Heidi and Marco picking up STEAM

Youngsters that have missed out on classroom time as a result of the pandemic are catching up on their learning thanks to Foundation of Light’s Study and Play programme. Throughout the school holidays children joined in curriculum-based activities as part of our dedicated sessions. Sphero educational kits and robots have brought interactive learning into the classroom, introducing young people to computer science and coding. Marco and Heidi Towers from Houghton-le-Spring joined the first-ever Sphero holiday course earlier this year and liked it so much they were the first to sign up during the May school break. After the sessions their mother, Laura, said they couldn’t wait to come back: “They both really enjoyed learning how to work the robots and taking part in the tasks they were set. “It’s ideal as they’re having an educational experience but don’t actually realise it because they’re having that much fun. “The catch-up sessions are in-line with the curriculum that they’ve missed and they’re both so engaged and learning new things. Eight-year-old Marco was one of the first children to try out the Sphero educational kits and it didn’t take him long to crack the challenges. The STEAM-based programme inspires imaginative play-based learning by encouraging creativity, while teaching critical problem-solving and computational thinking skills.