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Leading STEM Futures - Secondary
Part of the Empowering Educators CPD Programme
Developed and delivered in partnership with Cummins UK, BT and STEM Learning
Are you an existing/aspiring leader of STEM subjects in a Scottish secondary school?
Are you looking to modernise and contextualise how numeracy and wider STEM is delivered within your school?
Do you want to properly connect your curriculum, learning and teaching to industry, FE/HE?
Do you want to increase learner, wider family and community engagement in STEM?
This innovative, fully funded CPD course is designed to empower current and aspiring leaders in secondary schools; appreciating that numeracy sits at the centre of our STEM curriculum and underpins STEM industry. Through a rich blend of hands-on learning, collaboration, and STEM sector engagement, the programme will deepen understanding of how numeracy drives innovation across all STEM fields: from science and engineering, to manufacturing and medicine, computing and life sciences to green energy. As an individual, or as part of a school "Micro-Team" (up to four teachers per school, representing a spread of STEM subjects) will take part in this course, driving genuine and impactful change across their full STEM curriculum, completing a change project and reporting on its success.
Why Join This Course?
Scotland's economy is rapidly evolving, with key growth sectors in STEM driving national and global change. Yet, many learners fail to see the vital role that maths and wider STEM knowledge and skills play in these industries. This course addresses that gap by equipping teachers with the knowledge, tools, and partnerships needed to bring the relevance of STEM knowledge and skills to life in the classroom and to lead change within their schools.
Course Highlights
- Collaborative Leadership Development: Connect with fellow educators leading STEM across partnership schools to share strategies, resources, and challenges.
- Industry & Sector Engagement: Gain direct insight into how numeracy is used in real STEM careers through engagement with industry partners, colleges (FE), and universities (HE).
- Curriculum Enrichment: Learn how to integrate practical, cross-disciplinary STEM contexts into teaching — from coding and data science to energy systems and biomedicine.
- Upskilling Across Disciplines: Enhance your ability to support colleagues across science, technology, engineering, and maths departments with an integrated, future-facing approach.
- Hands-On Learning Experiences: Discover ready-to-use classroom activities that bring maths to life across all STEM subjects and align with real-world applications.
- Alignment with National Priorities: Support your school’s development plans and Scotland’s STEM education strategy by strengthening the link between education and economic opportunity.
Who Should Attend?
This programme has space for ten schools to take part across the academic year 26/27. Each school should be represented by 1 to 4 teachers who will attend all CPD sessions, this Micro-Team should be made up of:
- Secondary teachers of STEM subjects with leadership responsibilities or ambitions
- STEM subject leads or coordinators
- Teachers seeking to build interdisciplinary STEM capacity in their schools
- Educators passionate about connecting curriculum to real-world impact
Outcomes
By the end of the course, participants will:
- Understand the pivotal role of maths and wider STEM knowledge, skills and applications in careers and innovations
- Be equipped to lead change and promote STEM collaboration in their school
- Have access to a network of peers, partners, and resources that extend beyond the classroom
- Feel confident embedding contextual, hands-on STEM experiences into the STEM curriculum
- Be able to inspire learners by linking numeracy to Scotland’s future-focused industries
"One of the real strengths of the course was the way it brought together educationalists, academics, industry partners, and national system leaders in a purposeful and balanced way. Input from universities and industry was complemented by valuable contributions from Education Scotland, which helped ground discussion in current national priorities while remaining firmly connected to classroom reality. This blend of perspectives reinforced the central role of mathematics across STEM and made the learning feel both relevant and forward-looking, while also providing valuable signposts to share with pupils around STEM careers, university courses, Graduate Apprenticeships, and more short term current opportunities in supporting pupils with their SQA STEM subjects directly at National 5 and beyond."
Steven Simpson - Sgoil Lionacleit Mathematics Department
Sarah-May Burrell - St Andrew's RC Secondary, Glasgow
Course components - cohort 2 (26/27)
Application Information
By completing an application, you are accepting all of the following terms and conditions:
- Applicants must be current teachers in Scotland, GTCS registered and PVG scheme members
- Ten schools across Scotland will take part and places are awarded by a judging team and their decision is final
- Applicants must provide personal data which will be securely stored by TEAS; successful applicant data will be stored for up to 12 months after the programme is complete, applicants not chosen will have their data deleted immediately
- Applicants must have the approval and supporting statement of their Headteacher to participate in this course
- Successful applicants will commit to attending all face-to-face and in-person classes/sessions listed in the programme timeline and accept that low attendance may result in their withdrawal from the course
- Headteachers will release all staff on all dates to attend this course fully
- Successful applicants will take part in evaluation activity to assess the impact of the programme
- Successful applicants consent to video/photography and its use to promote and celebrate the programme
- Applicants accept that completing the application process in no way guarantees their selection for the programme
Become an Education Funding Partner
Supporting a scholarship allows organisations to demonstrate and celebrate their commitment to supporting educational opportunities for young people and adults in Scotland; making it clear that these organisations recognise and value the talents and potential of people in their local or national community.
Our Education Funding Partners make up a growing and diverse group of companies who make success in education a reality for The Education Academy Scotland Scholars.