will help your school achieve its vision and what will be better in the future for your school team as a result.
• Build the change story with your leadership team so you believe it and speak with one voice.

Step 2: Make it personal

• Think about how the new technology will affect different groups in your school and what this means for how you support them.
• Find your champions and ensure they share positive stories with colleagues.

Step 3: Provide tools and knowledge

• Have a simple plan to communicate with the school team.
• Visibly and regularly ask for feedback and act on what you find out.

Step 4: Live it, learn and improve

• Use the technology as a leader role model.
• Celebrate successes by sharing stories about how it’s helping people to do their jobs and the benefit to your school.

A human focused approach to change using these four simple steps will significantly increase the likelihood that new EdTech is successfully implemented in your school.

As the nation comes together to honour the Second World War generation on 8th May, The Royal British Legion has launched a range of new assembly resources to help pupils explore their shared heritage of Remembrance and commemorate the service and sacrifice of the wartime generation.

The assemblies have been created in partnership with the National Literacy Trust to help explain to children of different ages and backgrounds why and how we remember the contribution of the entire WW2 generation on VE Day. 

The language, design and format reflect the needs of both teachers and students, ensuring everyone can benefit from engaging with these carefully crafted resources. The assemblies are aimed at Key Stages 2 and 3 and are an ideal way for schools to take part in the VE Day commemorations in this significant anniversary year.  

The assembly packs and learning materials are suitable for young people aged 7 to 14 and will be free to download from 9th March on the Legion website. 

Catherine Davies, Head of Remembrance at The Royal British Legion says: 

“It is important that children from all backgrounds learn about their shared history of Remembrance. The assembly packs will not only teach children about the significance of VE Day, but also help children explore the idea of Remembrance and discover its relevance to today. The Royal British Legion is committed to making sure the torch of Remembrance is passed on to the next generation and these assemblies will play an important role in achieving that.”

The resources, downloadable in PowerPoint format, include:

• VE Day: Introduction for Assemblies – presentations designed to be shared with a whole school or year group, with a focus on helping students understand what VE Day is and how it remains relevant today.

• VE Day: How To Get Involved – presentations designed to be delivered to a year group, form group or class, focusing on ways to engage students around VE Day and providing different activity suggestions. They will come with detailed teacher notes, giving key information on VE Day as well as historic context to help teachers feel confident in delivering the presentation and supporting their class.

The resources will be available to download from the 9th March at: rbl.org.uk/teachingremembrance.

Wyedean School and Sixth Form Centre in Sedbury, Gloucestershire is part of a cyber security hub for the NCSC (National Cyber Security Centre). Our school has 13% disadvantaged students and caters for the British Army’s 1 Rifles service children. Ex-Head Girl and internationally acclaimed author JK Rowling is an inspiring ex pupil who was allegedly inspired to write about the young wizard and his Hogwarts world of spells and potions by science lessons at the school.

As part of our drive to embrace and champion 21st century learning, we pride ourselves on encouraging skill building across a range of tech. This is a whole school approach, although around 70 students enjoy further enhancing their skills as active members of the school’s cyber club.

The school is committed to showing that there are equal career opportunities in cyber security by regularly inviting representatives from large organisations and the tech industry – including the Bank of England, Cygenta, BAE Systems and Deep3 – to deliver talks on technology and cyber security. As the school’s Assistant Principal Academic, I believe that BBC micro:bits are a good introduction to coding, and in 2016 we were given a large number of BBC micro:bits to support this work. Inspired by J K Rowling, our students programmed a BBC micro:bit to show which Hogwarts house they belong to.

The school has got even more involved with tech since becoming part of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) Cyber Schools Hub project. This was set up after NCSC findings showing that only 11% of girls are represented in the cyber industry. We found that giving each child a device through their school journey helped because they are flexible, fun and accessible – students have used them to create toys and games as well as part of seriously useful systems.

We’re passionate about stories and bringing learning to life. When you teach the BBC micro:bit you have to show how it applies to the real world. BBC micro:bits were used to power a Lego house as well as a countdown clock. We’ve also used the BBC micro:bit for our escape room project, in tandem with the Raspberry Pi. Our key objective though is to get more girls coding, with equality being a driving factor. Although we are seeing increases all the time, we want to equal the representation and show the scope of the future. To help achieve this we offer the children additional scope and opportunity by permitting them to take the devices home, allowing them “equal exposure to tech”.

This has paid dividends. Prior to the BBC micro:bits being introduced, only 11 girls out of a group of 47 chose computer science as a GCSE option. The following year’s cohort, after the BBC micro:bit was introduced [in 2016], saw that increase to a total of 32 girls out of 79 students.

Evie, one of our Year 9 pupils, offers a young person’s take on the BBC micro:bit’s appeal, saying: “The [BBC] micro:bit is easy to use and a good way to introduce coding with visual results.  They can teach block code and text coding as well as link to a range of applications. Coding with them is fun!”

