ASE 2027 Annual Conference

The initial learning about biological organism, naming, form and function,  begins in the earliest  years before any formal learning facilitation and  builds on the child’s understanding. These foundations are rarely discussed in training and with communities. This talk will cover how earliest learners construct undemanding of themselves and other organisms in form, function and habitat. This knowledge is from research, teaching and observations.  Learners   learn their biology beginning with  experiencing their needs and actions as a biological organisms. Such understanding forms the basis of their subsequent interpretation of species and is the basis of subsequent anthropomorphic interpretations. Their interactions and observations of the Environment and organisms, contributes to their understanding  in three categories, identified from everyday environment  Applying a grounded theory analysis of the observations they made and what caught their interest, and on their narratives verbal and actions.  These categories emerged:

1. NAMING and HABITATS - identification of organisms, naming, personal names, everyday names and scientific perhaps, locations, criterial attributes.

2. SYSTEMS - interrelationships horizontally and vertically.

3. TIME – much is not instant - germination, dimension, evolution, life cycles, change in form and function which for the early years is a very difficult idea. Identify the sequence in which names, form, function and behaviours are learnt.

The learner’s understanding develops progressively with age and opportunities to observe and interact with plant and animals. As children are biological beings, they acquire an understanding of basic life functions from first-hand experience as well as a rudimentary understanding of the biological form and function of organisms in their relationship with the environment, (Ghazili and Tolmie, 2014).

In the first quarter of the 21st century, the situation has not improved since educational researchers wrote in at the turn of the century that’ insufficient work has not been done on how children view living organisms in their environment ,Tunnicliffe and Reiss, 1999a). Such acquisition of understanding is in stages. From the first image animal shape in a soft toy replicating an animal to sightings in the environment, or images on various media. And Plant sightings in their everyday. lants are frequently neglected in formal study, there id still a ‘plant blindness’ (Wandersee and Schussler, 2001).

As the. Early leaner meets various organisms they acquire some understanding which is extended through formal teaching. Young children name animals and plants. Usually the first name becomes the superordinate category. For example, if the first object noticed and named in the sky is bird, anything else observed thereafter, e.g. a plane is called ‘bird’. Similarly green ‘objects’ that do not move around are ‘plants’, subcategories referred to by everyday names such as weeds, fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees. grass . This learning persists often in everyday life for use however, despite subsequent teaching. Learning about the biological world is crucial in developing understanding   and action in managing a sustainable world (Tunnicliffe and Reiss, 1999) but there is a long way to go yet.

This session aims to enable participants to:

• Understand how children’s thinking scientifically can be assessed meaningfully in outdoor primary science
• Explore a research informed Thinking Scientifically Assessment Matrix that supports progression across primary phases
• Engage with examples of how the matrix has been co designed and trialled with experienced teachers in real classrooms
• Consider how assessment can strengthen, rather than constrain, outdoor science learning
• Reflect on how a shared assessment framework can support trainee teachers, Early Career Teachers and whole school professional learning

Outdoor science offers rich opportunities for curiosity, talk, investigation, and sense making; yet many teachers report uncertainty about how to assess thinking in these spaces. In this interactive session, participants will be introduced to a Thinking Scientifically Assessment Matrix designed to support assessment for learning in outdoor primary science. They will explore how the matrix makes children’s scientific thinking visible, supports progression over time, and aligns with everyday classroom practice rather than adding to the teacher's workload. Drawing on real examples from classrooms, the session will share how teachers have trialled the matrix outdoors, what has been learned through co-design, and how assessment has been embedded into practical, exploratory learning. Participants will be invited to engage with sample learning scenarios, consider where evidence of thinking might be captured, and reflect on how a shared framework could support consistency across year groups or within professional learning communities. The session will be relevant for classroom teachers, subject leaders, mentors, and those supporting teacher development.

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:
• Identify key features of progression in children’s scientific thinking across the primary age range, in outdoor contexts.
• Use an assessment matrix to recognise and interpret evidence of thinking in outdoor science lessons
• Adapt assessment approaches to support exploratory, enquiry rich learning
• Apply shared assessment language to support planning, reflection, and professional dialogue within and across schools
• Support trainee teachers and Early Career Teachers in developing confidence with assessment of primary science, particularly in outdoor and enquiry based contexts
• Integrate a research informed assessment framework within ITE programmes to strengthen coherence between university based theory and school based practice
• Consider next steps for embedding the assessment of thinking scientifically within their own settings

This session draws on EdD research, which focused on the creation and application of a Thinking Scientifically Assessment Matrix designed to articulate progression in children’s scientific thinking. The research explored how early career teachers used the matrix to support planning, teaching, and assessment in primary science, particularly in outdoor learning contexts, where assessment is often perceived as challenging or impractical. Building on this work, I am currently collaborating with experienced primary teachers through a structured programme of professional learning and classroom trialling. Together, we are refining the matrix through lesson observations, peer discussion, and shared analysis of children’s learning. This knowledge exchange approach values teacher expertise alongside research informed pedagogy, with the long term aim of making outdoor science learning assessable, sustainable, and impactful beyond the Early Years.

This interactive workshop introduces a proof-of-concept student toolkit for using spatial computing to support climate change education in primary-aged multicultural settings. The session draws on my doctoral research at the University of Leeds, which examines how spatial computing can be co-developed within a climate change play curriculum with Indonesian and Malaysian children living in the UK.

The aim of the session is to share a research-informed and practice-facing approach to climate change education that is child-centred, culturally responsive and suitable for primary-aged learners. Rather than presenting technology as a novelty, the session considers how virtual reality, augmented reality, digital mapping, LEGO robotics and 3D modelling can help children explore climate change causes, impacts, mitigation and adaptation through active, visual and playful learning.

The session will begin with a short introduction to the research context and the meaning of spatial computing in primary climate change education. I will then share examples from six participatory workshops, showing how children’s discussions, drawings, digital artefacts, mapping activities and reflections shaped the toolkit’s content, learning approaches and activity design. These examples will include children’s use of VR to explore climate-affected environments, digital maps to compare climate issues across countries, LEGO sensors to model environmental systems, and AR/3D modelling to design climate solutions.

The main focus will be the student toolkit developed from the research. By the time of the conference, this toolkit will have been reviewed with children through a co-review workshop. This is not presented as a final validation exercise, but as part of the wider co-development process, where children’s responses help refine the clarity, relevance and usability of the resource.

Participants will examine selected toolkit activities and consider how they might work in primary classrooms, after-school clubs, teacher education or informal learning settings. Using a short feedback template, they will reflect on the toolkit’s climate change content, use of spatial computing, opportunities for children’s participation, cultural responsiveness and practical classroom feasibility.

By the end of the session, participants will be able to identify ways of using spatial computing to support climate change learning, explain how children’s contributions can inform curriculum development, and critically consider how a proof-of-concept toolkit can be adapted for their own educational context.

