In this engaging, hands-on session, participants will explore how a simple machine can transform drawings in surprising ways. They will begin by discovering what a pantograph is and how it has been used throughout history — from copying drawings before photocopiers to its role in modern machines. Participants will then build their own working pantograph using simple classroom materials. Once assembled, they'll experiment with enlarging and shrinking drawings, seeing their designs change size. Along the way, they'll explore how pantographs are connected to levers and linkages, and how these ideas are used in real engineering. This session combines creativity with practical problem-solving and is designed to be accessible, fun, and easy to replicate in your own classroom.
Outcomes - by the end of the session, participants will be able to: > Deliver a structured pantograph lesson within a primary classroom setting > Explain and model the link between pantographs and levers using simple language > Construct and troubleshoot a basic pantograph design > Anticipate and address common pupil misconceptions and challenges > Adapt the activity for different abilities and classroom contexts > Facilitate pupil reflection and evaluation within a STEM-focused lesson > Curriculum Links (UK KS2) > Science (Year 5): Forces – understanding mechanisms including levers, pulleys, and gears > Design & Technology: Design, make, and evaluate functional products; develop technical knowledge of mechanical systems > Art & Design: Develop drawing techniques and scale images > History (optional link): Study of inventions and technological development over time
This session will walk participants through what we learned from Adapt-Ed about teaching climate adaptation effectively at primary level. We will share key findings on what worked, what surprised us and what the children and teachers told us about the experience. Participants will have hands-on time with the curriculum resources and materials developed through the project, all of which are freely available to download and use. There will be space to discuss how the approaches might translate to your own school context and ask questions about the research and delivery model.
Outcomes: By the end of the session, participants will be able to: • Explain the difference between climate mitigation and adaptation and why both matter in primary education • Access and use Adapt-Ed curriculum resources and teacher CPD materials in their own setting • Identify at least two place-based or experiential approaches to teaching climate adaptation that are realistic for a primary classroom • Reflect on how climate adaptation themes can connect to existing curriculum areas in science and beyond
Background: Climate change education in schools has tended to focus on mitigation - reducing emissions - while adaptation, preparing children and communities for the impacts already underway, has received far less attention. Yet UK schools are already experiencing those impacts directly, from overheating classrooms to local flooding, and children in disadvantaged areas are disproportionately affected. Adapt-Ed was a collaborative research project led by Sheffield Hallam University with The Green Estate, Sheffield City Council and Let's Go Zero, working with primary schools in disadvantaged Sheffield neighbourhoods. The project developed and delivered teacher CPD, curriculum resources and immersive outdoor learning experiences focused on flood risk, drought, overheating, food security and nature-based solutions. Robust evaluation tracked changes in children's ecological literacy, connectedness to nature and pro-environmental attitudes using the 2-MEV (Two Major Environmental Values) scale.
More than a dozen schools in deprived areas of the North West are currently delivering their Year 3 science curriculum via an extended story involving a Black female engineer rocketing around time and space in a cardboard time machine. Why? What has this unique project taught us about the power of story and simple stage magic to engage learners? Is there a particular power to performers in role? What do teachers get out of it? How can SLT members support their teachers to find the elusive “why” in the existing science curriculum – and how do we encourage children to talk more in our science classrooms?
Participants will leave with some answers to those questions - plus ideas for how to make use of some of the key elements of this successful oracy-rich programme in their own classrooms.
Aims: to share learning from an innovative arts-based learning project in Manchester, and explore what elements of the programme can be taken forward by educators more widely - including feeding into a brand-new arts-based learning programme currently being developed in Morecambe Bay by the same company.
Background: "Terri and the Time Machine" is currently being delivered in over a dozen North West primary schools. It is an arts-based creative programme delivering the whole of the Year 3 science curriculum, funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation. Professor Lynne Bianchi (SEERIH) provided expert advice during development. In-depth evaluation was conducted throughout the initial three years by Dr Zoe Crompton (Manchester Metropolitan University). The fully-funded period came to an end in July 2025; but 14 schools are continuing to participate, thanks to extended support from the PHF and financial contributions from the schools involved. Why? What is the benefit of teachers working with a theatre company, and what have we discovered by undertaking this unique project?
Many children do not think that science is relevant or important to their lives, now or in the future. Research shows that children are already being influenced by gender-based beliefs at 7 years old or even earlier and have made up their minds before the age of 11 that science is not for them. Teachers can play a key role in challenging these views before they become too entrenched. The Science 4 Everyone materials are a range of freely accessible resources that teachers and school leadership teams can use to raise awareness of unconscious bias and its potential to influence pupils’ science capital and attitudes towards science. They are used in this session to reflect on challenges faced when making science accessible to all.
