World Children’s Day

This Friday, November 20th, is World Children’s Day - a day to reimagine a better future for every child. To mark the occasion, we are shining the spotlight on DJRFF’s central mission of educating, empowering and improving the lives of children and taking a look at the top 5 ways our projects and partnerships are making a difference.

1. Extraordinary outdoor experiences

In seeking to improve children’s lives, one of our primary objectives is to make learning engaging, exciting and enjoyable- and we firmly believe that hands-on activities are key to this mission.

With the help of our “Beehives for Schools” project, schools have been able to create outdoor classroom environments centred around real apiaries. Suited and booted in full protective clothing, pupils get stuck into practical beekeeping tasks including colony inspections, forage planting and honey extraction. As well as building unique skills and an understanding of wider environmental issues, the powerful impact of these activities can be seen particularly in children who might struggle with traditional schooling but truly thrive in these engaging outdoor environments.

2. Creative computing that appeals to all

Digital education has undergone a transformation in recent years, with the phasing out of ICT and introduction of a new computing curriculum. However, the renewed emphasis on technical skills - particularly coding - risks alienating many young people and leaving them disengaged with this hugely important subject.

With digital technology increasingly central to our lives, it’s more important than ever that children are enthused by digital education. Against this background, we have created our “Get Creative with Data” lessons to promote a pioneering digital education that appeals to all. The development of technical skills sits alongside an in-depth, hands-on exploration of the real world applications of data and digital technology- from healthcare and sport to environmental protection and gaming, and many more.

3. Skills for the future

We also want to ensure that young people are leaving education with the confidence that they have the necessary skills for their next steps: not only vocational and technical skills, but also the “soft” skills that are all too often overlooked.

Through our membership of the Skills Builder Partnership, we support schools, teachers and young people to recognise and promote a core set of eight essential skills: Listening, Speaking, Problem Solving, Creativity, Staying Positive, Aiming High, Leadership and Teamwork. When exploring machine learning and AI in our “Get Creative with Data” lessons, for example, pupils exercise their problem solving skills to tackle some of the tough ethical questions surrounding these technologies. Over by the apiary, meanwhile, our budding beekeepers employ their teamwork skills to operate honey extraction equipment and harvest enough honey for everyone to have a taste.

4. Closing the digital divide

In recent years, research has shown a deeply worrying divide between rich and poor pupils in the take-up of computing education. The Roehampton Annual Computing Education Report from 2018 showed that the more affluent the intake of a school, the more likely it is to offer GCSE computer science. Pupil Premium students are significantly underrepresented in computing GCSE entries, and score lower grades than their more affluent counterparts.

We are working hard to ensure that our “Get Creative with Data” course is a positive force in tackling these challenges. The lesson materials are completely free for schools, and we offer bursaries to support schools in making the most of the resources with trips and visits to see data science in action. We are also proud to be working with the University of Loughborough on a collaborative PhD studentship, researching how these interventions can make a positive impact in breaking down barriers to participation in computing.

5. Tackling digital poverty

Across the country, many thousands of young people are falling behind with their education because they cannot access the internet at home- an issue that has fallen into even sharper focus in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

We have partnered with the Laptops for Kids campaign to help every child get the tools they need to fulfil their potential. Starting in Sheffield, the campaign is calling on organisations and individuals to donate their unused tech which will be distributed to families in need, making an immediate, tangible difference to their lives and the opportunities available to them.

If you have any devices to donate, please contact laptopsforkids@wandisco.com.

For more information about any of our projects, please do get in touch.