There were three awardees from Glasgow City Council. Watch this video for more on the work that went towards achieving the awards.
STEM Glasgow is part of Education Services at Glasgow City Council. They work in partnership with a number of organisations including Education Scotland, DYW Glasgow and Glasgow Science Centre. STEM Glasgow provides support for practitioners from across the city in raising awareness and attainment in STEM. Our vision is that our young people, practitioners and partners work collaboratively to support the development of STEM-based knowledge, skills and opportunities, increasing the skills for life, learning and work of our young people and supporting Glasgow’s economic development.
The 3 key priorities of STEM Glasgow’s strategy are; learner experience, staff development and partnerships. We aim to build confidence and understanding in STEM through high-quality career-long professional learning. This has taken the form of establishing a number of networks across the city and then providing bespoke professional learning to suit their needs. One of our programmes, the Primary STEM Leaders programme, consisted of a number of professional learning sessions spanning the school year. The commitment for this programme was required both from the school, in releasing staff, but also by the individual as this would form the focus of their professional record of development. The Primary STEM Leaders programme took place over 2 full days and 8 twilights, this allowed practitioners to meet up frequently with their colleagues to discuss and share learning. In 2020 professional learning sessions moved on to Microsoft Teams, allowing for the networks to be supported and sustained during the lockdown. Teams has continued to be used for a number of purposes including TeachMeets, curricular development and interactive professional learning.
The professional learning sessions delivered were developed based on a needs analysis from the Primary STEM Leaders. Each session was mapped against the Professional Standards for teachers and the standards featured throughout the programme. The Primary STEM Leaders also completed the STEM Self-Evaluation and Improvement Framework, which is aligned with HGIOS, and provided areas for development for both themselves and their establishments. Having a common vision of increasing confidence and awareness of STEM has allowed a positive learning culture to develop and has provided practitioners with an open environment in which they can work together and learn from each other.
All participants in the Primary STEM Leaders programme participated in a coaching session where they had the opportunity to try out different scenarios, this then allowed them to adopt this method back in their own establishment. This aided them in supporting their staff team in progressing along their STEM journey.
Each and every learner has an entitlement to high-quality STEM learning experiences throughout their education. By having a supportive network many of the practitioners gave ‘things a go’ that they would normally not have had the confidence to try. They also were upskilled in a number of areas and able to deliver exciting and challenging lessons that gave pupils opportunities to apply their knowledge and skills from across the curriculum. By developing these skills, which are set at the heart of the development of Scotland’s young workforce, it is hoped that children go on to select STEM subjects within secondary school and potentially go on to a STEM career.
A large number of the practitioners that participated in the Primary STEM Leaders programme are now leading their own professional learning programmes both in their own establishment, within their learning community and across the city. Professional learning will continue to be provided by a central team as well as using the wealth of resources that are the programme participants. This provides practitioners across the city with lots of opportunities to become involved in both attending and delivering professional learning. All whilst keeping the 3 key priorities of learner experience, staff development and partnerships at the heart of all activity. Therefore, ensuring high-quality learning experiences for our children and young people and excellent professional learning opportunities for all practitioners.