Addressing Educational Disadvantage through Virtual Reality

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Our project aims to offer equality of opportunity for those who are often excluded from engaging with science. We are focusing on two audiences : Disabled Children Disabled children are behind the Covid recovery curve. Research by the Disabled Children's Partnership has revealed the devastating and ongoing impact of the pandemic on disabled children and their families, and as restrictions are lifted these vulnerable communities are being left behind. Our project can bring exciting science to them in a Covid-secure environment, using areas of science that will be most effective. The Lightyear Foundation Impact Report 2020/21 states: "For children with more complex disabilities, science offers a unique way to inspire and impart key life skills such as choice making or dealing with unexpected outcomes. Themes such as space and alien worlds have high appeal, particularly for harder to reach groups such as boys with challenging behaviour." (tinyurl.com/LYFImpact) This project will empower disabled children to reach their potential and build their aspirations. Virtual reality (VR) headsets offer these children the chance to immerse themselves within the night sky and see facilities at the cutting edge of research in areas such as fusion and nuclear physics within a safe and controllable environment. The use of VR technologies will boost their confidence with STEM subjects by delivering exciting, inclusive and accessible activities that allow the young people to experience sites and facilities that would otherwise be out of reach. Young People in Geographically Remote Areas The Government has identified the North Yorkshire Coast as a disadvantaged region - a so-called 'opportunity area' - and are looking to improve outcomes on social mobility and raise educational standards. By targeting this opportunity area and rural communities within the Yorkshire Dales who do not have the same exposure to educational experiences as those close to city centres, this project will help to level the playing field for these students and open up science regardless of ability or social background. Previous projects taking mobile outreach projects out to rural communities (such as the Institute of Physics' Lab in a Lorry programme in Wales, which was delivered by the PI) have demonstrated an overwhelmingly positive experience for both the teachers and the students. In addition to these short term outcomes, the Lab in a Lorry project prompted 20% of the teachers to seek out further opportunities to engage their students with STEM (tinyurl.com/LIALeval2017-18). Thus, through using VR headsets to bring Science Centres, Laboratories, and Planetariums to these communities, as well as through University staff and students talking directly about their experiences, this project has the potential to not just have an impact on the aspirations of the students directly engaged, but also to have longer-term effects and greater reach by enhancing teacher awareness and inspiring them to enthuse their students with science.