Building Skills, Inspiring Futures: Supporting Innovation in North East Classrooms

Two seven-week programmes, delivered at a primary school in the North East of England, encouraged pupils to apply creative thinking to develop an innovative product, which stemmed from the selection of random household items.

In the opening sessions, our STEAM ambassadors provided an introduction to Pearson Engineering, sharing insights into our work, Front-End Equipment and robotics engineering. To engage the pupils’ creativity from the outset, they were tasked with designing a robot that could assist with everyday tasks. The inventive ideas included robots that could cook breakfast, assist unwell individuals at home, and even help complete homework.

Over the subsequent five weeks of each programme, the focus shifted to developing their chosen household items into another practical product. Pupils explored product naming, advertising strategies, pricing, and ways to differentiate their products through innovation.

The final week culminated in a Dragon’s Den-style pitch, where each team presented their product to our STEAM ambassadors, who acted as judges. Some of the impressive concepts included:

• An AI paintbrush designed to ensure paint never goes over the lines
• A multifunctional wooden spoon capable of cooking any meal
• A lunchbox with compartments to keep food hot on one side and cold on the other
• Spy sunglasses with multiple disguises for various situations
• Personalised gardening gloves tailored to the user’s needs

One of our STEAM ambassadors, who is a Learning & Development Manager said,

“The ‘On the Up’ programme is an incredibly valuable initiative for schools, introducing primary-aged children to vital concepts in marketing, product design, and teamwork at an early stage.

I found the programme to be hugely beneficial for the young people involved. They developed confidence, freedom of thought, and contributed key ideas in every session. Activities like this are essential for embedding STEAM learning in the classroom, helping to nurture creativity alongside technical thinking.

For local engineering companies, such as Pearson Engineering and Responsive Engineering to be supporting this programme isn’t just about giving back, it’s an investment in future innovators, right here in our community.”

Vicki Stone, Founder & Director at Upstart Enterprise, said,

“It was great working with Pearson Engineering and their staff volunteers. All the volunteers team rolled up their sleeves and got stuck in, attending the school each week. The children rose to the challenge and learnt so much about careers, manufacturing and even robots!”

One of the teachers from the school involved in the programme added,

“The children have gained really valuable knowledge and expertise about lots of different aspects of creating and growing a business. They used teamwork skills weekly to build their pitches and work on presentations. They used their creativity and design skills to design logos and create an advert for their products. The children have gained a great insight into engineering thanks to Pearson and the range of jobs and expertise within one company.”

We would like to congratulate all the pupils who took part in this inspiring programme. Their creativity, teamwork, and problem-solving skills were exceptional, and we hope it has sparked an interest in pursuing future careers in STEAM disciplines.

Here’s some of the example drawings the pupils submitted: