STEM Curriculum Statement
Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths influence much of our daily lives, it is an area of industry that is burgeoning and it is vital that young people are equipped with the knowledge, understanding and skills to flourish in an increasingly technological world. At Fairfield Primary School, we aim to provide children with the transferrable skills, confidence and enthusiasm to embrace their future studies and potential careers through a robust and engaging STEM programme.
The children are provided with opportunities to collaborate and problem solve using a wide range of resources and technologies. We aim to create a safe and comfortable environment where children are not afraid to fail, but to treat mistakes as a first attempt and an opportunity to learn. The children are supported in establishing a systematic approach to problem solving and building upon prior thinking and learning, while developing patience and resilience.
Our approach to STEM aims to foster ingenuity and creativity, allowing children to experiment, find out and ask, what if? Through our STEM provision, we strive to ensure every child has the opportunity to explore, play and problem solve through an integrated, cross-curricular approach. Our STEM programme enhances and enriches wider curricular activities, while our STEM lab provides opportunities for the children to embrace new technologies they are likely to encounter in the future, develop confidence in these technologies and begin to use and apply their skills in explorative ways. Our aim is to nurture enquiring minds and to promote, develop and celebrate the children’s natural curiosity and embed a true love of, and passion for, learning.
Our fantastic STEM Lab!
We are so fortunate in school to have our very own, purpose built, bespoke STEM Lab full of specialist equipment and technology.
Subject Enrichment
Science Day 2021
On Friday 22nd January 2021, the whole school took part in a virtual Science enrichment day in which children at home, and our key worker children in school, were given a range of Science activities and experiments to complete. We had exciting experiments and interesting investigations to undertake throughout the day, all linked to the curriculum objectives for each year group.
Each class kick started the day with special Microsoft Teams’ meetings in which we discussed scientists, inventors and even managed to carry out a virtual live experiment! Mr. Steele and Mr. Gale also shared a very special assembly in which Cockermouth School Science Department showcased some of their exciting experiments for us!
It was wonderful to see all children from Nursery up to Year 6, engaging with Science/STEM whilst at home! We were amazed at the photos and videos, which were sent in throughout the day. We had everything from dancing raisins to elephant’s toothpaste!
A Planetarium Visit
As part of their topic on Space, Year 5 enjoyed a fascinating trip around the solar system during our visit to the inflatable planetarium at the UTC. Pupils made lots of new discoveries about the Earth, Sun and moon and how they move in harmony. They realised they really wouldn’t want to live on any other planet as they are in the ideal ‘Goldilocks’ zone for life to thrive, the others sounded a bit grim! Children thought about space travel, its future implications on the human race and how it can benefit our planet.
Lego League
After 12 weeks of extremely hard work from the whole team, a great day was had by all at the Lego League tournament. The team showed off their project design, completed the Core Values challenge, aced all the interview questions and mastered the robot game board. They scored highly across the board and particularly impressed the judges with their team work, resilience and collaboration. This resulted in bringing home the Core Values trophy! The team also learned they were only a pinch off the top spot, coming in an INCREDIBLY close second overall.