Aims of this session:  
> To raise awareness of the link between the primary National Curriculum content and the lived experiences of children and families.
> To help delegates pre-empt potentially emotive issues within the science National Curriculum and consider sensitive pedagogical responses.

Emotive issues in science, really?  Science is often considered to be a fact-based subject; we don’t always anticipate that science lessons may evoke emotional responses from children (or their families).

During this session, we aim to consider the primary science curriculum through the eyes of a child who may find some topics challenging. These are not always the topics that we expect, and there are more than you might think. If you’re a child who does not live with biological relations, how do lessons on inherited traits in humans feel to you? If your parents struggle to afford good-quality food, what do activities highlighting a healthy diet mean to you?

We will consider how topics such as these can be addressed with sensitivity in the classroom without watering down or avoiding the scientific content.

Outcomes: Delegates will be introduced to a different mindset when teaching science.
Delegates should be able to identify aspects of the primary National Curriculum which may evoke an emotional response or cause unintended upset to the children they teach and their families.
Delegates should leave the session with some ideas about how they would/would not teach potentially emotive topics.

We are experienced teacher educators who have supported student teachers to get to grips with the science National Curriculum. We have also sat with students who have regretted the approaches they took in lessons when they taught the science curriculum in a factually correct way but did not fully consider the lived experiences of the children they teach. This prompted us to develop a taught session, called ‘Teaching science with sensitivity’, which we deliver to all our trainees. Feedback from students is always positive, and we would be keen to share our work with a wider audience. In doing so, we appreciate that many delegates have rich experience that they could contribute to discussion within the session.

Topics that we include are:

The human body, including physical differences, the importance of exercise, a healthy diet, hygiene/dental health and hygiene, drugs and alcohol. Potential concerns: Body differences, body image, addiction within the family, and the impact of socio-economic backgrounds.

Living, dead and things that have never been alive - Potential concern: death.
Food chains – Potential concern: awareness of the brutality of predation.
Fossils and evolution - Potential concern: conflict with science and families’ cultural/religious beliefs.
Living things and their habitats, life cycles and reproduction - Potential concern: sustainability/habitat destruction.
Inheritance and Selection – Potential concern: upset caused to children who do not live with their biological parents.

Aims: This session aims to share research findings and new professional development resources for purposeful practical work to support inclusion in primary science. We will consider examples of adaptive teaching and how practical work can be used to enable children to sense that science is ‘for them’ and is accessible to their needs.

The purposeful use of practical work in primary science provides a range of opportunities for inclusive practice. Drawing on research from the Nuffield and Comino Foundation funded practical work project (2023-26), this session will consider how purposeful practical work can be used most effectively to support all learners. With examples from across the four nations of the UK, we will discuss adaptive teaching and the importance of essential experiences to support disadvantaged learners. We will use the outcomes of the research projects and the examples from a range of schools to stimulate discussion and reflection on the nature of inclusive practical work in primary science. Links will be made across research projects such as SEERIH’s ‘Shining a light on inclusive science’ and the Teacher Assessment in Primary Science (TAPS) projects, to show how key messages align across the primary science community.

Outcomes: Attendees will develop an awareness of the research base for practical work in primary science and become familiar with the proposed pedagogy model. By discussing examples selected from the professional development materials, they will reflect on practice in their own context.

Background: The Nuffield Foundation funded research project (2023-25) considered practical work from a primary perspective, proposing a pedagogy model to support practice. With support from the Comino Foundation, the project follow-on (2025-26) involved visits to 30 teachers in 20 schools across the four nations of the UK. The new bank of professional development videos model adaptive teaching and purposeful use of practical work in primary science.

At the Nottingham Institute of Education, we have remained committed to ensuring that professional curiosity, agency and joy underpin our science provision across our primary initial teacher education (ITE) programmes. Maintaining this ambition against a national context of financial pressures in the university sector while meeting government reforms as articulated through the Initial Teacher Training Early Career Framework (ITTECF), the introduction of ITAP (Intensive Training and Practice) and the new OFTSED ITT Inspection Framework has not been easy. Our concern is that some of these challenges are contributing to a constrained provision of primary science in ITE.

We know that we are not alone and we would like to use this session as an opportunity to collectively celebrate and identify next steps in nurturing professional curiosity, agency and joy for our next generation of primary science teachers.
We invite you to join us in this interactive presentation where you will be able to share and reflect on how science is positioned in your own teacher educator settings.
(Outcomes) By the end of the session, you will:
• Gain a developed awareness of practice-based approaches (e.g. outdoor learning, informal contexts, micro-teaching, practitioner research projects) for embedding professional curiosity and developing critical research engagement in primary science ITE.
• Critically reflect on how ITE programmes currently develop research engagement and how this can establish professional agency.
• Consider wider possibilities, through the ASE and beyond, that will empower student teachers and ECTs in their professional development of their subject, curriculum and pedagogical knowledge in primary science.

Aims:
• Understand how science can be given a strong, coherent and joyful profile across a primary ITE curriculum
• Explore how purposeful and critical engagement with research can be scaffolded for student teachers and ECTs.
• Collaborate as a community of teacher educators to support the identification of practical strategies that can embed professional curiosity and joy in primary science ITE.

Background: At the Nottingham Institute of Education, we have remained committed to ensuring that professional curiosity, agency and joy underpin our science provision across our primary initial teacher education (ITE) programmes. Working as a team of primary science initial teacher educators in England, we have reflected on how to maintain this ambition against a national context of financial pressures in the university sector while meeting government reforms as articulated through the Initial Teacher Training Early Career Framework (ITTECF) and the introduction of ITAP (Intensive Training and Practice. Our concern is that some of these challenges are contributing to a diminished and constrained provision of primary science in ITE.

Our approach has evolved through our ITE undergraduate and postgraduate curriculum design, collaboration with expert practitioners, specialist science expertise within our university and local partnership schools. External examiner feedback and student outcomes have supported the development of this approach, highlighting its impact on confidence, agency and subject knowledge.

We will reflect on how we have deliberately designed, within our primary ITE curriculum, opportunities that encourage a critical engagement with research in primary science. This includes utilising external evidence-informed professional support such as the Primary Science Enhancement Award (PSEA), embedding science within ITAP so that foundational teaching foci, such as high-quality talk and questioning, can be developed through the lens of primary science and promoting practitioner enquiry in primary science within our final dissertation action research projects.

The session begins with everyday objects that prompt close observation, enabling learners to notice patterns and features that naturally lead into specific primary science phenomena. Each activity is deliberately structured with scaffolds that support pupils in articulating their ideas and using scientific language with increasing confidence. In line with research emphasising science as a distinct linguistic practice (Lemke, 1990), the session foregrounds opportunities for learners to develop and apply scientific vocabulary through guided talk, modelling, and structured interaction.

