News

One of the standout successes of the conference was the engagement during the panel sessions, which featured thought provoking contributions from both students and teachers.

Alongside feedback from a number of funding partners and supporters, we present an update as promised from CEO Helen Cuthill

If you wish to get involved in any of our new activities or have any questions, please contact your Partnership Manager.

We would also love to hear from partners & supporters who wish to work with us on National Lottery Community Bids for areas such as

• Development of Think Kits for High EDI areas of the UK
• Bringing STEM to local Libraries

Alongside our exciting ideas and potential new partnerships, Our Teams across The Trust have been working hard to bring some learnings to life and we are thrilled to announce the following confirmed ways of working

A new method of reporting & measuring Impact

We're committed to continuously improving how we collaborate with our funding partners and delivering maximum value for their investment. A key measure of this value is Impact, what students learn and, crucially, how they feel about STEM subjects and their potential influence on future career choices.

Beginning January 2025, we will be implementing pre and post feedback from students. This comprehensive approach will enable us to provide deeper insights into not only what students enjoyed but also how much they gained from their STEM experience in school. This new format will also include our 2025 courses, ensuring richer data and more meaningful outcomes for all stakeholders

Oliver Atkins-Wood, Head of Content & Impact commented “This cross-programme impact evaluation strategy, grounded in the Theory of Change, will better demonstrate the long-term impact of our programmes and initiatives. A new set of evaluation questions will be introduced across all programmes, providing more robust and insightful data to showcase the significant and lasting benefits of our work. We believe these enhancements will further strengthen our ability to report on the impact of sponsored activity and our shared commitment to engaging young people in STEM education.

A focus on areas of deprivation & encouraging Girls

As one of the largest STEM charities, we are committed to expanding our impact across the UK, whilst aligning closely with the goals of our funding partners. To enhance our efforts, we’ve acquired a comprehensive and up-to-date dataset that allows us to pinpoint areas where our support is needed most. This new data offers valuable insights on key factors such as:

• Free School Meals Eligibility
• Student Ethnicity & Gender

Together with our partners & supporters, and drawing on decades of experience and strong connections, we’re driving meaningful change to empower more students and schools across the country.

Empowering the Next Generation of Female Innovators in STEM

Our groundbreaking STEM for Girls Research explored innovative strategies to deeply engage young female students in mixed-gender classrooms. At the recent conference, Caroline George unveiled exciting findings from both Phase 1 of the study and Phase 2 Test STEM Days, where new, highly effective engagement methods were tested and validated.

Building on these successes, we are thrilled to announce that, starting September 2024, we will be implementing these proven strategies to inspire more girls to see their future in STEM:

• Empowering Imagery showcasing women thriving in engineering fields
• Inspirational Role Model Videos featuring female engineers, highlighting the vast array of STEM career paths
• Critical Discussions addressing engineering stereotypes and emphasising the power of diverse teams
• Social Impact Themes in our Primary STEM days, connecting STEM to real-world change
• Essential Soft Skills training, reinforced by the Skills Builder Framework, showing how key skills are vital to engineering success

We also will continue to run our biggest course exclusively for young female engineers.  Girls into Engineering has attracted 100 students every year for over a decade and plans are underway for 2025.

“We are deeply grateful to our funding partners, teachers, and students, whose invaluable contributions made our inaugural Conference event a remarkable success. Their enthusiasm and collaboration have fuelled our commitment to innovate STEM education in meaningful ways. With a wealth of fresh ideas and insights, our teams are dedicated to shaping the future of STEM learning, guided by our new business plan and Theory of Change. Together, we are paving the way for a brighter, more impactful future for students, educators, and the STEM community." – Helen Cuthill, CEO