Improving primary science - Wellcome

1 Improving primary sciencePrimary science : Is It Missing Out? Recommendations for revivingprimary science September 2014 primary science : Is It Missing Out? | 3 Introduction A recent Wellcome Trust study, The Deployment of science and Maths Leaders in primary Schools (October 2013)1, found that very few schools have access to high levels of science expertise and that strategic leadership for the subject is weak. This raises concerns about the status of primary science and the accountability systems in place for it. Reinvigorating primary science is a key priority for the Wellcome Trust. This summary therefore considers how some of the issues uncovered in our latest study and other work can be addressed, and makes recommendations for the primary scienceExecutive summarySummary of recommendations The UK should champion primary science .

2 Policy makers should ensure that education leaders at all levels are accountable for the provision and quality of primary science teaching. School leadership teams (including governors and headteachers) should value and aspire to excel in primary science . primary schools should have access to science expertise. Policy makers should require that all primary schools have, or have access to, science leaders with expertise in primary science , and ensure that the resources and infrastructure to enable this are provided. science subject leaders must regularly access high-quality continuing professional development (CPD) to ensure that their expertise is sustained.

3 Class teachers must take responsibility for their professional development in science . School leadership teams should prioritise access to high-quality science -specific CPD. primary science should be well-resourced. School leadership teams should use recommended benchmarks to guide their resourcing of science . science subject leaders should have strategic responsibility for a dedicated science budget. Report Summary Deployment of science and Maths Leaders in primary Schools (October 2013) The aim of this work was to explore how science and maths expertise is currently used in schools and to understand the strategic drivers behind the different models of deployment.

4 Research consisted of: an online survey completed by 209 schools in England with primary age pupils follow-up interviews with 21 of the schools that completed the survey detailed case studies of science provision and leadership in three of the schools | primary science : Is It Missing Out?Why should we care about primary science ? Pupils should be inspired by their first formal educational encounters with science at primary school. primary science should develop pupils understanding of the world, nurture their curiosity and teach essential skills, including enquiry, observation, prediction, analysis, reasoning and explanation.

5 science provides a motivating context for pupils to develop and improve skills in many areas, including literacy2 and mathematics. Children start to develop perceptions about whether science is for them towards the end of primary school3. It is therefore essential that all primary school pupils experience inspiring science that builds their understanding of the value and place of science in their lives. This will lay the bedrock for their future studies, enable them to make well-informed decisions in our increasingly hi-tech world and give them access to a wide range of rewarding careers. As the future economy will require a larger proportion of the workforce to possess high levels of scientific and technological skill4, we need more students to continue to study science subjects beyond the statutory curriculum and move into related employment.

6 If more pupils are enthused to study science , starting at the primary level, this will help secure our economic future. science is a core and compulsory subject for all primary school pupils. As schools plan to deliver the new national curriculum for science (which will become statutory in England from September 2014), leaders have the chance to ensure that this subject is placed at the heart of primary few [schools] measured their [ science ] departments performance against the lofty goal of maintaining curiosity . Ofsted, 2013Is science missing out?Twenty-five years after the inclusion of science in the national curriculum, devised to ensure a minimum entitlement for all pupils, our research shows that there is a distinct gap between schools that value and invest in science and those that do not5.

7 We are concerned by evidence of a general decline in primary science teaching, as described below. Strategic leadership and accountabilityPrimary schools have the freedom to decide how to implement their curricula based upon statutory requirements and the needs of their pupils. Although academies and free schools need not follow the national curriculum, they must teach a broad and balanced curriculum including science . There is no specification, however, for how much time must be devoted to teaching science . Until May 2009 pupils in their final year of primary education in England took statutory science tests. Schools prepared for the tests with extensive revision, and the science curriculum had become defined by these tests, raising concerns that pupils were missing out on breadth and richness in the teaching of science .

8 When these formal tests ceased, schools had more freedom to develop science , particularly by extending practical enquiry. While some schools have made the most of these opportunities, in a survey conducted by the Wellcome Trust in 2011 many reported a decline in the status of science6, with it often being perceived as less important than the other core subjects, English and maths. Furthermore, research published by the Wellcome Trust and Ofsted in 2013 found that English and maths tend to take priority in primary schools allocation of resources and curriculum delivery. science may be taught for only an afternoon each week, or else be taught within in an overall topic7,8.

9 The opportunity to enrich science through practical, enquiry-led teaching has been missed. Ofsted warned that weak leadership underlies the decline in science , reporting that leaders of about half the schools visited in their 2013 review no longer saw science as a priority 9. As a consequence of this, targets are not set for achievement in science , inadequate teaching time is allocated and there is little monitoring of the quality primary science : Is It Missing Out? | 5 Schools said that their biggest need is CPD that is current, cutting-edge, accessible and affordable, but most importantly subject-specific Wellcome Trust, 2013of science teaching.

10 The process of holding schools accountable for the quality of science provision has been overlooked. The Wellcome Trust s research found that science is rarely highly prioritised in school improvement planning or linked to other curriculum development areas. Decisions about how to use existing expertise, develop resources and enrich the curriculum are seldom based on evidence or self-evaluation and are more likely to be reactive than strategic10. Teachers responding to our survey also raised concerns about a lack of access to science expertise in their schools11. But it is not enough to make science -specific CPD accessible. Instead it must be used strategically to drive improvement, based on an understanding of why good science teaching is important.