SCIENCE YEAR NEWSLETTER - ISSUE 21 Week ending Friday, 15th June 2001 Science Year Team Anne McNaught joined the Science Year team this week as Web, Media and PR Manager. With the addition of Anne, the Science Year team is now fully staffed. More information on Anne and her role in Science Year will be included in next week’s newsletter. The Giant Jump Science Year launches across the UK on 7 September and to celebrate, we're setting a new world record. The Giant Jump is a huge national activity that needs your help to make it rock. If you want to jump, investigate, help show off some of Britain's great technology or just be a part of the biggest launch ever, then read on. We will be attempting to create a massive national impact, by asking everyone across the country to jump together and measure ground vibrations. There will be accompanying resources for teachers and tips for building home made seismometers. If you would like to register your interest in the Giant Jump, please fill in the form. Science and Engineering Ambassadors Scheme The Ambassadors scheme was first mentioned in the Science and Innovation White Paper, published by DTI in summer 2000. It is being implemented as a joint DfEE/DTI project, with Suzanne King of People Science & Policy Ltd working as project manager and reporting to both Departments. The scheme will contribute to DTI’s overall target of enabling every child under 16 to have the opportunity to participate in an appropriate science, technology, engineering or maths related activity at least once in each key stage, but it is not limited to that age group. What is the Science and Engineering Ambassadors Scheme? There is a range of excellent work going on around the country bringing young people and scientists together. We believe that this is a powerful way of motivating young people and the Ambassadors initiative is intended to build on, strengthen and expand the existing projects so that more young people have the opportunity to interact with and learn from practising scientists and engineers, while preserving the identities of the existing activities and their organisers. What will the Ambassadors do? Science Ambassadors could take part in a range of activities including: supporting teachers with the delivery of the school curriculum. They may do this by arranging and leading groups in experiments, arranging and/or accompanying visits to outside organisations, or by taking appropriate parts of lessons as agreed by the teacher; supporting or running out of school activities, such as Clubs, CREST and other Awards and competitions; mentoring individual students; and addressing school groups about their experiences. Ambassadors may also work with schools and teachers providing workplace visits, work placements and technical support for teachers without working directly with young people. What happens to existing schemes? We want them to continue. We hope their operators will see the value of bringing them within a high-profile brand. Why do we need yet another scheme? Ambassadors is not strictly a ‘scheme’. It is about bringing together existing schemes under one umbrella, which we hope will help them have more impact. By strengthening links to the local SETPoints and to the new Education Business Link Consortia (in England), it will be easier for schools to link-up with local businesses as well as to participate in any of the existing schemes, such as the Neighbourhood Engineers Programme. When will the scheme be launched? The Ambassadors scheme will be launched during Science Year and will be one of Science Year’s lasting legacies. How many Ambassadors will there be? We would like to be able to offer Ambassadors to every school that wants them. Where are you going to get all these Ambassadors from? We think the key lies in getting more local, regional and national businesses involved through the SETPoints and, in England, the local Learning and Skills Councils and Education Business Link Consortia building on links established through other programmes. Once the word spreads, and people see the benefits, we think we will see a gradual increase in participation. We want to involve a wide range of specialists from both industry and higher education institutions so that young people become aware of the variety of careers that are available to scientists and engineers. What sort of people will these Ambassadors be? There is no blueprint for the ideal Ambassador. The essential qualification will be an ability to enthuse young people and engage them with science, technology, engineering or maths. Someone at technician level has as much to offer as someone with degree (or higher) qualifications. A genuine interest in children and education is important and we want to ensure that we have a range of people in terms of their age, sex, background and level of expertise. What are the benefits to schools? Teachers will effectively have another resource available to support their delivery of the curriculum. Normally teachers welcome the opportunity to have someone alongside them in the classroom who brings a different perspective and an insight into the world of work. Naturally, they will want any Ambassador to be properly prepared and to have the opportunity to plan with them what role they will play, and how this will benefit their pupils. A well-structured session can do a lot to motivate pupils and add to the teacher’s and pupils’ knowledge. What are the benefits for industry/higher education? Experience of the organisations that already engage in this kind of activity is that it is an excellent way to develop the confidence and communication skills of individual staff, especially those near the start of their careers. In addition, this is an opportunity for industry and higher education institutions to build stronger links within their local communities. We sometimes hear from employers that their technical