Working together to build a stronger future for all

Local construction firm, Orkney Builders, joined forces with pupils at Glaitness Primary School recently to deliver practical, hands-on workshops to bring building and engineering to life for some of our young students.

With a building site for the nursery expansion right outside the classroom, P4 teacher, Paige Archibald, considered how to turn this from a potentially noisy distraction to a vehicle for engaging STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) teaching and learning experiences.

Thanks to collaborative working with Colin Nisbet, Orkney’s Education Support Officer for STEM, and Callum Murdoch, Orkney Builders Contracts Manager, sector-led and class input workshops were held at the school.

They used KAPLA wooden blocks for building and MakeDo cardboard toolkits, allowing them to explore through play building towers, creating/copying designs and undertaking other small-scale challenges

“The KAPLA challenges were awesome” -pupil

Pupils were asked to construct a creative marble run using the information, hints and tips they had received from the professionals.

Colin ran an introductory session using MakeDo cardboard construction tools where pupils gained experience in using a saw and screwdriver. Pupils were also set a challenge to plan and design a 3-dimensional junk animal with at least one moving part and all groups successfully produced an animal which fulfilled the design brief. They then moved on to building a classroom den/reading area. The class worked together to design and build this, including some pupils who are often more reluctant to engage in group activities.

“I learnt more about hand-eye coordination and how to keep your hand straight with a saw” – pupil

Paige Archibald said: “The project and series of class inputs provided a great stimulus for a variety of cross curricular followup tasks which the pupils continued to immerse themselves in. With literacy (particularly writing), numeracy and STEM all mentioned within the Glaitness School Improvement Plan for 2021/22, this project was an innovative way to develop school improvement priorities using STEM as a rich context for learning.

“A particular focus of mine was to try and increase engagement and motivation towards literacy. This project opened up endless opportunities for both talking and listening and writing lessons, including: imaginative newspaper articles about the builders discovering gold during the new build, thank you letters for visiting professionals, a recount of the experience of one of the visitors, drawing up plans for our own junk -modelled classroom den, five points of characterisation based around their animal creations and finally, imaginative stories written in pupils’ free time based solely on the animal they made using the tools. This was probably the biggest win for us, as two incredibly reluctant writers were asking to go and write another page of their book during their own free time. This resulted in a 13-page story with a clear beginning, middle and end to the life of ‘Barry the Dragon’ (Barry became somewhat of a school celebrity!).”

Following on from the success of the ‘tools’ projects, and to continue promoting cross-circular links through STEM, Paige and the class set up a Christmas enterprise project selling homemade candles in conjunction with another local business. The pupils had one aim from this project – raise enough money to buy their own set of KAPLA blocks. The project saw pupils writing scripts and recording promotional videos and as well as costing and designing labels. The class smashed their fundraising goal and bought their own set of MakeDo tools with the extra profit.

To continue to build positive links between the school and Orkney Builders, pupils are going for a site visit in term 3 to see how the new build is progressing and the class are already planning their next STEM challenge using their own MakeDo and KAPLA sets.

Colin Nisbet said: “Orkney schools can utilise their own toolkit and workbench, as well as borrow the centrally held OIC KAPLA crate if needed. The project was used to lead a school professional learning session to highlight STEM as a vehicle for crosscurricular learning. It has been a catalyst for other STEM activities across different levels within Glaitness, including pupils undertaking the Young STEM Leader non formal level 2 Award, classes exploring electrical circuits through problem solving challenges, and practitioners introducing digital technology such as Micro:Bits to lessons to promote coding and other digital literacy. The collaboration between Glaitness and Orkney Builders is beneficial and there will be a legacy to build upon at the school and beyond.”

Head Teacher Ingrid Rendall added: “The project has created such valuable learning across the curriculum. The children were so motivated and engaged in all aspects, even those reluctant writers. Creating their own characters allowed for development of so many skills – working together, problem solving, creativity to name a few. The sense of success they expressed was really inspiring. The opportunity to have the staff support and engaging with industry through Orkney Builders, presently on the school site, gave the whole project such added value and relevance. Just so worthwhile.”

“I really enjoyed sawing off the wood to make the wooden Santas” - pupil

Orkney Builders Callum Murdoch said: “Orkney Builders were proud to have sent representatives to primary 4 to speak to the pupils about what we do as builders. We discussed the different projects we have carried out around Orkney, the works being carried out within the school itself and the importance of Health and Safety in what we do every day. We carried out a practical workshop where the pupils used KAPLA blocks to construct models of bridges, buildings and even the St Magnus Cathedral.

“Pupils had to consider what tools they would use if they were actual builders and considered the techniques that would be required to ensure their structures could stand up. All of these discussions and activities were undertaken with great enthusiasm, with some fantastic innovation and creativity shown by the pupils. The sessions highlighted the importance of developing the skills of the pupils and we are hopeful that it has sparked an interest in the construction industry, within these future builders and engineers!”

For further details please contact Colin Nisbet - Orkney Islands Council (OIC) Education Support Officer: STEM. colinwilliam.nisbet@glow.orkneyschools.org.uk