STEAM Hub

Main aims of the project in 2019 - 20

Camden is a unique borough where science, technology and creativity meet, with world-leading organisations on our doorstep. The Camden STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths) Commission was set up to consider how young people in our borough can better benefit from these opportunities. The Commission’s report, “Creating Camden’s 21st Century Talent”, launched last June at

Google, recommending that a fusion of creative, scientific and digital skills and knowledge will be crucial for young people in the 21st century economy. Just as STEM skills are essential to growth and productivity right across the economy, so are creative skills and the ability to innovate, and businesses that fuse creativity, digital and science skills have been demonstrated to have higher levels of growth and innovation than the wider economy.

The Commission believes that a blending of scientific, engineering, technology, maths and creative skill sets are needed in varying degrees in occupations across the economy and that creative subjects should not only be taught alongside the core academic subjects, but all these subjects should be taught through each other. Bringing creativity into science education, or teaching digital skills as part of the creative arts, helps to reinforce learning, build connections and develop the creative, adaptable problem solvers our economy increasingly needs. Combining what we would historically describe as the Sciences and the Arts, together with entrepreneurship, will be key to the future of businesses and individuals’ life chances, developing people with creative flair and technical excellence.

STEAM Leaders will:

Be supported to audit their school’s STEAM provision, and identify goals.
Attend half-termly masterclasses with STEAM businesses and institutions, Hub lead schools and curriculum experts.
Co-develop curriculum and pedagogical approaches and resources. The focus will be on the process of designing a STEAM scheme of work for their school.
Create and implement an action plan for embedding STEAM at a curriculum- and whole-school level.
Showcase their learning at the end-of-year STEAM Exhibition.
Feed in to the development of the Camden Curriculum (an entitlement for all pupils in Camden, being developed by the 5 lead Hub schools).

Want to get involved?

Which staff would benefit from joining any why?

Curriculum leads from STEAM departments. For secondary schools, it would be beneficial to have curriculum leads from both STEM and arts subjects involved.

Middle/senior leaders with oversight of curriculum, careers, enrichment etc.

More junior staff with an interest in STEAM, if paired up with a more senior colleague/mentor.

What does the Hub plan to achieve and what resources will be created?

Strand 1: STEAM curriculum and pedagogy

Primary STEAM Leaders will focus on embedding STEAM using a cross-curricular/ project-based approach.
Secondary STEAM Leaders will focus on how STEM subjects can be taught in a creative way, encouraging a fusion between the sciences and the arts.

Strand 2: Whole-school approach

STEAM Leaders will also develop approaches to embedding STEAM across the school, for example through links with the school’s programme of careers education.

Strand 3: Camden Curriculum

The 5 schools running the Hub will develop a Camden curriculum, with feed-in from STEAM Leaders. This will be launched for the 2019-2020 academic year.