UKS2 Project Spotlight: ReInventors
This eight-week Upper Key Stage 2 project invites learners into the ReInvention Agency — a playful, low-pressure space where curiosity leads, experimentation is encouraged, and everyday materials become the starting point for big ideas.
Rather than following step-by-step builds or working towards a single “correct” outcome, learners explore how objects work, how materials behave, and how ideas can evolve through tinkering, testing, and making. It’s hands-on learning that values process over polish — and it works beautifully for creative, curious, neurodivergent learners.
What Is ReInventors?
ReInventors is a gentle engineering and design project built around exploration, choice, and creativity.
Across eight weeks, learners:
collect and investigate everyday materials
explore joins, structures, and simple mechanisms
build and test small prototypes
design and create an original invention in their own style
There’s no expectation to complete every activity. Each week offers a small number of core invitations, plus optional extensions for learners who want to go deeper. Families are encouraged to move at a pace that suits their learner — lingering on favourite weeks or spreading the project out over a longer period if needed.
By the end of the project, learners create a final invention and a Project Case File — a personal record of their thinking, experiments, sketches, builds, photos, and reflections.
A Project Designed for Neurodivergent Learners
ReInventors was intentionally designed with neurodivergent learners in mind.
Activities are open-ended and flexible
Learners can document learning through photos, audio, video, sketches, or builds
There’s no pressure for neatness, completion, or written output
Choice is built in at every stage
Exploration matters more than “getting it right”
The Project Case File isn’t an assessment or workbook. It’s simply a place to capture learning in motion — unfinished ideas, half-built prototypes, and moments of discovery all belong.
How the Project Unfolds
Each week introduces a new role within the ReInvention Agency, gently building skills and confidence over time.
Learners begin by scouting materials, sorting and noticing what stands out. They then move into object analysis, exploring how everyday items feel, move, and behave. From there, they investigate hidden mechanisms, experiment with joins, structures, and movement, and create a first prototype.
In the final weeks, learners choose a direction that excites them and develop a final invention — anything from a helper or gadget to a character, display piece, or mini-world object.
Every learner’s journey looks different, and that’s exactly the point.
What Your Learner Might Create
Because ReInventors is interest-led, outcomes vary widely. Learners might create:
a small gadget with a hinge or slider
a creature or character with moving parts
a stand, holder, or organiser
a playful invention built from reclaimed materials
Some learners focus deeply on one idea. Others experiment with many small builds. Both approaches are valued.
Practical, Flexible, and Parent-Friendly
ReInventors uses accessible materials — recyclables, household items, craft supplies, and found objects. There’s no requirement for specialist equipment or technical knowledge.
The parent guide gently supports you along the way, with clear weekly focus points, ideas for capturing learning, and thoughtful adjustments designed to honour different learning needs and energy levels.
It offers just enough structure to feel supported, while leaving plenty of room for flexibility, creativity, and deep engagement — making it easier to adapt the project to your learner while still feeling confident about progress and documentation.
Why Families Love ReInventors
ReInventors supports:
creative problem-solving
early engineering thinking
confidence with materials and making
persistence and experimentation
flexible documentation for homeschool records
Most importantly, it gives learners permission to explore ideas their way.
If your learner loves tinkering, collecting bits and pieces, taking things apart, or imagining what something could become — ReInventors offers a calm, supportive framework to turn that curiosity into deep, meaningful learning.
Explore our UKS2 ReInventors project.