The presenters will use their extensive experience from the classroom and from working with teachers and students in both the informal and formal science education sector to reflect on what makes the most difference to ensuring that children believe science is for everyone.
This session is aimed at classroom teachers, science leaders and teacher developers who work with them, and aims to: • Share evidence from research, including issues around unconscious bias and stereotype threat and their relation to pupils’ science career ambitions. • Outline resources and effective practical strategies that teachers have found to be effective. Examples will be used from schools and informal settings that have promoted inclusion and equity by using these materials and approaches • Give participants opportunity to try out and discuss some of Science4Everyone practical toolkit materials that can be readily integrated into curriculum design to address the unconscious biases that we all hold • Encourage participants to reflect on which strategies might be most useful to address the needs of the children in their schools and reflect on how to audit, implement and review actions to inspire all children to see science as meaningful and relevant in their own lives.
Participants will: • know more about unconscious bias and its impact on inclusive science teaching, the support freely accessible from the Science 4 Everyone materials and the links to research evidence about the importance of pupils developing a science identity. • reflect on what is working well in their own setting and where improvements could be made. • have opportunity to reflect on which strategies might be most useful and begin to plan how they could audit needs, implement priorities and review actions as part of a development cycle.
PSQM Development Lead, Primary Science Quality Mark
PSQM Professional Learning Partner. Primary Science Teaching Trust Fellow. Member of the PSQM Expert Advisory Group. Member of the ASE Teacher Developers’ Committee. Accredited trainer of the Primary Science Capital Teaching Approach. Co-author of the PSTT resources See Through Sci... Read More →
Teacher confidence is frequently discussed in primary science, yet it is rarely treated as a strategic priority within school improvement planning or within the support structures offered by organisations working alongside schools. This session explores the argument that meaningful and sustained improvements in primary science cannot happen without intentional investment in teacher confidence.
Drawing on examples from classroom, school and trust-level practice, participants will reflect on how confidence influences curriculum enactment, practical science, pupil engagement and teaching quality. The session will explore why confidence is often overlooked because it is perceived as difficult to measure, despite its clear impact on outcomes for both teachers and pupils.
Participants will also be challenged to consider the extent to which current professional development and science support models genuinely create space for teachers to develop confidence over time. Rather than viewing confidence as a by-product of training, the session will argue that it should be deliberately planned for, revisited and evaluated as part of sustainable improvement work.
The session will further explore the link between teacher inclusion and pupil inclusion, recognising that teachers who feel disconnected from science or perceive the subject as “not for them” may find it more challenging to deliver engaging and ambitious science experiences for children.
Through discussion, reflection and analysis of case studies, participants will leave with practical ideas for how teacher confidence can become a visible and valued part of school improvement conversations and wider science support programmes.
Participants will: > Reflect on the impact of teacher confidence on science teaching, learning and inclusion > Consider examples of how schools, trusts and science organisations can intentionally developed teacher confidence over time > Consider how teacher confidence could be incorporated into improvement planning, professional development and external science support programmes > Identify practical ways to revisit, monitor and evaluate teacher confidence within their own contexts > Recognise teacher confidence as a strategic factor in achieving sustainable improvement in primary science
This session draws on my experience as a primary teacher, Science subject leader and nationally recognised Science consultant, working with schools, trusts and organisations to improve science provision across a range of contexts. Through this work, a recurring theme has emerged: where teachers lack confidence in science, this significantly influences the quality of teaching, curriculum enactment and pupil engagement.
My interest in this area has developed through supporting teachers and leaders over time and recognising that confidence is often treated as incidental rather than intentional within school improvement. Schools readily plan and budget for curriculum resources, schemes and assessment systems, yet teacher confidence is rarely identified as something that can be deliberately developed, revisited and evaluated. Equally, organisations supporting schools in science education often focus on provision, resources or subject knowledge without explicitly addressing how teachers experience science themselves.
This is particularly important within primary science, where some teachers may feel that science “isn’t for them”, limiting participation, risk-taking and engagement within the subject. The session also reflects current national priorities outlined in Every Child Achieving and Thriving (2026), particularly the emphasis on sustainable school improvement, workforce development and inclusive practice. While inclusion is often discussed in relation to pupils, this session considers the importance of inclusion for teachers too: if teachers themselves do not feel included, capable or confident within science, this inevitably impacts the experiences and opportunities available to children.
