A short background

Sandra Beale is a mum of three with a background in Psychology. She started Toddler and Early Years STEAM sessions when her middle son was 9 months old. He’s 9 now!

What started as entertainment solely for her baby soon grew after visiting friends were
amazed at a 9-month-old doing science experiments and wanted their children to participate in the sessions.

Since then, the free Monday morning sessions have grown and have appeared several times on the BBC, BBC Tiny Happy People, BBC Radio, BBC Breakfast, Early Years TV and local newspapers and national and local magazines.

The sessions were nominated for a STEM Initiative of the Year Award at the Cambridge Science and Technology Awards in May 2023. Her sessions were also chosen for a £1000pilot fund from the Royal Society of Chemistry in June 2023.

Sandra has also been participating in the BBC’s STEM Science season for the last 3 years with a workshop on her Toddler and Early Years STEAM sessions. She has also done sessions at the Cambridge Science Centre and Saffron Walden Museum as well as with local primary schools and nurseries. Most recently she has been running Toddler and Early Years STEM sessions at a local French Restaurant in Saffron Walden.

The sessions are held every Monday morning at Sandra’s home at 9:30am for an hour throughout the year. An example of a typical Monday morning session is a small group of four or five young children aged between 2 and 4 years along with their mums around her dining table exploring various science concepts in a fun and playful environment.

The sessions are run with a much bigger group and more varied ages during half term and holidays. There are various themed sessions also depending on the time of year.

The local MP for Saffron Walden Kemi Badenoch attended one of Sandra’s themed summer sessions in September 2023 and enjoyed participating in the 5 experiments.

In January 2024, Sandra participated in Childbase’s Quality Conference with a Toddler and Early Years STEM workshop to 120 Early Years Practitioners.