Any primary science leaders reading this have probably heard of the Primary Science Quality Mark (PSQM) and many of you will have embarked on the year long development journey yourselves. What you may not know is that the Education Endowment Foundation is funding an independent evaluation of the PSQM which will allow 342 eligible schools in selected areas to complete the one-year CPD programme for free in either 2024 or 2026, instead of the usual cost of £950. As this evaluation is an RSC (random control trial) 342 schools will take part in total, with data about the impact on children’s science learning collected from all schools. 171 schools will be allocated to the ‘intervention group’ and take part in 2024-5, and 171 will be allocated to the ‘control group’ and receive a ‘thank you’ payment which they can use to pay for PSQM in 2026.
That money-saving potential alone has probably caught your attention (and might even be enough to get some of you keen to sign on the dotted line!), but as this opportunity is about so much more than ‘free stuff’, I invite you to ask the question, “So what?”. This is one that, prompted by the hub leaders who support them throughout their PSQM journey, is often used by science leaders to help them focus on the impact of their actions as subject leaders and teachers. In a very busy timetable, it can be hard to stop and think about the ‘So what?’; one of the most wonderful aspects of the PSQM process is that it requires subject leaders to reflect on the impact of the actions they take, big and small, to improve science learning for all children.
So your school will be able to take part in the PSQM CPD programme this year or in 2026. So what? What impact will that have on you? On your science curriculum? On your teachers? On your children? Each PSQM journey is highly personalised to the school, staff and pupils, so I can’t tell you exactly what it would mean for you. However I am both a science subject leader who has completed the PSQM journey three times with two different schools and a hub leader who has supported many schools through the process. I have experienced the impact of PSQM at first hand.
The most noticeable impact of my own PSQM journeys was on the children. In my first school, where outcomes, aspirations and science capital were low, there was a significant impact on pupils’ science learning and a huge impact on their views about what science is and what scientists do. We went from children thinking science was all about explosions and frizzy-haired eccentrics mixing chemicals in labs, to most pupils being able to identify where their science learning was relevant to their own lives and many aspiring to become scientists. Their intended future careers included botanists and vets, aerodynamics specialists and volcanologists. I think my favourite quote from any child in many years’ teaching came from a discussion with a pupil about his work as part of the often carried out ‘draw a scientist’ task. In our initial monitoring, almost all children drew a stereotypical scientist image, but by the end of the year the majority drew something completely different, with many drawing someone that resembled themselves. I asked one Year 6 pupil about his drawing, and he told me, “I drew me ‘cos I’m a scientist. Science is awesome innit Miss? It’s everything we do.”
For me, and many of the other subject leaders I work with, completing the PSQM CPD programme had a great impact on my own skills as a subject leader. The programme supports science leaders to really reflect on their leadership style, their strengths and their individual challenges. I can honestly say I do not think I’d be sitting here writing this blog as a primary science specialist now if I had not embarked on the PSQM journey myself. On a personal level, it also helped me to establish myself as an effective middle leader in my third year of teaching in my first school and build relationships with colleagues in my current school when I was just a newbie!
So, if your school is eligible to take part in the EEF trial of PSQM: So what? What do you think the impact could be on you? On your colleagues? On your pupils? There has never been a better time to find out!
Find out more and check if your school is eligible here