The Micro:bit Educational Platform

With funding from Nominet, the Micro:bit Educational Foundation has released a free comprehensive educational platform to empower all UK teachers – from computing aficionados to first-time coders – to teach coding lessons with the micro:bit, a pocket sized computer. The platform includes micro:bit classroom, a unique tool that makes managing and reviewing students’ code for the micro:bit quick and easy – set up takes just two minutes for MakeCode and python. The new learning resources and micro:bit classroom are freely available at: https://microbit.org.

Wyedean School and Sixth Form Centre in Sedbury, Gloucestershire is part of a cyber security hub for the NCSC (National Cyber Security Centre). Our school has 13% disadvantaged students and caters for the British Army’s 1 Rifles service children. Ex-Head Girl and internationally acclaimed author JK Rowling is an inspiring ex pupil who was allegedly inspired to write about the young wizard and his Hogwarts world of spells and potions by science lessons at the school.

As part of our drive to embrace and champion 21st century learning, we pride ourselves on encouraging skill building across a range of tech. This is a whole school approach, although around 70 students enjoy further enhancing their skills as active members of the school’s cyber club.

The school is committed to showing that there are equal career opportunities in cyber security by regularly inviting representatives from large organisations and the tech industry – including the Bank of England, Cygenta, BAE Systems and Deep3 – to deliver talks on technology and cyber security. As the school’s Assistant Principal Academic, I believe that BBC micro:bits are a good introduction to coding, and in 2016 we were given a large number of BBC micro:bits to support this work. Inspired by J K Rowling, our students programmed a BBC micro:bit to show which Hogwarts house they belong to.

The school has got even more involved with tech since becoming part of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) Cyber Schools Hub project. This was set up after NCSC findings showing that only 11% of girls are represented in the cyber industry. We found that giving each child a device through their school journey helped because they are flexible, fun and accessible – students have used them to create toys and games as well as part of seriously useful systems.

We’re passionate about stories and bringing learning to life. When you teach the BBC micro:bit you have to show how it applies to the real world. BBC micro:bits were used to power a Lego house as well as a countdown clock. We’ve also used the BBC micro:bit for our escape room project, in tandem with the Raspberry Pi. Our key objective though is to get more girls coding, with equality being a driving factor. Although we are seeing increases all the time, we want to equal the representation and show the scope of the future. To help achieve this we offer the children additional scope and opportunity by permitting them to take the devices home, allowing them “equal exposure to tech”.

This has paid dividends. Prior to the BBC micro:bits being introduced, only 11 girls out of a group of 47 chose computer science as a GCSE option. The following year’s cohort, after the BBC micro:bit was introduced [in 2016], saw that increase to a total of 32 girls out of 79 students.

Evie, one of our Year 9 pupils, offers a young person’s take on the BBC micro:bit’s appeal, saying: “The [BBC] micro:bit is easy to use and a good way to introduce coding with visual results.  They can teach block code and text coding as well as link to a range of applications. Coding with them is fun!”

The Micro:bit Educational Platform

With funding from Nominet, the Micro:bit Educational Foundation has released a free comprehensive educational platform to empower all UK teachers – from computing aficionados to first-time coders – to teach coding lessons with the micro:bit, a pocket sized computer. The platform includes micro:bit classroom, a unique tool that makes managing and reviewing students’ code for the micro:bit quick and easy – set up takes just two minutes for MakeCode and python. The new learning resources and micro:bit classroom are freely available at: https://microbit.org.

Nansen Primary School is a large, co-educational primary academy, located in Alum Rock, Birmingham. We have 902 pupils aged between 3 and 11. The school has developed a link with the LTA – the National governing body for tennis for Great Britain – and several of my staff, including Madison Chipman and Helen Dermody, were involved in testing the new LTA Youth Schools teacher training last year. They enjoyed it so much they are continuing to teach the lessons.

Madison, a Year 5 teacher, told me she likes the fact that the cross-curricular lessons are designed so that they adapt to small spaces. At Nansen, we use our smallest hall for the lessons – but because the activities don’t require a large space, her whole class of 30 is able to participate. 

“All the activities include different ideas that we could easily adapt for other lessons” Madison says. “It’s great that the children get to use lots of equipment – gloves, different-sized balls, hand mitts – it’s very adaptable for all ages and sizes. The children are physically active throughout the lessons and constantly progressing. There’s no stop and start… it just flows”.

As a head, I like the fact the inclusive nature of the lessons means all our pupils can take part, including those where English isn’t their first language, children with special needs (like autism) and children with physical disabilities (in Madison’s class there is a child with cerebral palsy). Helen says the course is so well designed that although she is an experienced PE teacher, through this she still picks up new ways to teach the children a range of different skills. She’s found the lesson plans and accompanying videos a useful point of reference and thinks teachers will find these beneficial, especially if they need a reminder of how a move or activity works. She sometimes shows the videos to the children as the visual elements make it very easy to understand.

Helen observes that during her own lessons “The children were a bit more engaged as it was something new. They’d never played tennis before. They really enjoyed all the different games; they’d do a warmup, followed by body and ball then into racket and balls – it all naturally develops. They were playing tennis in the warm-up but didn’t even realise they were doing it! In one of the sessions, they even used a balloon instead of a tennis ball, which was great fun!”.

