Learning & Development: STEM - Future-proof

STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – pervades our lives. It’s widely recognised that it’s important to interest and educate children in these areas and work towards closing the gender and ethnic gap often found in STEM professions. Despite this, these are subjects that many early years practitioners shy away from, but staff at Effra Nursery School in Brixton, south London, are making a concerted effort to embrace STEM and are inspiring the children to get hands-on and investigate.

The initiative – which started in September last year – is being led by nursery teacher Stella Carefull, who recognised that while the nursery was strong in mathematics, it was lacking focus when it came to science, technology and engineering. ‘I believe in the importance of having positive role models and it fills me with dismay that the girls that I work with are increasingly aspiring to be princesses. I feel it’s important to show children the world and open their options,’ she says. ‘Unfortunately, a lot of focus is on teaching STEM in secondary schools and not with early years children. We’re based in a mixed area with children from all backgrounds and I want them to understand from an early age that it’s not only white, middle-class males who can achieve in STEM.’