ASE 2025 Annual Conference

The talk will consider the barriers impacting learners within science education and strategies to overcome them by exploring the Plymouth Science SEND Toolkit. Consideration has been given to supporting pupils with particular SEND needs and how to scaffold learning to support them effectively.

The session will focus on unlocking learning and removing barriers to ensure all children make progress. During the session the toolkit will be explored to consider removing barriers for those with visual impairment, hearing impairment, physical disability, neurodivergent pupils, dyslexic pupils etc. Examples from lessons will be discussed to exemplify good practice. Evidence-informed practice will be explored.

The ASE Primary committee is delighted to meet and greet any new primary science educators to Annual Conference. Whether you are a lone delegate attending for the first time, or presenting for the first time, do come along and chat with members of the committee who will welcome you and advise you on the various ways you can enjoy your day, and gain some great professional learning amongst like-minded colleagues.

This workshop is a circus of practical activities to try and take away, all using easily accessible and easy-to-use materials. All our activities are developed with teachers and trialled in schools with children. 

This session will delve into the concept of retrieval practice and its transformative impact on primary science teaching and learning. Designed for primary teachers and teacher developers, this session provides actionable strategies, supported by robust research, to improve memory retention and comprehension in young learners, including:

•Cognitive science about retrieval.
•Practical ideas for retrieval examples from key stage one and key stage two
•Results of a teacher survey about retrieval - which strategies are people using and what are the barriers to retrieval ?
•Overcoming obstacles for retrieval.
We will explore the definition and cognitive benefits of retrieval practice, with some background neuroscience, underpinned by educational research, and investigate practical examples for use in the classroom – giving you a toolkit of strategies to embed retrieval practice into your daily teaching to support engagement, address misconceptions, make meaningful and relevant links, and reinforce learning to boost pupil outcomes.

A warm welcome to the primary science networking space! Come along and pick up complimentary refreshments, meet other primary colleagues and find out more about how the Primary Science Teaching Trust (PSTT) can support you. We have expert advice on hand and a wealth of FREE resources to give away, including prize draws for many of our paid resources.  We are delighted that TTS-group and Explorify are joining us in the networking space - please come along and chat to them about the latest resources and how to access their support.  

An introduction to professional registration with the Science Council. This workshop will explain what's involved, how you can apply and how to write a cracking application. The workshop will cover all registers - Chartered Science Teacher, Registered Scientist and Registered Science Technician

Wellbeing is such a key topic currently for education. For three years (2019-2022) Primary science in Stoke-on-Trent received significant DfE funding (Opportunities Area local plans) to upskill the local school workforce. It is now 2025 and there is much to continue to celebrate. What happens to staff wellbeing when the investment stops?

Tina Whittaker and Karen Peters (co-leads of ‘Science Across the City’) will facilitate reflections from those involved in the funded professional development programme, and in particular focus upon the difference that the model developed, implemented and known as ‘The SATC Science Influencers” made both then and now. This session will invite attendees to explore the successful legacy beyond the funding, and reflect upon the key messages that are transferable and relevant to current policy design and the set-up of local systems leadership. Check and question assumptions of what matters to great teachers by hearing from great teachers.

www.scienceacrossthecity.co.uk

The IOP is delighted to be hosting these informal tea and cake sessions for anyone interested in delivering physics education!  Pop along, eat, drink and chat - we look forward to welcoming you.

Our dedicated Chair Trio invite you to drop-in to the “Chair-Chat” sessions on one of the days of Annual Conference 2025. 

Got a question? Ever wondered about what goes on behind the scenes? Ever thought about getting involved in Committee activities? Are you wanting to know more about Professional Registration or writing an article in one of the ASE journals? First time attending our flagship Conference?

We look forward to hearing your questions and will endeavour to answer them or point you in a selection of possible right directions!

Sreepur Village in Bangladesh was established in 1989.  It keeps mothers with their children. It received the 2024 Alexander Award from the ASE  for their project Talking Science, a project set up in 2010 to enable the women recipients at Sreepur to  find that they were carrying out science in many of their everyday activities and learning  skills relevant to their lives when they return to their village . Information and skills such as how to put out fires, tell the time, filter water and grow vegetables in a sac gardens. A recent initiative is learning bicycle maintenance and repair.  This presentation will illustrate some of the everyday activities that occur daily in this purpose-built village in Tengra area of Bangladesh.

