Bouygues UK has been working in collaboration with learning technology company Aspire 2Be and a consortium of industry and education partners to incorporate a range of construction resources into the new school curriculum in Wales.
Supported by The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), the jointly designed Go Construct Educate resources will be available to every school, teacher and pupil across Wales from ages six – 16 and is aimed at encouraging young people to consider a future career in the construction industry.
Ahead of its official launch in September, teachers and pupils gathered across Wales to attend GoConstruct ‘buildathons’ at Coleg Cambria in Deeside, Parc y Scarlets in Llanelli and Sophia Gardens in Cardiff to familiarise themselves with the three Go Construct Projects and learn more about the resources available to them in the new term.
[aoa id=”1″]Pupils were assigned roles as Project Managers, Architects and Construction Managers, and asked to design and build a rugby or cricket fan village using popular video game Minecraft. Whilst the buildathon took place, guest speaker and former Welsh rugby player Rupert Moon also talked to pupils and teachers alike about the importance of experiencing different careers from an early age.[/aoa]
Speaking at the launch event in Cardiff, Simon Pridham, Education and Performance Partner at Aspire2Be said: “The investment CITB has assigned to Go Construct Experience, Educate and Engage in Wales is absolutely tremendous, this really is a game changer for schools in Wales. As a former Headteacher and Government Adviser, I wish these resources and opportunities had been available a number of years ago, when I was leading a school.”
The GoConstruct learning framework will comprise three elements; Experience – where students use the popular game Minecraft to learn about the process of building and planning; Educate – a lesson plan covering everything from building bridges to construction materials; Engage – in which construction professionals across a wide range of roles and businesses will visit schools to talk about their career.
Julie Timothy, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager at Bouygues UK South West and Wales said: “The creation of Go Construct Educate presented us with a fantastic opportunity to introduce children to construction from a young age and change preconceptions around the industry as a whole. There are so many career paths and opportunities within this sector – including a massive 2,000 different job roles – and yet it’s not something pupils often hear about during school hours.
“To that end, we want to make sure that the lesson plans and projects are progressive, digestible and above all else that they weave seamlessly into the new curriculum, making it as easy as possible for teachers to engage their students.”
The GoConstruct Educate module will cover numeracy, literacy and digital competency skills, and provision is also made for Welsh Baccalaureate and alternative education. Teachers will be provided with a series of contextualised learning projects which include an overview for each project, along with a set of progressive lesson plans and numerous interactive resources to use with each year group. The resources will all be available on Hwb, the education online platform which is available to all 1300 schools in Wales.
Aspire 2Be has been working in conjunction with Welsh Government to ensure that the GoConstruct lesson plans and any resources used are aligned with the new curriculum in Wales. This means that each module will be integrated in various school subjects, to align with the Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Maths (STEAM) and will cover the Six Areas of Learning and the Four Purposes.
Julie added: “Bouygues UK is thrilled to be bringing GoConstruct Educate to schools across Wales, and with our official launch just around the corner, we’re really looking forward to seeing its impact on the Welsh construction industry for years to come.”
