Young Makers
in the Docks
A hands-on, play-based STEAM, coding, and aspiration programme for Key Stage 2 pupils and their families — co-designed with local schools, delivered at UEL, and fully funded from taster to take-home.
A powerful partnership
We bring together deep educational expertise, state-of-the-art facilities, and external funding to deliver a completely free opportunity for your school.
Institute of Imagination (iOi)
20 years of experience delivering highly impactful, play-based STEAM education.
University of East London
Providing direct access to local university facilities, fostering a pathway to higher education.
Royal Docks Trust
Fully funding the programme, so there are absolutely no costs to your school or your families.
Key benefits for your school
Curriculum depth
Enhance your Key Stage 2 design, technology, science, and computing curriculum with high-quality, practical coding and building activities.
Parent engagement
Build trust and break isolation by actively bringing parents, grandparents, and carers into the learning journey to play and construct side-by-side.
Higher aspirations
Allow local families to experience a university environment as a welcoming, local space where they belong and can succeed.
A structured programme journey
Four connected phases carry each family from first taster to a lasting habit of making at home.
Co-Design
A 2-hour interactive session at UEL where local families get a taster of our STEAM activities and help co-design the sessions that follow. No school staff required.
After-School
Four weekly after-school workshops, one hour each, building core STEAM skills right in your school.
Showcase
A 2-hour final celebration and exhibition at UEL, where families present their creations. No school staff required.
Home Habits
100 ‘Imagination Boxes’ are distributed to families, so STEAM learning continues long-term.
Inclusive co-design
Curriculum shaped by familiesWe kick off the journey with a dedicated 2-hour co-design workshop at UEL's Docklands campus — a fun, interactive session where families drop in for taster activities such as coding, LEGO® vehicles, and junk modelling. This ensures every session that follows reflects local backgrounds and directly addresses family interests.
By placing your pupils and their parents in the driver's seat, we generate immediate ownership — sparking high attendance and deep, long-term motivation.
After-school workshops
Flexible design for all
Four weekly, 1-hour sessions run straight after school. Activities are structured as standalone challenges — welcoming families who can only make a few sessions, while layering deeper logic and skills for those attending all four.
Role models & support
We deploy trained university student volunteers, recruited locally, as near-peer role models — demonstrating visible, achievable pathways to higher education and future careers.
Imagination boxes
Overcoming home barriersSustainable learning happens when school and home connect. Every family takes home a physical ‘Imagination Box’ filled with materials, instructions, and high-quality design challenges.
These boxes turn household spaces into vibrant creative zones — letting parents and children build a collaborative routine of STEAM inquiry at home.
Curriculum & pedagogy
Ken Robinson's core competencies
Our workshops actively target and foster the 8 core global competencies:
Building resilience to failure
We actively teach children that mistakes are natural steps in the design loop. By learning to rebuild and rethink, pupils develop core mental stamina and grit.
Rigorous impact measurement
We monitor child development using established frameworks — including a tailored children's version of the respected Harvard Divergent Association Task (DAT) to map creativity.
Real impact, real voices
What stood out most was how seamlessly play and learning were integrated; this wasn't just a lesson, it was hands-on problem-solving, resilience-building, and real-world application.
— Participating primary school teacher
The world needs innovation and, more importantly, innovative people. Imagination and creativity are exactly what's needed to succeed.
— Newham student, aged 10
Partner with us
Secure this fully-funded STEAM opportunity for your Key Stage 2 families today.