When it comes to our children’s learning, we might consider science and maths to be something that’s best left to the professionals, the realm of teachers and schools. While there is no substitute for the important work that goes on in our schools, the influence of parents on their children cannot be understated. Parents have a profound effect on their children and their children’s learning, aspirations and attitudes. It’s for this reason that we at Technocamps have decided to look at ways of engaging parents to help them support their children’s learning and enjoyment of STEM.

The first phase of this is a simple survey to find out exactly what parents will find most useful – we’re open to ideas! We want to know how confident parents feel when it comes to encouraging their children’s natural love of science if they feel that they can help their children with homework and if they know how to talk to their children about STEM careers. While you might feel it’s too soon to start talking to your children about the world of work, evidence suggests that having these conversations early can set your child up for future success. 

Children are naturally curious, but parents who might not have been in a classroom for decades may feel that the world has moved on and they are uncertain how to support their child’s sense of wonder, especially if they have poor experiences in school. We’re keen to create something that parents won’t consider yet another item on a never-ending To-Do List, but rather a resource which gives them the tools to put a science slant on the fantastic parenting which is already going on.

If you are a parent and would like to help us out, please fill in our survey – it’s very short, and there’s a space at the end for you to put any ideas that you have. Anything that you have to say will be useful. We would also be grateful if you could share this with any other parents or parenting groups that you know.