All materials have been developed directly from classroom practice and draw on a range of pedagogical approaches, including inquiry‑based learning, dialogic teaching, and explicit vocabulary instruction, to ensure accessibility for all learners. The design of the session reflects current evidence that vocabulary must be explicitly taught and embedded within meaningful contexts to support understanding, as highlighted by the Education Endowment Foundation.

Observing a practical science lesson is very different from observing a standard lesson, yet most science leads and senior leaders receive little or no training in how to do it well.

This interactive session introduces a structured framework developed by CLEAPSS Primary to help you focus on what really matters when observing practical science. Using video clips from a real lesson and guided discussion, you will explore key focus areas including purpose, lesson practicalities, adaptive teaching, and purposeful feedback, each supported by prompts to help you make confident, considered judgements.

By the end of the session, you will leave with a practical tool you can use straight away to observe lessons, structure your thinking, and provide feedback that makes a real difference to science teaching in your school.
Ideal for: science leads, senior leader with responsibility for science and consultants who support schools to improve science.

By the end of this session, delegates will be able to:
• Describe how observing a practical science lesson differs from most others
• Use a structured framework to focus your observations on what matters most in practical science
• Apply a set of guided prompts to make confident, concise judgements across all aspects of a practical lesson
• Recognise what high-quality practical science looks like across key domains, including purpose, lesson practicalities, adaptive teaching, and purposeful feedback
• Provide clear, evidence-informed feedback that supports teacher development and improves outcomes for pupils

CLEAPSS exists to support effective practical work in schools. Our experience working with schools nationwide means we are uniquely placed to know what makes a strong practical science lesson. Generic lesson observation training leaves many leaders, even experienced ones, ill-equipped to evaluate the learning that a practical lesson brings, or to make meaningful recommendations for improvement. CLEAPSS’ wealth of experience in this area has been distilled into a simple, accessible resource that helps practitioners focus on what really matters.

Climate change is one of the most significant challenges that humankind has ever faced and providing high quality climate change and sustainability education is imperative. The session will explore the interdisciplinary nature of climate change within the primary curriculum. It will consider how learning might be best sequenced and connected to instil in pupils an understanding of the science, geographical impacts, possible mitigations and adaptations of climate change.

The government’s response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review clearly positions climate change and sustainability education within the remit of science and geography. Through a range of practical activities the session will demonstrate how to plan and implement a coherent approach to the teaching and learning of climate change.
Delegates will be prompted to discuss the specific elements that are to be taught within and across the two subjects as well as the possible connections with other foundation subjects such as citizenship and DT. Ofsted outline the importance that learning does not occur in silos and this is particularly pertinent for global issues such as climate change where pupils need to gain an in-depth understanding of the processes that underpin anthropogenic climate change as well as the wide range of impacts. The session will explore how to ensure that climate change education is relevant, hopeful and accessible in part be focusing in on small scale local impacts as well as the large scale global affects of climate change.

There will be the chance to discuss how geographical thinking can be used to interpret scientific data and imagine a range of possible futures, empowering pupils to be part of the solution as informed and active global citizens.

Outcomes:
> Understanding of how to effectively embed climate change content across the primary curriculum
> Make connections between the causes and effects of climate change

How can children’s misconceptions be identified and addressed to secure scientific understanding?

This session explores how formative assessment approaches can be used not just to identify misconceptions, but to inform responsive teaching and curriculum planning. Drawing on their own extensive experience in the classroom and from working with hundreds of teachers in primary schools, the presenters will share practical strategies, diagnostic tools and planning approaches that help teachers discover and tackle common misunderstandings in science. Participants will leave with materials for adapting sequences of learning, examples of pupil thinking and tested classroom-ready resources that make a difference to developing more accurate scientific thinking.

This session is aimed at classroom teachers and science leaders, and aims to:

• Share evidence from research, including issues common misconceptions that children hold.
• Discuss evidence-informed resources and practical strategies that teachers can use to understand and address common misconceptions that children hold in science. Examples will be used from schools that have trialled these materials and approaches and reflected on their effectiveness
• Give participants opportunity to try out and discuss some of the resources to identify their own misconceptions
• Encourage participants to reflect on which strategies might be most useful to address the needs of the children in their schools, and begin to plan how to audit, implement and review actions to adapt teaching and planning.

Aims:
> To provide examples of good practice in working scientifically in the Early Years.
> To clarify what the different areas of working scientifically are and how best to use them in every day science in Nursery/Reception.

Objectives:
> To allow practitioners to see the possibilities when using the different areas when working scientifically in class with young children.
> To provide examples of work and discuss what other people do in class to enhance the different areas when working scientifically.
> To enable other practitioners to share good practice with both myself and the group in discussion.

As an experienced teacher of 37 years, PSTT Fellow and Early Years Educational Consultant, I want to share my ideas and knowledge with others, having seen that working scientifically is often overlooked with young children but there are lots of opportunities to be had.

Get up close with some of the most experienced voices in primary science in this fast-paced, high-energy session. In Primary Speed Science, you’ll rotate between tables, spending a focused eight minutes with each expert - just enough time to ask questions, explore ideas, and gain practical insights you can take straight back to your setting.
 
Whether you’re grappling with curriculum design, enquiry, assessment, or subject leadership, this is your chance to have real conversations with people who’ve been there and done it. No long talks, just sharp thinking, honest answers, and meaningful connections.

The aim of this session is to report on early findings from a current research study that takes forward recommendations from the PCAG report (Primary Science Teaching Advisory Group, 2023). The study extends the work into testing the Framework within primary schools, in particular junior classes (7-11 year olds). The overarching purpose has been to explore the shifts in teachers’ planning and practice required to interpret and implement a curriculum aligned to the Framework.

Findings draw on professional reflections from primary science subject leaders and align to evidence from the State of the Nations in Primary Science Learning Report (ImpactEd, 2025). What has emerged stimulates and informs policy makers, practitioners and senior leaders to question and consider the levers and challenges in designing a curriculum for the future. The session informs on how teachers perceive, interpret and apply policy recommendations into day-to-day classroom settings. This falls at a time where England awaits the outcomes of the Curriculum & Assessment Review (DfE, 2024) and when other nations in the UK are reviewing the purpose and nature of primary science education.

Expected outcomes of the session will be that participants are increasingly aware of the real world experiences and challenges that influence primary science classroom practice. This will especially focus on the different ways in which schools manage curriculum implementation across different settings. They will have:

* a greater awareness of the real world experiences and challenges that influence primary science classroom practice.
* reflected on the differences in science learning emerging across different school settings.
* considered their readiness to offer primary science teachers support and guidance ahead of or when new curricula guidance is published.

