Is science being neglected in primary schools?

March saw one of those rare ‘science events’ that captured the public’s imagination with the first solar eclipse since 1999. Despite the odd safety cautious school ignoring the event, the moment the moon almost entirely obscured the sun gave many teachers the chance to put the lessons of science into a real life context.

Pupils were able to learn how to view the moment safely and, as a knock-on effect, look at why and how it occurred and learn more about the science of the solar system.

But, beyond big moments like this, how healthy is the teaching of science in our primary schools?

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) recently issued ‘Tomorrow’s World’, a high-profile report that was the result of a survey of 260 teachers, polled on its behalf by YouGov. A third of them said they lacked confidence when teaching science and 53% said it had become less of a priority in the last five years.

The report also found that 36% of schools were not providing the minimum two hours of science a week for seven to eleven year olds in Key Stage Two.

CBI director general John Cridland told the BBC: “How can we expect to inspire future generations of scientists and engineers if we don’t deliver high-quality and inspiring science lessons at primary school age? If we are not careful, too many children will have lost interest in science before they hit their teens.”

The simple fact is that primary schools are judged on their performance at the end of Year Six – and are ranked by how many pupils achieve a level four or more in reading, writing and maths.

Their reputation in the wider community, frequency of visits from inspectors and, ultimately, the job of the head teacher rests on the performance in these areas in particular – leaving science behind the ‘three Rs’ in the queue and less of a priority.

These key targets were labelled ‘narrow’ by the National Association of Head Teachers – a body that itself joined calls from the CBI for help from businesses and universities. The groups want experts to go in and inspire children from primary age upwards.

It is thought that a combination of the knowledge and skills of such figures, coupled with the sorts of inspirational learning tools from the likes of Hope Education can give science a timely push. It was partly the very same desire to get pupils more inspired by science lessons that saw Key Stage Two tests in the subject dropped in 2010.

The move was hailed at the time, by the Royal Society of Chemistry, as being the key to free schools up from ‘teaching to the test’ and giving them chance to deliver lessons that were more engaging for the children. The Government’s recently re-launched National Curriculum is a further attempt to find the right mix when it comes to scientific teaching at primary level. The changes brought in by the new curriculum aim to encourage a greater focus on scientific skills, as well as a look at different types of tests and experiments.

They were among the least controversial of the proposals as schools try to give the subject a greater focus and address any concerns that it may be being ‘neglected’.