It may be quite daunting to put together a proposal for an award, especially something as prestigious as the Rolls-Royce Science Prize! But this is exactly what the author did as soon as she was appointed head of juniors at La Sagesse School in Newcastle upon Tyne. After a consultation with staff, governors, the school council and the…

Almost one in five pupils in England have been identified as having special educational needs and there are times when other children will also need some extra help and support with their learning. Many children with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream schools do not make as much progress as they could. This is sometimes because of their…

From schools across the UK, 250 science subject leaders are taking part in this year's Primary Science Quality Mark (PSQM) scheme, seeking to achieve an award to celebrate the quality of science teaching and learning in their schools. It is a new award scheme and has attracted lots of interest. The Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) has…

Most teachers often pass themselves off as "just" teachers, when in truth they are so much more. Teacher, adviser, consultant, confidante, manager, leader, partner, collaborator, role model, councillor, researcher, learner, friend. Of course, in the 21st-century education system teachers are expected to carry out roles well beyond…

There are numerous benefits from using puppets in the classroom. There is evidence to suggest that puppets have a positive impact in motivating children and promoting language development. In this article, the authors explore the use of puppets to teach food science and nutrition. (Contains 2 figures.)

In this digital age, is primary science being left behind? Computer microscopes provide opportunities to transform science lessons into highly exciting learning experiences and to shift enquiry and discovery back into the hands of the children. A class of 5- and 6-year-olds was just one group of children involved in the Digitally Resourced…

Since 2006, the Kolumbus-Kids project in Germany has been supporting gifted learners between the ages 9 and 12. Selected children from regional schools are invited to participate in courses dealing with biological problems and phenomena at university. In order to attend these sessions, they first have to pass a special performance test and a test…

The principle of mixed-age play was first encountered in "Golden Key" schools in Moscow, where the schools were originally set up and organised (and continue to be so) in accordance with the work of Vygotsky. Vygotsky said that children can learn through imitation, or "emulation" as it has come to be known. Children observe…

Science and design and technology (D&T) are often linked, either formally in the curriculum or by making connections in and between lessons. There has been much debate about how this linking serves the needs of the two subjects and what, in practice, the actual relationship is, as the current English National Curriculum (DfEE, 1999) identifies…

In this article, Steve Waters-Adams and Pete Barron respond to Alan Peacock's Viewpoint article, "The art of nose blowing", in the last issue of "Primary Science" (n123, pages 34-36), in which he questioned why primary science in English primary schools seemed not to be improving in spite of the resources put into it.…

Primary-aged children's decreasing enthusiasm for science is worrying. The author explores why children are often not as excited by science as one would expect. She found that the best way to counter this is to be enthusiastic about the subject herself, have interesting activities for the children to carry out, and give them a choice about what to…

The Association For Science Education's "schoolscience.co.uk Great Bug Hunt 2011," in association with Martin Rapley and Gatekeeper Educational, has been a resounding success--not only because it fits into the science curriculum so neatly, but also because of the passion it evoked in the children who took part. This year's entries were…

For many children of primary school age, an engineer is the man who comes to service the central heating system or who fixes the family car when it breaks down. Most have never met a "real" professional engineer, and have no idea of what is involved in the exciting world of engineering. Most assume that engineers are men. To try to…

Increased energy efficiency and reduced reliance on fossil fuels are both essential if people are to have any chance of avoiding escalating energy prices and the grim reality of catastrophic climate change. By increasing the diversity of energy sources people can also achieve increased security, reducing their dependence on imports. As…

The late Tom Chester, in his role as the British Lichen Society churchyard coordinator, did a great deal to encourage the use of the churchyard as an educational tool. In his honour, the Society has created an award as part of its "Lichen Project". When the Society approached the Association for Science Education (ASE) for help in…