Participants will be invited to explore an emerging solution: online, on-demand professional development for teachers. Drawing on experience of working with schools and delivering primary science CPD across a range of settings and contexts, we will examine how on-demand PD can support improvements in teacher confidence and subject knowledge, critically evaluate the strengths and limitations of digital professional development. Participants will be invited to reflect on the limitations that are experienced within their own settings.

The session will position on-demand CPD not as a replacement for all professional learning, but as a pragmatic, forward-thinking response to current system challenges; offering a way to broaden participation and improve consistency in primary science teaching, while encouraging participants to discuss how these approaches align with their own contexts.

Session format:
•Explore and briefly discuss key findings from the State of Primary Science 2025 report related to CPD access and teacher development
•Discuss on-demand CPD in primary science, examining design principles that promote engagement, retention and classroom impact
•Critically evaluate the strengths and limitations of online approaches, including issues of motivation, accountability and depth of learning
•Share and reflect on examples of how on-demand CPD might support improvements in subject knowledge, pedagogy and confidence

Intended outcomes:
•Interpret key CPD-related findings from State of Primary Science 2025
•Evaluate how on-demand CPD can support teacher confidence and subject knowledge
•Critically assess strengths and limitations of digital professional development
•Identify practical approaches for implementing or advocating scalable CPD solutions.

This session explores how inclusive pedagogies can support all learners, including those with SEND, to participate meaningfully in thinking scientifically. Bringing together expertise from higher education, primary initial teacher education, and specialist SEND practice, the presenters examine how scientific thinking can be made accessible without reducing challenge or disciplinary authenticity.

The session aims to critically examine how processes associated with thinking scientifically (observing, predicting, questioning, testing ideas, interpreting evidence, and communicating explanations) are experienced by diverse learners across educational contexts. Drawing on examples from primary ITE and specialist SEND settings, the session will explore pedagogical approaches that enable participation in scientific enquiry through multimodal communication, adapted practical work, scaffolding, and collaborative learning. This session will consider how inclusive approaches can broaden participation in scientific thinking while maintaining intellectual rigour and curiosity.

Intended outcomes for participants include:
• developing a deeper understanding of inclusive science pedagogy;
• identifying practical strategies to support diverse learners in thinking scientifically;
• critically reflecting on barriers to participation
• considering how scientific enquiry can be adapted while preserving authentic engagement with scientific ideas.

The session is underpinned by research in inclusive pedagogy and science education, including work relating to Universal Design for Learning, participation in scientific enquiry, and dialogic and multimodal approaches to learning. It also draws on the presenters’ professional practice and experience across teacher education and specialist SEND contexts.

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

Play is key for young children’s learning, and the world around them is a source of wonder and interest. Using play based methods, NUSTEM have developed a resource to help early years educators introduce young children to STEM careers.

The resources are designed to support adults without a science or STEM background to confidently engage children with science and careers. In this session we will look at why it’s important to introduce STEM careers into early years and how we can help children playfully explore the world around them through the award-winning Play, Be, C resource.

As a result of this session, participants will be more aware of how children's career understanding can be supported even at this young age, and considered how they could make use of the Play, Be, C resource in their setting.

Join the team working with the Department for Education to develop the reformed Science Programmes of Study in England as we outline the priorities and evidence underpinning the drafting process. This session focuses on KS1 and KS2, including preparation for KS3.

Please note the other sessions in the conference programme, on KS1 and KS2, and on biology, chemistry and physics at KS3 and KS4.

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.

Scientific literacy is not secured by asking pupils to remember more scientific terms. In primary science, pupils need the language to think, reason, explain, compare, justify and connect ideas. This session will explore how schools can move beyond vocabulary word lists towards an explicit, progressive and purposeful approach to scientific vocabulary teaching.

The session is informed by Recommendation 1 of the EEF Improving Primary Science guidance, which identifies vocabulary as an important factor in improving pupils’ science learning. However, the session is designed to be relevant beyond England. Pupils in any science curriculum need support to move between everyday language, general academic language and precise scientific terminology. Words such as force, solution, current or material can carry everyday meanings that interfere with scientific understanding, while Tier 2 words such as compare, evidence, cause, effect, increase and decrease often provide the language pupils need in order to reason scientifically.

I will share learning from my current PSTT-funded scientific vocabulary project, which supports a primary school to review existing vocabulary provision, distinguish between Tier 2 and Tier 3 words, refine definitions, identify polysemous words and decide where vocabulary is best taught across the curriculum. The project includes baseline audit tools, pupil vocabulary tasks, CPD, implementation support and the development of a vocabulary progression resource.

The session will use this project as a case study to explore how schools can move from isolated vocabulary activities towards a coherent, curriculum-led approach to scientific literacy. Participants will consider how one school is reviewing its identified key vocabulary, separating Tier 2 and Tier 3 terms, defining words more precisely and selecting teaching approaches to support pupils’ scientific talk and writing.

The session will be interactive. Participants will work with a sample primary science vocabulary list to identify Tier 2, Tier 3 and polysemous words, consider which words are doing the most conceptual work and decide where vocabulary should be explicitly taught, revisited and applied. I will then share a practical five-step model emerging from the project: audit, classify, sequence, teach and evaluate. This model is intended to help teachers and science leaders move from isolated vocabulary activities towards coherent curriculum implementation.

Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of why Tier 2 vocabulary often needs to be taught before Tier 3 terminology, how everyday meanings can obstruct scientific understanding, and how vocabulary can be planned progressively across a primary science curriculum. They will also take away a practical framework for reviewing vocabulary in their own setting and identifying manageable next steps.

This interactive workshop invites participants to explore how outdoor learning can transform the teaching of primary science. Using The Croft on the Heath as a real case study, the session will share practical examples of how outdoor environments have been used to deepen scientific enquiry, increase engagement and develop children’s understanding of the natural world.

Participants will explore how outdoor learning supports working scientifically through observation, questioning, classification, measurement and investigation. The workshop will include examples of curriculum-linked activities, discussion around developing a whole-school mindset and opportunities for participants to reflect on how outdoor science could work within their own settings regardless of space, budget or experience.

The session will also provide practical guidance on funding opportunities, including grant applications and community partnerships that can support the development of outdoor learning spaces and resources.

Participants should expect a collaborative and reflective session with practical ideas that can be adapted immediately within primary science provision.

As a result of attending this session, participants will be able to:

* identify practical ways to embed outdoor learning within primary science teaching
* adapt existing science units to include meaningful outdoor enquiry opportunities
* develop strategies to build staff confidence and pupil engagement in outdoor science
* recognise how outdoor learning can support progression in working scientifically skills
* identify potential funding opportunities and next steps for developing outdoor science provision within their own setting

Background: This workshop is rooted in the ongoing development of The Croft on the Heath at St Mary’s First School. Created through grant funding, community support and a shared vision for nature-connected learning, the project has transformed both the physical environment and the approach to teaching science across the school. Drawing on leadership experience, Forest School principles and classroom practice, the session reflects on how outdoor learning has evolved from isolated enrichment activities into a whole-school pedagogical approach that values curiosity, exploration and pupil-led enquiry.

