The Learning Bus

The Learning Bus is definitely one of Success4All’s most exciting projects to date and it has been a wonderful rollercoaster in its first 9 months. Many members of the team now know all sorts of information about large vehicle maintenance, engines, electrics and DVLA regulations! We are very excited to continue developing the Learning Bus as our key new outreach tool and an opportunity to reach many more children, young people and families across the North East.  

The increased media exposure and response following our Channel 4 debut on George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces (10th February 2019) has been overwhelmingly positive. We have seen spikes to all our social media outlets and through our website increasing our online presence and reach within the community. The TV show portrayed Success4All and the bus well, giving viewers a clear, accurate and exciting insight to Success4All’s missions and aims for the Learning Bus. In requests we have had with schools and organisations following the show, new contacts have understood who we are and what we do, and almost all have led to Learning Bus events and bookings/referrals to many of our Learning Hub and STEM programme services.

Over the past few months, the Learning Bus has undergone some final aspects of its conversion into a multifunctional learning space. This includes the completion of the electrics and installation of the solar panels. The solar panels will allow us to have multiple USB charging ports for laptops in the upstairs desks. We also have the capacity to use a generator to power the upstairs TV and the downstairs café equipment and we are confident that over the remainder of this year, we will be able to raise the necessary fund for this. In total, 25 trades people and 28 volunteers worked to make the Learning Bus a reality. We are forever indebted to them, along with our backers. We have put them all on our Thank You Wall in the bus.

We have also been busily working behind the scenes, putting in place all of the practical and necessary paperwork and certification to ensure the Learning Bus will be safe and legal on its travels around the North East. This includes its classification with the DVLA as a private HGV, downgrading it from a public service vehicle as it will no longer carry more than 8 passengers; as well as the insurance, regular maintenance checks and plan, and health and safety (including fire safety) considerations. Two staff have also now received driver training with Tyne and Wear LGV and are now able to drive the bus regularly and around to our events. We have also now secured a local, safe and permanent home for the bus on a site in Gatesheadd, which we share with social enterprise working with young people, which is located near the major roads in the region.  

Aptly, we launched the Learning Bus during British Science Week in March, and in its first month of operation it has completed a trio of events. Coincidentally, the events that have taken place so far have been different types and formats of events. This has given us the perfect opportunity to find out what works well on the bus and exactly what will work best on the bus in the future. Below is the table of events which currently have done and those that have been booked. We are continuing to receive requests and which has forced us to think of creating a separate online platform and promo material for our Learning Bus which would be managed by community engagement and events manager, a post we are hoping still to create. 

Type of Events delivered - Community group/school (+location) -  Attended by who? - When?

STEM: Planes building and testing workshop, by NorthbourneYouth Initiative (Benwell, Newcastle upon Tyne), 10 children and young people, Thursday 14th March 2019

STEM Egg Drop Shop workshop x 4 KS2 classes (Year 3, 4, 5 and 6) for Larkspur Community Primary School (Gateshead), 74 children and young people, Friday 15th March 2019

COMMUNITY STEM Fair – Sound and STEM demonstrations and making harmonicasm for The Hermitage Academy (Chester-le-Street), Around 60 children, young people and families, Saturday 23rd March 2019

SOCIAL ACTION: Interactive digital quiz for Fake News project, Organised by WEYDA youth group, Success4All (Benwell, Newcastle), 22 children and young people and 6 parents/carers, Friday 12th April 2019

Northumberland Street Awareness Day (Newcastle City Centre), Organised by Success4All, 108 people from general public, Sunday 5th May 2019

Total of 274 people reached so far with 9 different activities

Upcoming:

Community Engagement Day, Organised by United Reformed Church (Wingrove, Newcastle), Saturday 18th May 2019

The Learning Hub Tour! Taking the bus around to our existing community learning hubs, Success4All, 260 children and young people from Slatyford, Throckley, Arthur's Hill, Wingrove, Benwell (Outer West and West of Newcastle), Meadowell (North Shields), Weeks of 21st May till 7th June 2019

Science Week – Space themed activities for each class in the school, Welbeck Academy (Walker, Newcastle-upon-Tyne), Around 400 children and young people, Week of 4-7th June 2019

Beamish STEM Weekend – Crank It Up, Organised by Beamish Museum, Weekend of 6th & 7th July