Our Aim

At St John’s XXIII we are committed to making STEAM an integrated part of our school, equipping pupils with the knowledge and skills they need to thrive in an ever-increasing STEAM society. Through a broad and balanced curriculum with a student-led approach, our pupils are challenged to find innovative ways to solve modern day problems. This includes investigating and observing or designing and creating a product. Children experience the creative process, going from a design on paper to a tangible, functional object. Not only this, but children have the opportunity to develop their collaborative skills, helping each other and working to everyone's strengths. They think through a problem together and decide the most effective and sufficient use of their time and materials. 

Our STEAM programme is open to all pupils, within and beyond the classroom. By working on the foundations of STEAM in a coherently planned way, through curriculum and extra-curricular opportunities, we are preparing the pupils for secondary where they will continue their STEAM journey.

We believe that the following are essential to ensure STEAM is integrated within our school:

• The commitment of a staff member at a senior level
• Collaboration with STEAM coordinators to embed STEAM in the curriculum
• A dedicated space managed by pupils
• A management committee of pupils

Why STEAM?

STEAM aims to enhance children’s critical thinking skills and get them to recognize the relationship between science, technology, engineering, art and maths. These five disciplines are used in everyday activities and will prepare them for work in STEAM related fields. We recognise the national shortages of people in STEAM related professions and the low representation of ethnic minority groups and women. STEAM education helps to close the STEM skills gap in the ethnic and gender gaps found in Maths and Science.

“STEM-based education teaches children more than science and mathematics concepts. The focus on hands-on learning with real-world applications helps develop a variety of skill sets, including creativity and 21st-century skills. Regardless of the future career path considered by these children, these skill sets go a long way to preparing them to be innovative.” (Invent.org)

The STEAM Room

The STEAM room is a dedicated space in our school, managed and led by a team of keen pupil scientists who take responsibility for involving children across the school in additional STEAM activities. The room itself is used for curriculum and extra-curricular STEAM activities, providing a space for children to engage their curiosity about science, technology, engineering, art and maths, further investigating aspects of interest in the curriculum. It is an adapted space where pupils can go and feel like scientists and artists. Due to the pupil-direct approach, using pupils’ curiosity as a basis for experimentation is key. The management committee have had a say in what they believe belongs in the room.

The STEAM committee

We finally got to award our chosen STEAM committee with their certificates and celebrate the opening of the STEAM room which has been in use for a year already.