Recently, teacher recruitment and retention has been the focus of the government and a step taken to support recruitment was the abolishing of the skills tests. Initial teacher training providers became responsible for assessing trainees' mathematicsrather than having it externally assessed. The purpose of this literature review is to synthesise…

This paper explores the issue of harmful sexual behaviour (HSB) presented by young people, advocating a preventative approach through an increased focus on primary education. The definition of HSB, contributing factors and recent prevalence among young people is discussed. Much of the research and policies explored relate directly to England and…

The Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management (TCM) programme is an evidence-based training with documented positive effects on teachers' classroom management strategies and pupil mental health. However, programme effectiveness alone does not ensure sustainability. This study explored teachers' views on the sustainability of the TCM programme.…

The increasing popularity of outdoor learning (OL) amongst researchers and practitioners highlighted the need to further investigate primary teacher trainees (PTTs) perception towards it and how this may be related to their nature connection. Participants were PTTs who were considering attending Forest School (FS) Training Level 1 as part of their…

Previous articles in "Primary Science" have presented a range of ways to teach electricity in engaging and informative ways (e.g. Buckley and Harvey, 2014; Chapman, 2014; Norman, 2014; CLEAPSS, 2016) and Frank Harris provides an interesting historical account of the development and use of batteries in "School Science Review"…

Recent developments in technology have accelerated the influence of artificial intelligence (AI) on our lives. The ability of generative-AI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude to both 'write' and 'read' texts in a human-like manner means they are set to play an increasingly important role in the literacy lives of children, young people and…

Current educational discourse holds that effective pedagogy requires engagement through active student participation with subject matter relating to them. The lack of testing of lessons in series is recognized as a potential weakness in the evidence base, not least because standard parallel designs cannot capture serial interaction effects (cf.…

This paper examines a literacy book study group as a potentially useful vehicle for the delivery of teacher professional learning in a primary setting. A small group of teachers, in conjunction with a university lecturer, participated in weekly workshop sessions centred around a chosen literacy-based text. The goal of this project was to provide…

Ethnographic note-taking in the field is often imbued with emotions, shaped by power relations and influenced by participants' voice and agency. Though enough has been written about ethnography, discussions on the specific challenges of taking notes, particularly in research with children are limited. Drawing on three ethnographic field studies…

Prospective memory (PM) involves remembering to carry out intended actions in the future (e.g., posting a letter on the way to school or passing on a message) and is important for children's independent functioning in daily life. This study examined, for the first time, the effects of incidental reminder cues on children's PM. Five- and 7-year-old…

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

Primary school science emphasises hands-on interactions, but little is known about how the sensorimotor experiences these interactions provide shape children's science ideas. Early interactions with science need to be engaging as these shape children's developing attitudes towards science and themselves as science learners; however, these…

Diffracting a research project in a UK primary school, this paper concerns feminist materialist orientations to odd-ness as a relational, distributed, and affective form of "thinking-feeling". It suggests that attuning to affect as it moves through a context resistant to disruption, involves becoming "bad researchers"; bad for…

Various childhood and education theorists affirm the benefits of hands-on and contextual learning opportunities for children and young people. Learners with special educational needs and disability (SEND) often display low levels of engagement. Teachers may utilise innovative pedagogical approaches to increase learning engagement and…

Children who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) are multimodal communicators. However, in classroom interactions involving children and staff, achieving mutual understanding and accomplishing task-oriented goals by attending to the child's unaided AAC can be challenging. This study draws on excerpts of video recordings of…