Case study: Sheffield Hallam University

Sheffield Hallam University, South Yorkshire

Status: completed

Tomorrow’s Climate Scientists

Tomorrow's Climate Scientists was a Partnership Seed Grant project delivered by Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) in partnership with the University of Sheffield. The project paired primary schools across South Yorkshire with STEM professionals to design and deliver locally rooted climate science investigations with children in Years 3 to 6.

Schools were targeted by prioritising those with high proportions of children eligible for free school meals, high proportions of students with SEND, high representation of students from UK minority ethnic backgrounds, and schools in areas where there is typically lower engagement with higher education. The participating schools therefore spanned three local authorities - Sheffield, Rotherham, and Doncaster. The team utilised SHU’s extensive South Yorkshire networks, including the Sustainable Schools Network, LearnSheffield, the Rotherham School Improvement Service (RoSIS), the SHU Outreach team, and personal contacts to recruit schools. Teachers were asked to confirm school leadership support as part of their expression of interest and onboarding.

STEM professionals came from a variety of backgrounds and included postdoctoral researchers, PhD students, academics, local authority officers, and industry professionals from Sheffield Hallam University, the University of Sheffield, Doncaster Council, and the South Yorkshire Sustainability Centre. STEM professionals were matched to schools based on their area of research interest and the school's chosen investigation theme.

The investigations were designed to be hands-on, locally contextualised, and collaborative, so that students were able to gather data about their own environment rather than a generic topic. Schools therefore selected projects from a menu of themes, including air quality, biodiversity, renewable energy, sustainable drainage, thermal energy, and weather and flooding.

CPD was delivered through multiple modes. Online sessions for STEM professionals covered the practicalities of working in schools, age-appropriate pedagogy, and an introduction to the investigations, while online sessions for teachers covered effective engagement with STEM professionals and an introduction to the project. A face-to-face session at SHU brought teachers and STEM professionals together to meet, explore investigation equipment and resources, and begin collaborative planning. This joint day was consistently identified by participants as a highlight of the programme.

The SHU team reported that one of the most powerful outcomes of the project, particularly for participants who had not previously worked with primary-age children, was the depth of the resulting engagement, which extended beyond the classroom into home conversations, family involvement, and unprompted behaviour change.

Through the strong partnerships developed through this project, teachers and STEM professionals described genuine collaboration, shared ownership and mutual learning.

STEM professional – “She recognised that I was an expert in research design and climate science. I recognised that she was a specialist in understanding Year 4. Both of us drew out what that could look like together.”

Teacher – “I observed children trying to make a green corridor with grass and leaves 'for woodlice' across the playground later in the year, using information they had gained from their STEM partner.”

So far, three schools have applied for Royal Society Partnership Grants, with others in active conversations and planning future applications.