New Milton Advertiser 9th Oct 2020

Friday 9th October 2020 · 27

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Milford-on-Sea Primary School Loving learning outside!

The importance of STEM continued...

ingredients to investigate how it impacts of the finished product. A simple no-cook playdough recipe can be a great way to demonstrate to young children how mixing together a range of ingredients can create a com- pletely different material. Jelly is also a great learning tools for early scientific discov- ery – you could try mixing up jelly cubes with hot water be- fore popping them in the fridge to set. Talk to your child about how the liquid jelly charges as its cools. There are a whole host of days out that families can choose to develop their children’s interests and enthusiasm for STEM. Win- chester Science Centre is packed full of hands on experiences and problem solving activities that children can work on individu- ally and as part of a large group to develop skills of cooperation and team work. Other STEM inspired trips could include visits to an aquar- ium, zoo or animal park which help spark imagination and en- courage curiosity. Spending time visiting the New Forest or along the local coastline is a great way to sup- port STEM learning - children are naturally curious and so sur- rounding them with nature is a great way to promote curiosity about the world around them. Problem solving together is another helpful way to support your children in developing STEM skills, for example if a toy or household object gets broken ask your child for their ideas on how it could be fixed allowing them the opportunity to come up with their own solutions to problems. Learning STEM skills give chil- dren the skills to succeed and adapt to this increasingly com- plex, changing, technological world. It is estimated that with advances in technology around two thirds of children starting primary school will work in jobs that don’t yet exist so the ability to adapt is likely to be a vital skill for later life.

schools to develop and enhance STEM learning for the graduates of tomorrow. Computer science and engi- neering graduates consistently rank amongst the highest paid of university leavers, and cur- rently the number of coding jobs far exceed the number of people with the necessary skills and qualifications to take on the roles. Many primary schools now teach basic computer coding and for those who show a flair or interest there are an array of after school and holiday clubs offering coding workshops and training which can help young people to enhance their skills further. Although for many ex- tracurricular activities have been scaled back because of the ongo- ing pandemic there are a raft of free and cheap online coding re- sources which can help primary age children learn coding skills. Every summer Apple runs free kids classes in its shops across the UK when participants can get involved in various classes including coding with robots, video making and virtual reality. This year the free session were unable to take place so Apple created an Apple Camp at Home downloadable pack which is available online. There is also a growing em- phasis of expanding STEM learning and teaching to other subjects across the curriculum for example STEM can be incor- porated into a range of subjects from physical education to cook- ery, geography, social sciences, English and the arts. Many schools now advocate project-based learning to ena- ble students to develop problem solving skills, face challenges and work on a set a task for an ex- tended period of time. The idea is that project-based learning enables the pupils to come up with their own solutions to re- al-world problems, by providing them with the necessary tools for learning. Last week the National Mu- seum of Computing launched

a series of new online remote learning packages designed to extend the charity’s successful in-person programmes by reim- aging resources for the online learning world and enabling pu- pils to access interactive STEM resources during a difficult time for teaching. The online learning pro- gramme includes two 45-minute sessions designed for schools examining World War II code- breaking or modern electric computing. The programmes have been designed so they can be adapted for use in schools, universities, home schooling groups and academies. Each remote learning session includes a virtual guided tour and two live hands-on interactive sessions. In the live interactive sessions, students can choose between three options: experi- ment using a Python programme to decipher messages, program- ming experience through the BBC emulator or a virtual reality session to create a virtual WWII era Block H. It is hoped taking part in the remote learning sessions will encourage pupils to build con- fidence in STEM subjects and ultimately inspire the next gen- eration of scientist, software developers and engineers with the aim of giving young people a better understanding of the technology around them. But learning doesn’t have to be limited to the classroom – parents can also play a key role in helping children to develop a passion and interest in STEM. Families can make STEM learning a part of everyday life in many ways ranging from using simple maths in the supermar- ket to using scientific knowledge and clues from the world around us (such as fir cones closing up) to study and predict the weath- er. Cookery and baking are also a wonderful to encourage curios- ity and scientific thinking – ask children to measure out ingre- dients, or you could even experi- ment with baking using different

A t Milford-on-Sea C of E Pri- mary School we love to learn outdoors whatever the weather. As an extension of the classroom, it has many wonderful benefits for children’s learning. Forest School Pupils in YR to Y4 attend Forest School, led by our fully qualified practitioner. Each session takes place in ‘Little Wood’ and begins and ends with a campfire gather- ing where everyone shares their learning. Children acquire life skills such as fire safety, tying knots, constructing rope swings, whittling and an appreciation of nature with pond dipping and bug hotels. Children actively risk assess and are creative in their play whilst enjoying the natural surroundings.

it and record and categorise the waste we find. The beach is an inspirational place to take other curriculum subjects. It is a great location to be creative and you will often see our pupils drawing, painting, taking photographs and writing poetry. The success of Forest and Beach School has led us to learn out- side across the whole curriculum. We encourage teachers to take children out of the classroom for lessons and every topic has a cur- riculum visit linked to it, including visits to Fishbourne Roman Villa,

Sea City Museum and Stonehenge to name a few. At Milford-on-Sea C of E Prima- ry School we believe the world is a wonderful and precious place - so let’s use it, protect it and enjoy learning outside!

Activities, such as the mud kitch- en, allow children to use skills from maths and science, as they meas- ure and talk about cooking pro- cesses to make some marvellous mud meals! Working as part of a team they learn sound social skills and diplomacy. The freedom of learning out- side helps develop attributes that are not always possible to achieve in the classroom. This sense of freedom is proven to have a pos- itive impact on mental health and At Milford-on-Sea we make the most of our seaside location! As one of the only schools to offer a Beach School provision on Dorset/ Hampshire coastline, pupils in Y5/6 take their learning to the beach led by our fully qualified practitioner. In a busy life, Beach School al- lows children time to stop and pause, to explore and appreciate the great outdoors and to really look, listen and feel nature. As part of our programme, we study British Coastal Wildlife – shells, seaweed, plants, fish, mi- gratory birds and other animals. Sustainability and protection of our oceans is a fundamental part of what we teach. Pupils carry out a beach clean each time we vis- learning attitudes. Beach School