The workshop also reflects on the challenges faced during implementation, including staff confidence, curriculum integration and sustaining momentum, alongside the strategies that enabled outdoor learning to become embedded within science teaching.

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?

Fast, focused, and full of inspiration, our TeachMeet Lightning Talks are a celebration of ideas that work.

Hear from fellow primary educators sharing short, sharp insights from their classrooms: something they’ve tried, something that’s shifted practice, or something that’s made a real difference to pupils.

From rethinking the curriculum to small tweaks with big impact, each talk offers a glimpse into real practice – honest, practical, and usable. Dip in, get inspired, and leave with a handful of ideas you’ll want to try straight away.

This session is coordinated by the ASE Primary Committee who will be present to help and support throughout the session - come along and join in!

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.

This session explores how to make primary science teaching engaging and relevant by connecting new learning to prior knowledge and building progression across key stages. It considers the importance of purposeful practical work, where activities have a clear learning focus and are explicitly linked to scientific concepts.

The session also explores how meaningful primary science can be hands-on, curiosity-driven and connected to real-world contexts and pupils’ experiences, helping children see science as relevant to their lives and the wider world.

This hands-on workshop will feature two CLEAPSS primary practical activities, which offer opportunities to practise oracy skills. Through active participation attendees will start to appreciate how a range of strategies to support oracy can be incorporated into these and other practical activities.

All our activities use easily accessible resources and are developed with teachers and trialled in schools with children. You will leave with practical ideas and guidance to use in your own classroom and to share with your colleagues.

Participants will be able to reflection on how oracy strategies can be used in practical work and leave the session with experience of taking part in practical science activities.

Helen and Kathryn are both experienced primary school teachers who work for CLEAPSS as Primary Consultants, supporting schools to deliver safe and effective practical science activities. In addition to this, Helen and Kathryn work for a range of primary science organisations. Through their ongoing work in classrooms, Helen and Kathryn recognise the need for teachers to embed strategies that develop pupils’ oracy during science lessons.

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.

Every child deserves to see themselves and their cultures reflected in science. This interactive session offers a practical framework for doing that, without adding pressure to an already full curriculum. We'll introduce "two-eyed seeing" and share six dimensions of holistic science learning, then move quickly into short hands-on tasks. You'll sit briefly in a yarning-circle-inspired opener, try a story-to-science mapping using the emu life-cycle example, sketch a seasonal plan around a "class tree", audit a familiar lesson using nature-as-teacher prompts (symbiosis, hedgehog foraging, squirrels storing acorns), and rewrite a paragraph of planning language to shift from "resources" towards respect, reciprocity and responsibility. You'll leave with an A4 planning mat, a sensitivity checklist, and at least one concrete change you can make to next week's science lesson.

The aims of this session are to:
•Explain the principle of ‘two-eyed seeing’ and why it strengthens primary science.
•Explore six dimensions of holistic scientific literacy.
•Participate in practical activities to showcase how six dimensions of scientific literacy can be embedded in the primary science curriculum.
•Apply a simple cultural-sensitivity checklist when planning.

Outcomes:
Participants will leave able to articulate two-eyed seeing to a colleague, integrate at least one Indigenous or local knowledge example into an existing science unit, apply a cultural-sensitivity checklist when planning, and use relational language that positions children as part of, not separate from, nature.

Background
This session draws on our work at UCL and experience working in Jamaica, Singapore, The Gambia, Japan, Senegal and Australia, synthesised in our recent research in planetary-conscious pedagogy (Strachan & Markwick, 2025). It has been shaped by classroom practice, conversations with community knowledge holders, and research on science capital (Godec et al., 2017), storytelling in science (Salehjee, 2020; Fishman, 2020), and two-eyed seeing (Hatcher et al., 2009). We approach the examples with humility, acknowledging that all knowledge, including modern science, is interpreted through a cultural lens.

If you are a primary science educator, come along to the "Meet the Primary Committee" session at the end of Friday of Annual Conference 2027.

Got a question? Ever wondered about what goes on behind the scenes? Ever thought about getting involved in Committee activities? Are you wanting to know more about Professional Registration or writing an article in Primary Science or one of the ASE journals?

We look forward to listening to your questions and will endeavour to answer them!

How can we teach primary science in ways that are both rigorous and genuinely meaningful?

This interactive session explores how cross-curricular topics such as energy, climate, and sustainability can be taught through enquiry-driven, real-world contexts. Grounded in the primary science curriculum, it demonstrates how linking to geographical understanding—such as rocks and soils, water systems, habitats, environments, and human impact—can strengthen, rather than dilute, disciplinary knowledge.

Participants will take part in a practical renewable energy investigation, modelling how pupils can ask questions, test ideas, and interpret results. The session also introduces free, adaptable resources and shows how they can be used to support substantive and disciplinary knowledge and skills.

We will also explore how initiatives like the Great Science Share for Schools and Practical Action projects can provide purpose and audience for pupil learning, raising engagement and science capital.
You will leave with clear, classroom-ready approaches that combine strong science pedagogy with meaningful context—without increasing workload.

By the end of the session, participants will:
• Explore enquiry-based science lessons using real-world energy and sustainability contexts
• Apply strategies to support pupils in asking questions, investigating, and communicating findings
• Integrate opportunities for purposeful talk to strengthen scientific reasoning
• Be ready to implement at least one practical, evidence-informed strategy in their classroom

Background: This session draws on classroom practice and cross-curricular curriculum development, with a focus on improving how pupils engage with complex scientific ideas such as energy and climate. My work has been shaped by integrating science and geography to provide meaningful, real-world contexts that support both conceptual understanding and pupil motivation.

I have collated, developed and trialled classroom approaches where pupils ask their own questions, investigate renewable energy systems, and communicate their findings—leading to improved engagement, confidence, and scientific reasoning.

Physics in primary classrooms can sometimes feel difficult to teach confidently. Children often arrive with strong existing ideas about forces, light, sound or electricity, while practical activities can easily become focused on “doing” rather than understanding. This workshop explores simple, evidence-informed approaches that help teachers make physics teaching clearer, more purposeful and more accessible for all learners.

Using a range of classroom examples, participants will explore how to start with children’s thinking, make practical work more meaningful and develop pupils’ ability to talk and reason about physics. The session will examine approaches such as prediction questions, purposeful practical design, diagnostic discussion strategies, explicit vocabulary teaching and structured classroom talk.

