Cardiff and Vale College has won a UK-wide Family Learning Award for its innovative work in delivering family learning that involves science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).
Organised by the Campaign for Learning and the National Centre for Family Learning, the Family Learning Awards are an annual celebration of engaging work that makes a real difference to families and communities. CAVC’s Family Learning team has won the Family Learning to Support STEM Award.
The College’s Family Learning team deliver 27 family learning STEM courses a year which covers 330 families, with 670 people within the last year. The free courses are delivered in the community, with most provision delivered in areas of high deprivation.
The programme is co-produced with children, parents, carers and school leaders, responding to the needs of families within the community while aligning with the Curriculum for Wales programme of learning. The provision is designed to enable parents and carers to learn and develop with their families.
CAVC Family Learning provision that promote STEM subjects involve a range of fun activities highlight real-world applications of STEMP principles, such as using ketchup and custard to explore Non-Newtonian Fluids and extracting DNA from strawberries. Parents often progress on to study further courses in STEM-related topics.
Cardiff and Vale College Principal Sharon James-Evans said: “We are absolutely delighted to have won this Family Learning Support to STEM Award – congratulations to the CAVC Family Learning team!
“At Cardiff and Vale College we pride ourselves at being in the heart of the communities that we serve, and the Family Learning team are a shining example of that work. They work to co-produce the Family Learning programme with children, parents, carers and school leaders to ensure it responds to the needs of families in those communities, enabling parents and carers to learn and develop with their families.
“The innovative, imaginative and inclusive way that the team delivers learning opportunities to families and encourage them to explore STEM subjects across the Capital Region is an inspiration and this award is a testament to that.”
Miranda Baxter, Deputy Director at Campaign for Learning, said: “We are so excited to announce 2025's Family Learning Award winners who collectively made a difference to the lives of over 15,000 children and families. And with that in mind, what really stood out across the four categories of Family Learning in Early Years, Innovation, Health and Wellbeing, and STEM, is how people-centred each initiative is.
“Each of the winners clearly prioritises strong and authentic partnerships with the families and communities they work with, notwithstanding boundless curiosity, creativity and imagination. Congratulations to everyone for outstanding family learning!”