people lack the ‘softer’ people skills. Working with young people is rewarding, and can also be challenging. It brings new skills and increased self-confidence. We believe that the experience gained by Ambassadors could be an important part of their professional development and we anticipate that professional institutions will come to recognise participation as a part of Continuing Professional Development. How do we get involved? The network of SETPoints around the country will be working at the local level to bring schools and industry together. We are working on the details of how this will operate in practice but your local SETPoint will be the first port of call. Will Ambassadors get any training? It is vitally important that people going into schools feel confident about what they can offer. We are currently looking at examples of good practice in existing schemes. We know that some of the well-established schemes do offer training to their industry participants. There are other resources that may be helpful. For example, we are giving thought to guidance for schools to help them get the best out of having an Ambassador. We will also consider whether it would be appropriate to develop accreditation for Ambassadors. What funding is available? The number of existing Ambassador-type activities, and the conversations we have had with some of those academic and commercial organisations operating them, clearly show that the concept is widely recognised as valuable. All those concerned meet their own costs, with the largest element being the opportunity costs of removing people from their day-to-day environments. We anticipate providing funding towards the administrative costs involved, primarily by the SETPoints, in finding appropriate individuals and co-ordinating their deployment and any necessary training. What about health and safety and indemnity insurance? Schools and LEAs, like all public bodies, have a duty to ensure the health and safety of anyone on site, which can be achieved through careful risk assessment. They are not required to take out specific insurance, although if they feel that it is needed they should check first if the existing policy, which will usually have been taken out by the LEA, provides adequate coverage. Will there be police checks on Ambassadors? From this autumn, everyone who has contact with children in schools will need to apply to the Criminal Records Bureau for disclosure of their criminal record. As Ambassadors will be volunteers, they will not be charged for these Disclosures. Three levels of Disclosure are being introduced and it seems likely at this stage that Ambassadors, who will not be taking on individual responsibilities for pupils but will be working together with teachers, will be eligible for one of the lower level Disclosures, which the Criminal Records Bureau will be aiming to turn around within 3 days. Schools will be given full guidance. Science and Engineering Ambassadors Scheme Forum The Department of Trade and Industry and the Department for Education and Skills are holding a Forum on Monday 9 July at the British Academy, 10 Carlton House Terrace, London, and will run from 9:00 a.m. and finish with lunch. Please reply by 21 June. Many of you will have heard about the Science and Engineering Ambassadors Scheme (SEAS) announced in the 2000 White Paper, "Excellence and Opportunity". A number of organisations are already engaged in this type of activity and are well aware of the benefits to themselves and their staff as well as to schools. SEAS is intended to strengthen and extend the existing activities, not replace them. At the Forum we will put our ideas to a variety of organisations. We hope to learn from the experiences of others and to draw in more organisations. SEAS will be an "umbrella" which will provide support, guidance and "matchmaking" services to schools, businesses and other organisations that want to take part. It will be a major feature and lasting legacy of Science Year, which begins in September. If you would like you to attend the meeting please contact Michael.mcdermott@dti.gsi.gov.uk with your name, organisation, address, email and any special needs or dietary requirements. Space is limited and we are only able to offer organisations one place. We have had to await the outcome of the General Election before publicising the Forum, hence the short notice and the request that you reply by 21 June. We will let you know whether you have a place as soon as possible after 25 June by email. Science Year Funded Projects A reminder that the closing date for project applications is June 17th. Please make sure that any applications are submitted before this date. Work Experience at Science Year An exciting opportunity has arisen for work experience at Science Year. The Science Year team are looking for an enthusiastic individual to help with administration and general support duties from now until the end of August this year. Although this voluntary role will involve routine office tasks, the post holder will also have the opportunity to meet and work with the key players in Science Year, attend meetings and events and gain valuable experience in the Science arena. Science Year will be able to make a contribution towards travel expenses. If you are interested, please send a short paragraph, explaining why you would like to work with the Science Year team and including your name, experience and contact details, to melanie@scienceyear.com. Hot News Use the link at the top of this page for this week’s Hot News from The Science Museum Input We have had some contributions from readers but if you have information to share we would be delighted to add it to our newsletter - as and when appropriate so please feel free to pass such ‘news’ to us. Please e-mail Jenni Barker jenni.barker@scienceyear.com as soon as you have anything you would like us to include. Return to archive