South Yorkshire Schools celebrate first post-pandemic British Science Week
STEAMWORKS is celebrating British Science Week 2022 after primary science education has hit an all time slump following the pandemic.
STEAMWORKS are hosting multiple events including their We Love Science workshop at Dronfield on Tuesday, 15 March, where they will use art and creativity to prove to students that STEM is amazing! Students will learn about the cornerstones of chemistry in a potion making class, followed by catapult making, electrical circuits using playdough and Parachute challenges.
The company’s specially themed school workshops are a part of a wider UK festival, marking a breakthrough in post-covid teaching. It follows two years of lockdowns disrupting learning and pushing science teaching to the wayside for Sheffield’s primary students.
The special workshop programme is part of British Science Week (BSW) 2022 in March 11- 20 – a nationwide celebration of the best of British science, technology, engineering and maths. There will be dozens of events across Sheffield’s school, museums and community centres as part of the BSW celebrations.
“We’re thrilled to finally have the opportunity to celebrate British Science Week in person again. The pandemic has left schools with the challenge of catching-up, especially after a huge deficit in science and technology teaching forced by remote learning for almost two years.
“Teachers have been doing a fantastic job in their efforts to keep up science teaching in remote learning materials, after years of schools trying to fit science learning into an already crowded curriculum. That’s why we’re just so excited to finally bring STEM back into schools with something as exciting as British Science Week!”
Managing Director, Helen Bell
BSW 2022 is set against a backdrop of diminishing primary school science education. Prior to the pandemic, the Wellcome Trust found that 60% of senior leadership team members didn’t see STEM teaching as a priority. One in ten schools did not have a single dedicated, weekly science lesson for any age group.
Further research has shown that UK teachers are concerned by the significant teaching backlog the pandemic has caused in all subjects- especially science.
STEAMWORKS are part of a passionate STEM community in Sheffield which is also celebrating its first post-pandemic BSW. Sheffield Hallam University is hosting an impressive events programme over the week which provides other opportunities for people of all ages to get involved in STEM.
About British Science Week
British Science Week (BSW) is a ten-day programme of science, technology, engineering and maths events and activities across the UK for people of all ages run by the British Science Association (BSA). Anyone can organise an event or activity, and the BSA helps organisers plan by providing free activity and support resources. We welcome and support any type of organiser, from schools to community groups, from parents to large organisations. The resulting programme of events is a hugely varied and eclectic mix.
This year, British Science Week (BSW) runs from 11-20 March and is a ten-day programme of science, technology, engineering and maths events and activities across the UK for people of all ages.The public can find out more by visiting www.britishscienceweek.org
About STEAMWORKS
STEAMWORKS is a South Yorkshire based not-for-profit organisation on a mission to get more children engaged in STEM and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, maths and making). We help schools and communities provide more opportunities to get kids involved by running a range of outstanding schemes throughout the UK. These include after-school FabLabs, workshop days, teacher CPD and Young Science Ambassadors. We also provide expert advice and consultancy on STEM and STEAM outreach and education.
We firmly believe that it is essential to include design and creativity with science, technology, engineering and maths, to allow children to innovate and create amazing things! In doing so, we can prove that science really is a subject accessible to everyone and help address some of the inequalities present in STEM today.
For more information, please contact:
Helen Bell (Managing Director)
07876705823
helen@steamworks.org.uk