The workshop focuses on small changes that can have a big impact on pupil understanding without requiring specialist equipment or advanced subject knowledge. Participants will leave with practical routines, questioning techniques and adaptable strategies that can be used immediately within primary science lessons.
This session is particularly suitable for primary teachers, science leaders and teachers who may feel less confident teaching physics but want to strengthen pupils’ conceptual understanding and engagement.

As a result of attending, participants will be able to:
> use strategies to elicit and respond to pupils’ existing physics ideas and misconceptions
> adapt practical activities so that the physics learning is explicit and purposeful
> structure classroom talk to support reasoning, explanation and participation
> teach and reinforce key physics vocabulary more effectively
> apply evidence-informed approaches to improve pupil understanding in primary physics lessons
> identify at least one practical change they will implement in their own classroom practice immediately

Background: This workshop draws on my work supporting primary science and physics teaching through classroom practice, teacher development and subject-specific CPD. Over time, I have become increasingly interested in the small pedagogical shifts that can make a significant difference to children’s understanding of physics concepts.
The session is informed by evidence and guidance from organisations including the Education Endowment Foundation, the Institute of Physics and the Ogden Trust, alongside research into purposeful practical work, oracy and misconceptions in primary science. It also reflects extensive work with teachers who often feel less confident teaching physics than other areas of science.

The approaches shared have been developed through trialling and refining strategies that help teachers move beyond “busy practicals” towards lessons where children think, talk and reason more effectively about the physics taking place.

Join us for a thought provoking and hands-on session where we’ll provide stimulus to consider your curriculum enrichment provision, barriers and solutions to equity of opportunity for all
We’ll share reflective tools, identify local and national enrichment opportunities and resources to make the connection between core curriculum content and nurturing curiosity of your learners.
This session is built on exploration beyond the core curriculum but with scientific rigour intact.

Outcomes: 
• Reflect on your own context and enrichment offer
• Made connections between core curriculum and enrichment opportunities for all
• Considered ways to build on your current enrichment activities in school
• Take away ideas and resources for use immediately including a gap analysis tool and a curriculum map

Background: Our experience of listening and working with teachers tells us that curriculum pressures continue to be relentless and time for teaching science in the core curriculum is already under pressure in many primary classrooms. We know teachers plan and deliver great core lessons, they inspire their learners to be curious about the world around them but do they ever really get the chance to nurture that curiosity?

Research tells us that enrichment opportunities are vital for providing space for learners to explore their interests in a less structured environment.

With so many years of experience running clubs, My Science Club was founded on the basis of creating a space for children’s curiosity to be fostered and grow whilst supporting the educator at the same time. This remains our passion and with a new curriculum in England and Scotland on the horizon, we have a moment to consider what we currently have whilst building for the future. In that moment sit our children in schools right now – they can’t wait for us to tread water getting to grips with new curricula, they need equity of opportunity right now before they leave primary or lose that curiosity and interest.

Our experience and knowledge as nationally accredited trainers of the Primary Science Capital Teaching Approach (PSCTA) has fuelled our passion for equity of access to enrichment activities and not just for the privileged few.

Join us to explore new CLEAPSS practical science activities for 4 and 5 year-olds, and how they can be used to strengthen communication and language through purposeful, hands-on learning in Reception classrooms.

Participants will engage with hands-on, developmentally appropriate activities for Reception, alongside strategies for developing scientific vocabulary and supporting early scientific thinking.

Participants will leave with age-appropriate science activities that are ready to use in their settings tomorrow, alongside the knowledge of how to use them to insure meaningful impact.

Outcomes:
Participants will be able to ask appropriate questions to prompt scientific thinking and talking with young children,
and will be able to set up meaningful practical activities for 4-5 year olds that will strengthen children’s scientific thinking and use of vocabulary.

CLEAPSS has recently expanded its support to include Reception-aged children in response to growing demand from both primary science leaders and Reception practitioners, evidenced through increased enquiries to the CLEAPSS helpline. This session is built around brand new practical science activities developed and trialled in Reception classrooms by CLEAPSS’ Reception consultant, Kathryn Horan. The activities have been written to facilitate scientific language development with very young children, providing guidance on what questions to ask, what possible learning foci might be and what outcomes might look like.

This session will present the design, implementation, and findings of a three year research and improvement project focused on raising the quality of science teaching and learning in high deprivation settings.

We worked with 32 primary schools to explore what improves science teaching — and what holds it back. You’ll hear how schools used science audits, teacher surveys, targeted CPD, and network meetings to build teacher confidence and strengthen classroom practice. We’ll share what changed, what teachers valued most, and how high-quality CPD helped schools understand their challenges and make improvements.

We’ll also discuss the real world barriers schools face — including high subject leader turnover — and what helped them keep making progress.

Participants will gain:
• Evidence of impact, including clear improvements in teacher confidence, positive shifts in science teaching practice and excellent participant feedback on CPD quality
• Insights into systemic challenges, particularly:
- High turnover of science subject leaders and its effect on continuity
- Practical strategies for supporting science subject leaders in high deprivation contexts
- An approach for using deprivation related data to understand school needs and tailor support
- Recommendations for sustaining improvement, even in schools with leadership instability

Background: Primary science teaching provision gaps in England remain strongly linked to socioeconomic deprivation. Schools serving communities with high levels of disadvantage often face additional barriers: limited departmental stability, fewer opportunities for sustained professional development and sometimes significant behavioural challenges.

This project worked with 32 schools across three ‘priority’ areas in the south-east of England (Edmonton, Medway and the North Thames Estuary) to understand their specific needs and to trial targeted support. The initiative combined school level diagnostic audits, teacher surveys, structured CPD, mentoring and ongoing collaboration through network meetings. The aim was to build capacity, strengthen subject leadership, and improve the quality of science teaching in a way that is responsive to each school’s context.

CPD and support was delivered across schools by Kulvinder Johal, Primary Science Mentor for the Primary Science Teaching Trust. Content was created by drawing on years of experience working in the classroom, backed up by research and findings on good primary science teaching in the sector.

Join us to unpick the headline changes and what is already working in your setting.

This masterclass is aimed at primary subject and cross phase leaders, curriculum developers in schools MATS and trusts.

You are encouraged to bring your current primary science long-term plan to reflect on what will be needed to be ready to teach this new curriculum in September 2028
Leave feeling confident and with a plan of action for the next 12 months

As a result of attending this session, you will be able to:

• Create a personal timeline of planned actions for readiness to teach the new primary science curriculum in 2028
• Identify changes needed to your long-term planning and resources
• Consider subject knowledge and CPD implications for science leaders and teachers of science at your school

This session explores how inquiry-based learning (IBL) in primary science can move beyond procedural or “pseudo” inquiry towards authentic inquiry where children genuinely hold epistemic authority within the classroom.

Drawing on an ongoing PhD study at the University of Cambridge Faculty of Education alongside practical classroom implementation using White Rose Science resources, the session will examine the relationship between teacher identity, working scientifically and pupil voice in primary science.

