1. Step by step guide for teachers

Step 1: Contact the organisers

The Project Organiser's main role is to recruit teachers, schools and other agencies and to help support and sustain cafes in schools. She will help you set up and run the first cafe and support you and the student team in developing a full cafe programme. The Assistant Organiser is available to help with resources, materials, communication and information.

Step 2: Talk to colleagues

The issues students are likely to want to talk about will be varied so Cafe Scientifique will be interesting to teachers of many subjects – science, citizenship, media studies, environmental science, politics and others. A wide range of involved colleagues will ensure a wide range of involved students.

Step 3: Support student volunteers to form an organising group

The student organising group should have students from across the age range of your school (to ensure continuity) and across the range of subject interests. There’ll be a number of roles to fill – chair, publicity, speaker liaison, café organisation; opportunities for students with different skills. The incentives for students include opportunities for personal development and CV enhancement, the chance to gain an insight into current research and live science issues and the opportunity to take part in debate and voice their opinions with working scientists. It might be useful for you to read through the student organisers’ pages to see how the project is presented to students.

Step 4: Identify a topic and title

The topic for the first café will set the tone for the rest. The project organiser will offer you a choice of two or three ‘taster’ topics and either speak at the first café herself or arrange for a speaker she knows will be sympathetic to the values of Cafe Scientifique.

After that, it will be up to the students to set up a programme and the project organiser will support them with suggestions for interesting, relevant and topical discussions and catchy, quirky, attractive titles for the talks.

Step 5: Identify a location

Exactly where depends on the circumstances of your school but we’d encourage you, if at all possible not to hold the café in a classroom. The location should be somewhere informal, where students can relax, eat (if the café is held at lunchtime) and join in the discussions. Potential locations could be a library or common room but you may have to devise your own informality. There’s no need for any technical equipment – with only ten minutes or so to introduce the topic, speakers won’t need projectors or sound systems.

Step 6: Advertise the café

Exactly what format the advertising takes – assemblies, newsletters, notice boards – will depend on your school. Should you want them, the organisers will supply you with professionally designed posters and flyers for overprinting – an opportunity for students with design skills!

Step 7: Support the first café

The project organiser will run the first café, to get things off to a smooth start. It will be helpful if you have a few questions ready, just in case discussions are a bit slow to get going. Also, if you can identify a few students you know to be willing to respond to direct questions, that will help the speaker get talk going if the start proves sticky.

Step 8: Support the student organisers team

Your continuing role will be to support, encourage and sustain the student organisers, help them develop a balanced and interesting programme and maintain continuity as older students leave. The organisers will support you and your students through second and subsequent cafes but will be happy to see their role diminish as your café becomes established. The Cafe Scientifique website will be there as a resource, supply of new ideas and medium for communication with cafes in other schools.