She adds, “The children get to decide for themselves if they want to make it harder or easier. These are also transferable skills they could use in the classroom, such as asking Madison for easier or harder work”.

Madison agrees, saying “It’s definitely helping to build their character skills. I’ve noticed them becoming more independent and confident in the classroom, asking lots of questions and being engaged in the lessons. Because of this increase in confidence, they now want to be more involved in PE lessons, which wasn’t the case before”.

“We’ve even taught the lessons to other children in the younger year groups – they stop me in the corridor and say ‘Miss! I’m playing tennis every day now!’”.

We all agree that the impact of the LTA Youth programme has had a far reaching and positive impact on the school and its community. Helen told me: “Even the pupils you didn’t think would like it are getting involved – they have huge smiles on their faces and are eager to continue talking about it afterwards, a sign of how enjoyable they find it”.

“They’ll even mention it to their parents, so I’ll get parents coming up to me in the playground the next day mentioning it, because their kids are enjoying the LTA Youth lessons so much”.

I think this speaks for itself and from our experience, I would encourage all schools to sign up!

The LTA Youth Schools programme welcomes children of all abilities to build their personal and character skills through tennis. All participating schools will be provided with a free £250 voucher in completion of the free training, to use on additional tennis coaching or equipment. Additionally, for a time limited period, schools are eligible to win a fantastic schools experience day at the National Tennis Centre. Teachers can sign up to the free training here: https://www.lta.org.uk/

Given the low level of participation in physical activity in the UK, we clearly need more ways to engage and inspire children. I‘m not saying we should replace team sports and athletics, but it’s time to add another element. In addition, we are entering an era where today’s students are going to spend most of their adult working lives and social lives in front of a screen, so physical activity must match the current stimulation of the digital urban world.

It is even more important than ever to give them the tools to create balance in their lives. It sounds so simple, but dance-based exercise has the tools to create this balance. When you add music, inclusivity, culture, diversity and fun, you capture the child’s interest and maintain it. I believe that every school should implement dance fitness into PE, allowing all students to gain a concentrated package of wellbeing. I am convinced that teaching dance fitness in PE can be as natural as teaching netball, football or athletics. 

I know that the school day is short, classes are large and the amount teachers do in a five day week as educators is extraordinary, so teachers need a tool that will fit with their schedules and deliver lots of benefits to their students really quickly. Professor Wendy Suzuki, a neurologist, states in her TED talk that “Exercise is the most transformative workout for the brain. It instantly gives you longer protection of your memory, helps focus attention and puts you in a better mood…. Reactions are quicker, you get an energy boost, you are less tired…”

But dance fitness goes even further than just regular exercise. The complex mental stimulation that dance movements require increases coordination and balance skills, aids logical sequencing and provides an appreciation of rhythm and teaches musicality.

It is another form of expression, allowing a young person to express feelings they might not be able to do otherwise. It also increases their own self-confidence by breaking down inhibitions, as it is not a judgmental win or lose activity. It is inexpensive, non-competitive and completely inclusive giving every child the opportunity to experience the numerous benefits of dance, and not just those who can attend classes outside of the school day. 

At DDMIX, which is a social enterprise, we have spent the last four years working on creating the perfect toolkit to incorporate dance fitness directly into PE, making it simple to deliver, fun to teach, and effective. Our program can make confident dance fitness teachers out of everyone in any school by providing a program that they want to teach, without having to spend lots of time planning. We have Schemes of Work for KS1, 2 and 3 which include all the resources you need, and our insets can be held either at your school or online. With dance fitness embedded in your PE curriculum producing more physically active children, we will have a much larger pool of children in the UK interested in sport, in the arts, and having the confidence to explore their own creativity in other fields… and, most importantly, their wellbeing will be much improved. 

To find out how DDMIX can work for your school, please visitwww.ddmixforschools.com.

E.a.R.L can benefit teachers who are looking for the outcomes listed below, but he can also be used to support areas outside of the standard curriculum and EYFS areas. His compatibility with the Scratch coding program will also help to create a seamless transition through from programming to coding via EYFS, key stage 1 and key stage 2 learning.

Supporting key stage 1

E.a.R.L can assist your KS1 teaching by helping children to:

• understand what algorithms are, how they are implemented as programs on digital devices, and that programs execute by following precise and unambiguous instruction
• create and debug simple programs
• use logical reasoning to predict the behaviour of simple programs

Supporting key stage 2

He can also help in KS2 by aiding children to:

• design, write and debug programs that accomplish specific goals
• control or simulate physical systems
• solve problems by decomposing them into smaller parts

E.a.R.L wants to help across the curriculum

With a full teacher’s guide available, E.a.R.L comes with everything you need to plan lessons and get real outcomes for children in an exciting and engaging way. With the addition of mats for several areas of the curriculum, he can be used to teach almost anything via a coding journey. The cross-curricular pack means you’ll never run out of lesson ideas.

So, don’t hesitate; give E.a.R.L a home in your classroom and some new friends to play with today!

Read more about E.a.R.L’s impact on the EdTech Impact platform: https://edtechimpact.com/products/earl-coding-robot