Spark Tees Valley




Intelect is an engineering company that specialises in electrical and mechanical systems that support other companies. For example, they design, make and maintain machinery in lots of food and drink factories as well as systems for other companies like Northumbrian Water. They employ designers, electricians, fabricators and engineers of different types. They are committed to developing local talent through apprenticeships and have won awards for it. They are based in Middlesbrough.

Find out more about what the company does and who works there





We have not been prescriptive and written questions for homework because different teachers might have different reasons for setting it. The idea behind the homework pages is to make them easy to engage with (hence video led) both by a child and their carer. Yes you can ask them to write a response but the conversation in the home is the most important reason for doing it. Verbal feedback is just as good as long as they watched them!
Suggestions for questions:
There are so many different aspects to the work that PD Ports does that it would be impossible to pin down a specific subject as the main one. The ideas below use the company as a basis.
This simple activity allows children to see the code used to move a vessel into Teesport. The resource was made by screenshotting a google map as the backdrop and finding a piece of clipart as the vessel sprite. The coding skills are based on movement and rotation (45 degrees is used) and are not complex, fitting with maybe a Year 4/5 target age. You could show the children the task and not let them look inside, asking them to develop their own, or ‘show inside’ and ask the children to make it work even better, add another vessel or whatever.
Click on the image below for access
The activity linked below can be used in multiple ways depending on the children you are working with. The key is to use live data so that the children get an understanding of just how many boats are out there! The key Geography objectives include knowledge of the UK , the continents, the oceans and seas, and major cities around the world. You can adapt the task as fits your need for different age groups.
First step is to download a free marine tracker app like THIS on iPad OR use an online version like THIS.
Such information allows you to see any ship in real time, where it has been (click on it!) and where it is likely going. The ideas sheet below is just a guide to one way of using the information to create a meaningful activity. Equally the children could be tasked to find a vessel in each ocean or leaving a specific continent to see if they can identify those places. It is actually a very quick and easy activity that really contextualises and engages children either teacher led as a class or even better as an independent task. For example, on a Monday morning the task might be to find two vessels in the Indian Ocean and find out where they cam e from and where they are going. Tuesday, you could switch to the North Atlantic. It becomes a game.
Click on the image to access one way of using the info for a more extended activity.
PD Ports is the largest private employer in the Tees Valley area. It has the title of statutory port authority. That means it acts as the river controller. Just like an aircraft controller works at an airport, co-ordinating the planes that land and take off, their role does that for vessels on the river. They also have their own ports to unload and load ships and a huge infrastructure of lorries and trains that bring goods to and from the port. They also rent out warehousing and storage to other businesses.

Find out more about what the company does and who works there
PD ports is the largest private employer in the Tees Valley area. It has the title of statutory port authority. That means it acts as the river controller. Just like an aircraft controller works at an airport, co-ordinating the planes that land and take off, their role does that for vessels on the river. They also have their own ports to unload and load ships and a huge infrastructure of lorries and trains that bring goods to and from the port. They also rent out warehousing and storage to other businesses.

Find out more about what the company does and who works there

We have not been prescriptive and written questions for homework because different teachers might have different reasons for setting it. The idea behind the homework pages is to make them easy to engage with (hence video led) both by a child and their carer. Yes you can ask them to write a response but the conversation in the home is the most important reason for doing it. Verbal feedback is just as good as long as they watched them!
Suggestions for questions:
Logic essentially design buildings to client needs. Their focus on design is a really great place to start for D&T projects. Thinking about what a client needs works really well for extending children’s enterprise skills to new situations rather than just something that specifically interests them.
One of our older resources looks at the design phase of the Boho X building in Middlesbrough focussed on digital and tech companies needing more space. Although the building that is now being built is a different design to the plans in the video, the concepts and ideas are exactly the same and can be applied to any town in the country:
This resource also includes opportunities to use CAD and design software to bring digital skills into the work flow.
This brief is more challenging and was based on the airport redevelopment that was happening at Teesside International when it was created. It would be interesting to see how children’s responses to this task would compare to the actual work that has been done since it was created.
There will be an updated Teesside Airport page coming very soon!
Logic architecture has several offices in the UK but is based in Teesside. They are a team of architects and architectural technicians that can design any building that you need. They have worked on schools, offices, innovative housing and, well, pretty much any type of building project that you can think of. The team not only comes up with ideas but also works on how to make their buildings safe and also beautifully designed inside.

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AV Dawson is a major logistics company based in the Tees Valley. They specialise in moving goods from one place to another, not just locally, but all over the world. They run the Port of Middlesbrough which is a major port on the River Tees with connections all around the globe. They also have rail lines and trucks that can then move goods to and from the port to where they need to be.

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Jacksons’ Law are a Teesside based law firm that help people with all different aspects of legal work. You don’t just need a law firm if you are being charged by the police! Buying and selling property, creating contracts, dealing with divorce or wills….many things that we have to do in life involve getting the right legal advice.

Find out more about what the company does and who works there
CPI is an organisation that has sites all around Britain but with most focussed around the Tees Valley. They specialise in helping businesses with innovative engineering or science ideas to get their products developed and available to sell. Developing new ideas in science and technology often takes time, a lot of expertise and a lot of money. CPI provide experts, facilities and support to make that process quicker and less likely to fail.

Find out more about what the company does and who works there
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