Primary school pupils see the fun side of STEM subjects after £10k IT investment
Pint-sized brain boxes at a Wyre Forest primary school have been programming Lego robots and creating their own digital content after an IT investment.
A Google STEM festival was held for the pupils after £10,000 investment which saw the school become the first in its multi-academy trust to swap from Microsoft Windows to Google Chrome.
Using new tablets years three to six at Far Forest Lea Memorial CE Primary Academy were shown the fun side of STEM subjects - Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths.
The festival was run by the Severn Academies Educational Trust (SAET), with IT staff supporting the children and activities run by technology in education training and consultancy company Tablet Academy, from Telford.
Gemma Alldritt, SAET learning institute director, said: “The digital opportunities to expand children’s knowledge and understanding of STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths – are immense.
“We are committed to providing our children with the tools they need to excel in this fast-moving world.”
Far Forest is the first school in the trust to change from Microsoft Windows to the Google Chrome OS operating system, with new interactive screens in all classrooms and Chrome Books for all pupils.
Tim Morton, SAET’s deputy chief operating officer, said: “The new system will be rolled out to all our schools and because we can utilise existing hardware with Chrome OS, it will significantly reduce the amount of IT support needed from us.
“There will also be less need for expensive licences, with total savings amounting to at least £850,000 over the next five years.”
Staff at the school have been trained to use Google Classroom and the festival introduced pupils to IT experiences using interactive tools including Lego Spike, CoSpaces and Adobe Express.
