An education project led by an academic at Leeds Trinity University has been recognised for its work to support primary science education in the local community.
The project, led by Dr Leigh Hoath from Leeds Trinity's Institute of Childhood and Education, involved a working party of teachers reviewing materials used within the BASF Bradford Kids Lab to improve primary science outreach.
As a result, the Lab has received a Raising the Bar award for its contribution to supporting education in the local community.
Dr Hoath and the working party reviewed materials before creating a model which aligned the Lab's activities with the national curriculum, linked them closely with the processes taking place on the Bradford industrial site and culminated in specific training in teaching strategies for BASF staff leading the Kids Lab sessions. This model is being rolled out across other BASF sites in 2019 with the support of Leeds Trinity University.
Dr Leigh Hoath, Senior Lecturer in Science Education at Leeds Trinity University, said: "It has been a fantastic opportunity to work with teachers in order to develop the outreach work of such a large chemical company. Industry outreach is based around the companies doing something because it seems like the right thing to do and it was fabulous to take something that was good and make it even better. The materials now fully support the national curriculum and teaching of primary science"
BASF's Kids' Lab programme aims to promote science to primary school children in over 30 countries globally. Dr Geoff Mackey, Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Director, said "The opportunities that come from bringing academia and industry closer together should not be underestimated. This has been an exemplary project that will be taken further with the support from Leigh because of its initial successes".
Raising the Bar is an initiative from The West and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce that enables companies to document and benchmark how they help local communities, education, the economy and the environment.