What should leaders prioritise to improve primary science in their schools?

Where is the best place to start to improve primary science at your school? Answering this question can be overwhelming and time is often spent on developmental initiatives or professional development that doesn’t have the intended impact. This session will showcase the impact of successful science leadership in a range of U.K and International schools using examples from schools that have completed the Primary Science Quality Mark (PSQM) professional development programme. Examples provided by PSQM hub leaders and science leads will include outcomes in areas such as using assessment to support learning, promoting inclusion and equity, connecting contexts and skills with other curriculum areas, teaching the knowledge and skills required to work scientifically and ensuring the science curriculum engages, inspires and challenges all pupils through planned progression in content and procedural knowledge. This session is aimed at primary science leaders and teacher developers that work with them and aims to: •Quiz participants on the aspects of leadership in primary science education •Use a worked example to prompt discussion about the challenges of identifying first steps •Share examples from PSQM hub leaders and PSQM science leads in the U.K. and International Schools of evidence of impact •Provide opportunity for participants to reflect on which strategies might be most useful to audit needs, implement strategies and review actions as part of a development cycle •Identify relevant next steps and linking to research evidence Intended outcomes for participants: •Know more about the challenging aspects of science leadership in primary schools. •Reflect on the examples from Science Leads and Hub Leaders from around the world and make comparisons with own settings. •Reflect on what is working well in their science leadership and where improvements could be made. •Know more about the Primary Science Quality Mark. •Gain ideas and think about the relevance of those ideas to their own setting.