A word from our director,

Helen Spencer

STEMPOINT started off in 1984 as a Science and Technology Regional Office (SATRO) – one of 50 around the UK, we became a registered charity (number 1094254) and company limited by guarantee (number 4466571) in 2002, when we were known as SETPOINT Hertfordshire.

We recently rebranded as STEMPOINT, a name which indicates our mission to point the way to STEM careers. We are a small, dedicated team of 11 people who work on the various initiatives that support educators and pupils.

Our aim has always been simple – to inspire more young people to enjoy and take up subjects and career opportunities in STEM.

We operate in the East of England (the counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk) and, for some of our projects, in Greater London.

We are the STEM Ambassador programme Delivery Partner for the East of England, with over 2,000 Ambassador Volunteers in our region who can be accessed free of charge by schools and youth groups.

We act as a bridge between education and STEM industry/business

STEM education is not just about studying the right subjects at school; it is about gaining the right mindset and skills for the workplace, both now and in the future.

These skills are of vital importance for innovation and to support our economy, our country and our planet. We broaden pupils’ horizons, showing the wide variety of jobs, careers and professions which are dependent on a solid grounding in STEM subjects at school.

The STEM skills gap

We can help to prepare a skilled workforce to meet the demands of the current & future labour market in the East of England. Furthermore, STEM encourages young people to develop analytical and logical thinking, which are essential in addressing global challenges, such as climate change, food security and healthcare.

Inspiring young people in STEM ensures that they are not just consumers of technology, but understand how it works, enabling them to navigate and contribute to a rapidly changing technological landscape.

Lack of awareness of opportunities

STEM careers are sometimes viewed by young people as ‘not being for them’ because of lack of role models, family/community experiences, preconceptions about the kind of people that ‘do’ STEM, or a lack of awareness of the opportunities available.  Together, we can change those perceptions.

You can’t be what you can’t see 

We can bring role models to the classroom and events to highlight the diversity of people involved in STEM and the available career pathways at all levels. We want to ensure that everyone is offered opportunities to succeed. We therefore often particularly target students from under-represented groups or low income backgrounds to take part in our initiatives.

To spark curiosity and creativity

We believe that children are naturally curious about the world around them, and we encourage curiosity and creativity to blossom from a young age, so that young people can reach their potential.

To support teachers by giving real-world context to STEM subjects. 

Support from external organisations not only benefits pupils, but their teachers too.  By introducing pupils to role models who work in various STEM sectors, schools are helped to meet Gatsby Benchmarks which are a hallmark of good career guidance.