Recent national conversations have highlighted that while substantive knowledge is increasingly secure, disciplinary knowledge and authentic scientific inquiry remain underdeveloped. In many classrooms, children are still receiving science rather than actively doing science. This session argues that the challenge is not simply a lack of resources or curriculum structure, but a teacher identity issue.

The session will share findings from collaborative Lesson Study cycles conducted in a Year 4 classroom with a high proportion of EAL learners. The research focuses on how teachers interpret classroom moments such as silence, misconceptions, uncertainty and pupil struggle, and how those interpretations shape whether pupils are positioned as passive recipients of knowledge or active participants in scientific meaning-making.

Participants will explore the distinction between transmission teaching, pseudo-IBL and authentic IBL, considering how subtle teacher responses can either open or close epistemic space for children. Practical examples from science lessons will demonstrate how small shifts in teacher behaviour, such as allowing productive silence, redirecting questions back to pupils and encouraging peer-to-peer scientific discussion, can significantly increase student voice and disciplinary engagement while still working within existing curriculum structures.

Practical examples from a Year 4 science classroom will illustrate a clear inquiry-based lesson structure centred on recurring working scientifically skills. Lessons begin with recap activities and image stimuli that encourage children to notice, wonder and connect prior knowledge. Throughout the lesson, pupils repeatedly apply the same scientific skill in different contexts while teachers observe carefully for misconceptions, uncertainty and participation, using these observations to shape shared anchor charts and individual science journal entries. Exit passes are then used to assess developing understanding.

The session argues that this approach depends on teachers being confident in holding epistemic space for pupils, a confidence developed through collaborative Lesson Study and identity-focused professional reflection. Delegates will leave with practical, manageable strategies for collaborative planning, observation and reflection that can be implemented immediately in classrooms and schools.

Whilst this session is proposed by White Rose Education, this session is not promoting White Rose Science, and is focussing on the PhD research. This is not a funded initiative. The PhD researcher is a WRS customer and we are supporting him in his research.

This practical workshop will support teachers in taking their primary science lessons outdoors.  

• To consider which lesson objectives should be taught outdoors, and which lesson objectives could be taught outdoors
• To plan purposeful practical activities
• To explore opportunities for assessment and recording outdoors

Helen Spring CSciTeach is a Primary Science and Outdoor Learning Consultant. With a wealth of experience as a teacher and science subject leader, Helen specialises in primary science and outdoor learning. She is the author of the book, 'Teaching Primary Science Outdoors'. Helen's expertise lies in supporting primary science subject leaders and teachers, assisting them in enhancing the quality of their teaching and learning.

This practical workshop will support teachers in taking their primary science lessons outdoors. We will explore which lessons should be taught outdoors, and which lessons could be taught outdoors. We will spend time looking at how to plan for effective outdoor science lessons, where children make progress, and where teachers have the opportunity to assess that progress.

Participants will be able to reflect on their own science teaching, and to plan further opportunities for taking their science lessons outdoors.  

This session explores why evidence-based approaches are essential for creating high-quality primary science lessons that are effective and meaningful for all learners.

It introduces research-informed approaches such as Best Evidence Science Teaching (BEST) for primary-aged children, demonstrating how evidence can be translated into practical strategies to diagnose misconceptions, sequence learning and use formative assessment to build secure scientific understanding.

The session also introduces BEST Bites, new CPD modules designed to support teachers in developing learners’ understanding of key scientific ideas and easing transition from primary to secondary science.

The aim of this session is to support teachers in applying a decolonial lens to their primary science teaching practice. It will encourage participants to explore parallel ways of knowing and to acknowledge how colonial legacies continue to shape our current education systems. We will demonstrate how to link historical and indigenous epistemologies to Western understanding and applications of science and suggest how these ideas can be taught concurrently.  

Concrete classroom and whole‑school examples of this approach will be shared, alongside discussion of their impact on children’s attitudes, beliefs and engagement with science. In addition, the session will disseminate evidence from our research into the use of generative artificial intelligence in identifying and producing resources to support teaching through a decolonial lens.

We will start with an introduction for the need to decolonise the primary science curriculum and an overview of what this entails, and discuss tried and tested classroom and whole‑school examples. We will also include a review of research into how GenAI can be used to source specific materials for this approach and offer delegates an opportunity to trial GenAI prompts to source materials, ending with a brief Q&A.

This venue has been made available for primary science educators to get together and network during their scheduled lunch break.

Pop-up make and take will take place in the same space in the session following lunch at 13.35 - but it's a big room, so there's sufficient space and interest for both elements!

Grab your lunch and come along for some networking and informal chatting.

We are proposing ‘Rich Retrieval’ as a teaching and learning strategy. Retrieval practice in primary science is often limited to the retrieval of discrete 'facts' using low-stakes quizzes. This may contribute to pupils having knowledge as lots of separate bits of information without understanding how they relate to each other. The retrieval of memories is ‘reconstructive’ - connections in the brain are reformed in the process of bringing a memory to mind - there is the possibility of not just strengthening those connections, but also extending them. We also know that dialogic talk in science lessons can improve conceptual understanding. So, we are exploring the premise that a richer form of retrieval can both consolidate and elaborate conceptual knowledge.  

This session is based on our ongoing research into designing and evaluating retrieval activities for both consolidating and elaborating conceptual (substantive) knowledge in primary science. A team at Bath Spa University has been collaborating with teachers to develop and trial activities that use our Rich Retrieval strategies (known as 5Cs and a Q) to support the learning of key concepts for 7-11 year olds. A bank of 5-10 minute activities has been developed to match the current Key Stage 2 science curriculum for England, and we suggest that the Rich Retrieval strategies have a broader application. Our programme introducing this to primary teachers is currently being independently evaluated by the Education Endowment Foundation.

We see this research as an important example of how to bring together three different kinds of knowledge: science education research, educational neuroscience and teacher professional wisdom.

The workshop aims to:
> Explain the rationale for the Rich Retrieval strategies in terms of cognitive neuroscience and science education research
> Provide examples of Rich Retrieval activities and how to use them
> Share insights from our research to date
> Give participants the opportunity to share their experience of using retrieval in science lessons
> Participants will leave the session with:
> A deeper understanding of the potential of retrieval practice to support learning
> Practical ideas about how to make retrieval practice richer
> Questions about how to make the most of retrieval practice in their own context

Step into a hands-on marketplace of science educators sharing ideas, where every stall offers a quick, practical science enquiry you can build, trial, and take straight back to your classroom.

From clever investigations using everyday materials to simple models that spark big thinking, each activity is designed to be low-cost, high-impact, and rooted in working scientifically.
 
Dip in and out, follow your curiosity, and leave not just inspired, but equipped with ready-to-use resources, fresh enquiry ideas, and the confidence to recreate the experience with your pupils.

