I was really happy to be at the launch of this new report from Professor Sarah Earle, Dr Stuart Read, Professor Lynne Bianchi and Dr Julie Jordan following their scoping literature review/research and subsequent collaborative investigation. It is so great to explicitly be able to see/read about practical work at primary level in a more analysed way- supporting teachers to understand what exactly they are covering in science practicals at school, if they are ensuring effective coverage and also helping teachers to fully understand the breadth and pedagogy required to teach the primary science National Curriculum effectively.
Within this work, a definition for primary science practical work is explicitly stated, pedagogy is investigated and purposes are examined/specified- for the four UK nations and internationally.
I would highly recommend you give it a read (see the link below)- teachers, science leads/school leaders, professional development leads and IT educators and resource developers/policy makers.
Bathspa University
University of Manchester
Nuffield Foundation
Thank you.
Practical-work-in-primary-science-Nuffield-report-March-2025.pdf