Primary Focus Areas

Primary Major Awards must be for projects aimed at one of our main focus areas (STEM, PE and Learning to Learn). 

Primary Minor Awards may be focussed on our main focus areas or our wider focus areas of English and Foundation Subjects.

 

MAIN FOCUS AREAS

STEM

These are the subject areas of: science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.  As well as learning and skills in the specific subjects, we also value other over-arching skill sets such as:

  • Integration of content into other subjects
  • Engagement in systematic enquiry
  • Engagement in logical reasoning
  • Interpretation and communication of information
  • Collaboration as a team

In my capacity as an NCCE Professional Development Lead I recommend EduFundUK to all Hertfordshire schools I have contact with. I think you are doing an amazing thing for schools, so it's a HUGE thank you from me.

St Nicholas C of E Primary School and Nursery, October 2024

Physical Education

We will consider any bid which is designed to enhance the delivery of a curriculum which seeks to develop the knowledge, skills and confidence to be physically active for a lifetime. Any bid could include any of the following aspects

  • Instruction in any skills that are designed to enhance child and adolescent development in one or more sports or activities.
  • Fitness education and assessment that allows for understanding and improvement of physical well-being.
  • Development of cognitive concepts related to motor skills and fitness.
  • Opportunities to improve social and cooperative skills.
  • Opportunities to increase the value placed on physical activity for health, enjoyment, self expression, challenge and confidence.
  • Opportunities to increase an understanding of differing roles within physical education  - coach, official etc.

Please ensure that your bid (If appropriate)

  • Ensures that motor skills, physical activity, and fitness assessments are age and developmentally appropriate.
  • Uses methods of teaching motor and movement skills that ensure that basic skills lead to more advanced skills.
  • Plans to appropriately monitor, reinforce, and prepare for student learning.

 

Learning to Learn

 

Essentially, we are looking to fund the delivery, implementation and practice of learning-to-learn techniques  that help pupils learn more quickly, thoroughly, easily, enjoyably and/or permanently across a (preferably) wide range of subjects.  We envisage that this will primarily involve outside organisations training staff and/or pupils in learning techniques and/or embedding new strategies or curriculum approaches.  This will usually be across the school but can be focussed on targeted pupils.  Equipment, software and other resources to enable improved learning techniques to be used can all form part of the bid.

 

Helped our students with retrieval of key facts and concepts. Definitely contributed to our best GCSE results ever!

Roundwood Park School, October 2024

What are learning-to-learn techniques?

There are many learning to learn techniques that might be taught, for example:

  • Revision/Exam Techniques: e.g. memory and revision techniques, dual coding information, mind-maps, focus, planning, time-management techniques.
  • Thinking skills: e.g. critical thinking, ideas generation and evaluation, assimilating information, problem solving, applying Bloom’s Taxonomy skills.
  • Learning styles: e.g. how the brain learns, VAK, 8 intelligences, groupwork, thinking maps, sensory learning etc.

Click for a pdf of Learning to Learn techniques examples

This is by no means an exhaustive list of learning techniques and we are always happy to consider arguments for other ideas that will help your particular pupils learn more effectively.

 

What do we fund under the Learning to Learn category?

  Examples of L2L projects might include:

  • Whole-school or year-group learning days or longer programs delivered by specialists directly to (e.g. Glia Learning, Thinking Matters, Inner Drive, Elevate Education)
  • Software, books, equipment etc to facilitate the teaching and use of these enhanced learning techniques. 
  • INSET training to teach staff learning to learn techniques and how to deliver them.  (NB:  We don't fund cover costs)
  • Longer term programs (e.g. spread over a year or more) to introduce and embed more effective learning.

 

Projects we are unlikely to fund under our Learning to Learn category

  • Learning to Learn bids solely for equipment in a single subject.  Equipment-only bids which will enhance learning in one particular subject  e.g. manipulatives in maths, practical experiment in science, subject specific interactive software.  These should be applied for under that subject's focus area.
  • General environments and their associated furnishings (e.g. small-group rooms, well-being/sensory rooms, outdoor learning areas and benches, cushions etc)

 

WIDER FOCUS AREAS (Primary Minor Awards Only)

Resources for the following two focus areas may also be applied for in the primary Minor Award application form

 

English

  • Any aspect of the English curriculum, from earliest phonics teaching (and later intervention) to the most challenging aspects of UKS2 grammar.
  • As with all focus areas, we love to support projects which enhance learning and motivation across a range of topics within the subject.

 

Foundation Subjects

  • We are keen to support projects which enhance learning in NC foundation subjects.
  • We are particularly aware of the difficulties teachers face in trying to become experts in all of the wide range of foundation subjects as well as in English, Maths and Science.  For this reason, we are particularly open to teacher training or resources which help teachers develop their own expertise in foundation subjects and/or enhance pupil learning in them.