Generative AI produced images are quickly becoming part of how primary teachers prepare and run lessons, but how do we know if these images are scientifically sound? In this session we share findings from our research showing how generative AI can both reinforce known misconceptions and introduce new ones, particularly when teachers ‘personalise’ content for their pupils, which is a specified use case by the DfE for Generative AI use in education.

During the session you'll see worked examples from common primary science topics. You'll then have the chance to generate, examine and discuss images with other delegates, with prepared images available if you don't have a device.

The session is pitched for a range of confidence levels with AI, including those just starting out, while respecting that many primary colleagues already have significant generative AI expertise. You'll leave with a framework and checklist to evaluate generative AI produced images for misconceptions, plus prompt strategies to improve the science quality of what you (and your pupils) create.

Delegates will be able to:
• Recognise common misconceptions reinforced or introduced by generative AI produced primary science images.
• Use a clear framework and checklist to appraise generative AI visuals before using them in lessons.
• Apply prompting strategies that reduce the risk of misconception-rich outputs.
• Confidently discuss generative AI image quality with colleagues and pupils as part of wider digital literacy.

Background: Helen Harden, former chemistry lead on the University of York's BEST project and chemistry curriculum consultant, brings extensive expertise in primary and secondary science misconceptions. Victoria Hedlund, founder of GenEd Labs and contributor to the DfE and Chartered College's Safe and Effective Use of Generative AI in Education guidance, brings critical oversight of generative AI in classroom use. Our shared interest in this area is set out in our article “Looking deeper into AI-generated visual explanations” to be published in the July 2026 edition of SSR with a primary-focused article planned for ASE’s Primary Science journal. This forms the precursor to a larger ongoing research project.

Gardens and other ecosystems depend on pollinators, including bees. As the number of bees and other insects are declining at alarming rates worldwide (e.g., The number of recorded flying insects in the UK fell by 62.5% between 2021 and 2024 [Ball et al., 2024]; Australia is losing up to three species of native insects and other terrestrial invertebrates to extinction every week [Woinarski et al., 2024]), one in four native bee species faces extinction (Kopek & Burd, 2017). Since two-thirds of crops depend on insect pollination, these declines pose serious threats to food security and biodiversity (Feuerbacher et al., 2025).

Teachers can raise awareness of these issues and engage students with pollinators through GBL, which creates a context where students can experience and explore nature, and it offers many benefits to students (e.g., increased physical, cognitive, social-emotional, and self-care skills) (Taşçı & Keleş, 2021). As a matter of ecojustice, GBL also provides equitable access to green spaces, particularly for students from underserved communities (Authors, 2026; Schönfelder & Bogner, 2018; Taşçı & Keleş, 2021).

This presentation will showcase a new K-12 STEAM garden-based learning (GBL) curriculum that focuses on biodiversity and sustainability and was co-developed by an interdisciplinary team of classroom teachers, STEM education researchers, and scientists. We will disseminate evidence of the curriculum’s efficacy from our research with teachers and students. There will be space for questions and answers towards the end of the session.

This presentation involves sharing a new STEAM GBL curriculum with support materials and research results on the efficacy of implementation.

Outcomes: Participants will learn about and explore free, online resources that integrate social and emotional learning through the 3-H learning model (Hearts-on, Hands-on, Heads-on). Resources include 135 integrated K-12 STEAM GBL lessons, recommended children’s literature and reference books, 24 teacher and family resource sheets for sustainable gardens, citizen science projects, and 18 STEM career videos. A limited number of native bee colouring books will be available to the first arriving attendees, with online access for all participants.

Background: As a science educator and researcher with more than 40 years of experience in science education leadership, including 10 years of public-school teaching, I have led 4 transdisciplinary teams in developing curricula for K-12 students and PreK teachers, including work with National Geographic, Primrose Schools, the Ohio Department of Education, and USDA-NIFA. This session will focus on our most recent project.

This session draws on decades of research on formative assessment (including Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam’s work) focused on uncovering and using students’ ideas as the foundation for instruction. The approach has evolved through classroom practice that combines research on conceptual understanding, disciplinary literacy, and productive science discussion. Story probes were developed combine the engagement of narrative with the instructional power of formative assessment.

Stories naturally engage learners, spark curiosity, and invite discussion. In this interactive session, participants will explore how story probes can be used to connect science learning, literacy practices, and formative assessment. Through carefully crafted story scenarios, students encounter characters expressing different ideas about a scientific phenomenon or concept. These scenarios encourage learners to analyse characters’ perspectives, and share their own ideas in a low-risk and engaging context.

Participants will experience how story probes can be used to uncover children’s thinking about science while supporting close reading strategies by interpreting meaning from text. Attention will be given to how teachers can listen for children's ideas, use those ideas to inform instruction, and create classrooms where thinking, questioning, and sensemaking are valued. Participants will leave with practical strategies for developing and integrating story probes into science instruction in ways that strengthen both conceptual understanding and literacy skills. They will also be provided with a link to access and download sample story probes.

These story probes are based on extensive formative assessment research and practice from both the UK and the US. Page Keeley’s probes in the Uncovering Student Ideas series published in the U.S. are used extensively in schools throughout the U.S.; and, in collaboration with Ed Walsh, have been adapted by Millgate for a UK audience.

As a result of attending this session, participants will be able to:
1) Facilitate close reading and productive science talk around science scenarios.
2) Use a story scenario to identify and interpret students’ ideas revealed through story-based discussions
3) Apply formative assessment strategies that use student thinking to inform instruction.
4) Adapt or create story scenarios that integrate science content with literacy practices

This session focuses on a 5 year research and development project SCIENCE NINJAS that CLEAPSS and King's College London undertook with teachers in primary schools. It will chart the developmental journey we took in framing and adapting the professional learning work that we undertook with primary teachers, across KS1&2, as they explored and experimented with both increasing the amount of practical activities they did with their classes and how they focused in on the teaching and assessment decisions they needed to take to support science learning through practical work.

This project was built on a collaborative approach with classroom teachers, CLEAPSS teacher educators and researchers from King's. Each of these groups has benefitted greatly in their knowledge, understanding and skills required to ensure practical activities in primary not only engage children but help them learn science. In our talk we will report on how science NINJA leads from the research schools have perceived the impact of the project on their children, their teachers and themselves and what they have found beneficial and tricky in steering the professional learning during this project.

This will be topped with reflections from the CLEAPSS and King's team. So come along and have a taste; we promise their will be delights as well as treats to take back to your own classroom or share with interested colleagues.

Join ASE and our partner, University of York Science Education Group, for the launch of our Dialogic Teaching in Primary Schools MOOC.

This resource is supported by the Templeton World Charity Foundation as part of ASE’s Sustaining the Impact of Big Questions in Classrooms in Science Education initiative