Chiltern Primary school are one of eight schools in Hampshire that have been lucky enough to receive unique LEGO Education to inspire children to work in the construction industry.

Stephen Shaw is a LEGO Education Academy Certified Trainer, he visits schools around Hampshire to promote science, technology, engineering, arts and maths (STEM) subjects in a fun and creative way.

After workiing with LEGO for 15 years and receiving his training two years ago at the home of LEGO in Billund, Denmark, Stephen now spends time with teachers and education specialists to deliver playful learning experiences using LEGO.

He is currently working with Hampshire Construction Training Association (HCTA) to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow in Hampshire.

Basingstoke Gazette:

On Monday (October 19) Chiltern Primary School’s IT teacher Mr Cocks had the pleasure of being trained.

During the training Stephen focused on the importance of diversity and inclusion and emphasised that teachers should “avoid assumptions” when teaching because “every creation a child builds is great in its own right”.

He continued: “No child will ever make the same thing and that’s what we love. Creativity and freedom are encouraged.

“We want to contextualise learning for the children, through the LEGO education funded by HCTA, we can get the children talking about what buildings we don’t have in Basingstoke that we could do with.

“Then we can begin to teach them about planning, getting a site ready, the building process.

“We can also teach more complex ideas about sustainability and diversity by getting children to add disabled access to the buildings they create.”

Basingstoke Gazette:

Prime Minister Boris Johnson admitted in his Lifetime Skills Guarantee speech last month that the nation is short of skilled construction workers due to a lack of options for college leavers.

The PM has pledged to reform post-18 education, and end the pointless, “nonsensical gulf “ “between the so-called academic and the so-called practical varieties of education”.

A HCTA spokesperson said: “We hope that LEGO Education, directly related to construction, will engage the minds of students about the construction industry.

“We want to raise awareness of the vast range of career opportunities in construction”.

They added: “We want to encourage future school leavers to consider construction as a career option and increase diversity in the sector by supporting learning and providing a more accurate illustration of the wide-ranging jobs available in construction.”