Full STEAM Ahead! A Partnership Approach to STEAM in Youthreach
Year Awarded
2022
Amount
€299,725
- Organisation:National Youth Council of Ireland
- Audience:Post Primary Teachers - Senior Cycle
- Format:Informal Education
- Location:national
- Topic:Science
Project Summary
The project will address a gap that exists nationally in science/STEAM education for young people who attend Youthreach. Youthreach is a nationwide programme that provides early school leavers with opportunities to progress their education in supportive, alternative settings. It is a crucial part of the education system, including 6,000 of Ireland’s most disadvantaged young people.
NYCI and partners are seeking €300,000 for Phase 2 of a national development programme, which is successfully transforming the capacity of this entire education sector to deliver inspiring STEAM education.
Prior to this project, STEAM education in Youthreach was outdated and limited. Since 2021, ‘STEAM in Youthreach 1’ has made significant progress towards addressing this gap through training/supporting 154 Youthreach staff to deliver STEAM EPE to 1,560 students in 39 centres (out of 110 centres). Now there is a need to build on the interest generated to date, and the considerable development work undertaken, to ensure STEAM EPE becomes embedded in the long-term within Youthreach by:
-Developing accredited STEAM Education awards at levels 3 and 4 of the National Qualifications Framework.
-Rolling STEAM education out to the 70 Youthreach centres that the project has not yet had the capacity to support.
-Further developing and accrediting professional learning and development (PL&D) modules and embedding them within established infrastructure for Ireland’s 16 local Education and Training Boards.
There is strong appetite within the sector for this, and commitment to sustaining STEAM education in Youthreach in the long-term. The partners are ideally placed to respond to these needs.