This article reflects on the many benefits to children's learning and well-being of re-engaging with the outdoors through the author's experiences with outdoor learning at Burlington Junior School in Bridlington, East Yorkshire. The school has found that connecting with nature has reduced children's stress levels and improved their concentration…

Nature Friendly Schools (NFS) is a groundbreaking project funded by the UK Department for Education and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs with support from Natural England. It works in partnership with many organisations including the Wildlife Trusts, Young Minds and the Field Studies Council. By developing teachers'…

A new curriculum is set for implementation in Wales from September 2022. Preparation for change is already underway in Gwaunmeisgyn Primary School in South Wales. Various development teams are preparing for the new curriculum, including the three teachers in the science and technology team. The team met to plan and design a bespoke pilot project…

The Teacher Assessment in Primary Science (TAPS) Focused Assessment approach embeds assessment within normal classroom science activities. Essentially, a Focused Assessment is a lesson plan for a science inquiry, with an identified focus for assessment and guidance on how to interpret the children's responses in relation to expectations for that…

From the beginning of the September 2020 school year, in an effort to engage children in school life again after a lengthy absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Rebecca Towner-Yates' school has adopted a 'quest' approach to learning. The concept has its roots firmly embedded in Dorothy Heathcote's 'Mantle of the Expert' (MoE) (Heathcote and…

There is broad agreement in the literature (e.g. Furtak et al., 2012; Harlen and Qualter, 2018) that the purpose of primary science is for children to develop: (1) scientific skills; (2) knowledge and understanding of some scientific concepts; (3) positive attitudes to science; an understanding of the nature of science; and (4) an appreciation of…

In 2014, the latest iteration of the National Curriculum for England came into play. It provided more challenging, but slimmed down, content and concentrated on building essential knowledge and skills. A great start, but the fact remains that teaching today is as complex as ever, equipping youth for a future they do not yet know and for jobs that…

In this article, the author champions the benefits for everyone of a more inclusive approach to primary science. She relates some of her experiences based on 35 years of teaching science to people with special educational needs and disabilities/additional support needs (SEND/ASN) and offers some tips to enhance inclusion.

The author created a project aimed to develop and implement the assessment of working scientifically (WS) skills at Victoria Park Primary School. The author had previously identified a gap in the curriculum coverage and assessment of WS skills and his goal was to address the lack of provision for assessing children's WS skills and raise the…

Primary schools have always embraced visitors and visits covering a wide range of contexts. In his 14 years of teaching the author cannot remember a year without two or three topic-linked trips and numerous visitors carrying out a wide variety of activities with classes. There were collaborations with other schools, community activities and many…

For some scientific ideas, it is obvious to pupils as to why they are studied. For others, a bit more work is needed before their significance becomes apparent. The concept of 'historical significance', which is used in history teaching, can help children to appreciate the enduring importance of scientific discoveries and events. The pedagogic…

Burlington Junior School in the East Riding of Yorkshire decided to highlight some excellent role models to its pupils during British Science Week 2021, who were not the stereotypical male, white, old or dead scientist. The intention was to make learning more relevant, more accessible and therefore more engaging and informative. It was hoped that…

One of the aims of primary education, as suggested by the Cambridge Primary Review, should be, 'Exploring, knowing, understanding and making sense'. It should give the children 'the opportunity to encounter, explore and engage with the wealth of human experience and the different ways through which humans make sense of the world and act upon it'.…

Discovery sessions are usually based around a stimulus that the teacher has set up. When children are all doing something similar, watching what happens, talking about the science that is going on, the teacher has a way in to learn about their understanding, but then the teacher can take it deeper into exploring their skills in working…

Linking Education and Farming (LEAF) Education uses food, farming and nature to reach out to children in new and imaginative ways across the science curriculum. Their work at a grass roots level, with teachers, children and farmers, shows just how powerful farming and nature can be in helping develop a lifelong love for science and fuelling…