Einstein once said that “without changing our pattern of thought, we will not be able to solve the problems we created with our current patterns of thought.” These words emphasise the role of climate education and educators in “equipping learners with the skills, attributes and competencies required to safeguard our [highly interconnected] social, environmental and economic wellbeing” as encapsulated in UNESCO’s definition of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).

Understanding complex global issues requires a new ‘way of thinking’ that consider the many interactions that occur within and across ecological, social and economic systems. Furthermore, people who score higher on ‘systems thinking’ are consistently more likely to be better informed of value issues like climate change as personally important and so take more effective action.
Climate Fresk, is a highly engaging, gamified workshop, based in information taken from the latest IPCC Assessment Report3. This workshop is designed to facilitate conversations among participants and challenge their assumptions in relation to the mechanisms of climate change.

Having featured recently as a very popular article in ASE's own Primary Science journal and used extensively in teacher training, CPD courses and partnership schools at the University of Strathclyde, Scotland’s National ITE establishment, this workshop will be of intense interest to ASE members as it illustrates how to help children and teachers exercise their anticipatory and systems thinking competencies through use of a fun gaming platform as they gain an understanding of emergent earth system behaviour, involving feedback loops and climate tipping points, and the potential impacts of this behaviour on highly interconnected ecological, social and economic systems.

The value in making learning fun is immeasurable. By encouraging children to adopt different learning styles, you can engage them in activities that they might not have ever tried before.

How can we promote key life skills to young children, while nurturing a passion for learning? Through play, exploration and listening to their needs. Winchester Science Centre (WSC) is owned by the charity Wonderseekers, whose mission is to create a more equitable world where all children can treasure science and are equipped and empowered to improve lives and protect and heal our planet. The charity uses the science centre as a tool to make learning fun, to break down barriers to science for children. The work of Wonderseekers is centred on diversifying reach and growing impact, championing equality, diversity and inclusion in science, working long-term with children who need our support the most, and protecting and healing our planet, as well as inspiring others to do the same.

This session consists of an interactive workshop, whereby attendants will be able to experience a WSC school workshop, while taking time to speak with us about the pedagogy, curriculum and accessibility that has been designed into the activities. There will be an opportunity for Q&A, as well as time to discuss what we have learned from our experiences working with our priority communities, home educated children and SEND groups, amongst other visiting groups.

This panel session will be chaired by Angharad Pass, chair of ASE Primary Committee.

We’ll discuss the importance of decolonising science education to create a more inclusive and engaging curriculum for primary students. By incorporating global perspectives and recognizing the contributions of influential non-European scientists like Ibn al-Haytham and Fatima al-Fihri, we can broaden students’ understanding of science and challenge traditional Eurocentric narratives. This approach not only enriches the curriculum but also helps to inspire a more diverse generation of learners, fostering a sense of cultural identity and ensuring that science education is relevant and accessible to all.

Could the inclusion of the science of early brain development in the national curriculum build the skills and knowledge we need to close the attainment gap and build the next generation of parents and citizens? This session will take the form of a panel discussion on the science of early child development and the long-term impact that early experiences can have on the life chances of every child.

It will talk about the changes we could make to society and education through teaching children about early child development and hear from teachers who have done this by teaching the SEEN Curriculum. Speakers will be key players in education, and science leads/teachers who have taught the Kindred² SEEN programme to KS2/KS3 students.

The session will end with a Q&A and discussion with delegates, and we will be keen to hear your thoughts and questions

• Suitable for early years, primary, secondary or policy audience with an interest in curricula and new approaches to teaching.
• The SEEN Programme was developed in collaboration with Oxford University and two Expert Advisory Groups.
• Kindred² is a charitable foundation working collaboratively with partner organisations to improve early education and early child development.
  
  Kindred² is proud to be sponsoring this session for the ASE at its' 2025 Annual Conference.

 

How clean is the air that surrounds you where you live or that you breathe on your walk to school or work? Are there as many insects as there should there be in your garden or local park and does this number matter?
These kinds of starter questions have been used successfully to engage participants throughout the UK in a Citizen Science initiative called the ‘Open Air Laboratories Project’. Insights gained have helped shape the creation and implementation of scientific learning resources that can be adapted for use in diverse groups and settings, to improve understanding not only of our environment, but of more complex ideas such as ‘connectivity’ and ‘change’.

Improving oracy through the Great Science Share for Schools. Prompts for talk offer ideal ways to formatively assess pupil’s learning in science. Find out more about the GSSfS Toolkit and the many ways in which you can promote discussion between pupils.

Come along and explore a range of inclusive approaches to practical primary science to support all learners to succeed within your curriculum and science enrichment programmes.

The session will include:

- My Science Club strategies to reduce cognitive load on learners and develop independence in their own learning.
- Scaffolding approaches to support all learners to record and analyse their findings.
- Appropriate use of explicit instruction to support all learners to take part in practical activities.

The focus of our research is to inform how classroom science practice can be improved through effective engagement with parents in an out of school science club.

The focus participant samples are families from ethnic diverse backgrounds from The Meadows in Nottingham. Both parents and their children explore different scientific concepts from the EYFS or National Curriculum and develop their use of scientific vocabulary.

Parents are an important factor to the collaboration of home-school communication. In the session, they reflect on their school experiences and reflect on their science learning. They use their own unique experiences and life journey to present scientific learning in the classroom.

Providing contextual learning linked to the seasons/weather/local habitats allows the children to experience science daily and engage in everyday conversations using their scientific literacy.

By providing effectively engaging sessions, we are building a community of families that can envisage careers for their children in the world of science. The children build confidence in themselves as scientific explorers and can feel what it means to think like a scientist.

The co-collaboration of parents has enlightened us on their invaluable support for encouraging and supporting their children’s learning away from school.

As the majority of our families have English as a second language and some children also have SEND, we are proactive in promoting effective use of scientific literacy and scientific vocabulary.

We have observed children’s and their parents’ engagement and enthusiasm grow over the past 18 months. We have identified language as a barrier for communicating abstract concepts but have found that using the right approach and apparatus, we are able to teach the learning objectives clearly.

The approaches we have used are self-narration; short simple direct instructional language for processes and challenge; verbal feedback from the parents, praise and encouragement for the children. Importantly we have found that reflection on the learning also helps consolidate the new learning, ready for the next session.

Interestingly, we have applied adapted approaches to the input but have retained the same outcome for all of the children in attendance. We have noticed that the competency of children’s first language at home also correlates with the engagement of science learning. They can be imaginative and support this with language. They can create pictures mentally with the support of their parents in their first language. We call this ‘family learning’. Many of the families from the marginalised backgrounds express their desire for social mobility for the children and they believe that a firm grounding in science is essential. Many of our parents are highly qualified from the country of birth and apply their knowledge to the sessions explaining what is happening to their children.

The children have developed essential skills such as listening, following instructions, asking questions, sharing, turn taking, drawing, explaining, relating their understanding to others, developing writing skills and collaborating in family learning.

This workshop will share the outcomes from two research projects investigating climate change education across the sector.

The first research project includes 14 case studies to find out how school leaders are tackling the Department for Education’s Climate Change and Sustainability Strategy in primary and secondary schools, colleges and at Multi-Academy Trust and local authority level.

The aims of research project two were: to explore teacher confidence in teaching aspects of climate change; and to gain an understanding of primary teachers ’needs to support effective climate change teaching and learning in different curriculum subjects.

Findings from both research projects will be summarised and themes drawn out. There will be an opportunity for participants to discuss and reflect on project outcomes and take away potential ideas to develop in their own schools and settings, as well as professional development providers.

Delegates will have:
•a greater understanding of how education settings are tackling the Department for Education’s Climate Change and Sustainability Strategy.
•insights into teachers ’confidence and understanding in teaching aspects of climate change and highlight issues of climate anxiety if any.
•considered the challenges of and explored some practical solutions to teaching climate change and sustainability (with a focus on primary subject leaders).

In recent years, education in England has seen a move towards ‘evidenced-based’ practice with the Department for Education privileging ideas and practice drawn from cognitive science.  

An area that has gained significant interest is that of ‘retrieval practice’. On the face of it, retrieval practice appears to be an intuitive and easy to implement strategy for a teacher, as it requires students to retrieve (remember) information from their long-term memory, rather than passively restudy it. The act of deliberately retrieving information then improves the retention and later retrieval of that information, which is often referred to as the ‘testing effect’.

Despite there being strong evidence that retrieval practice supports learning, there are a number of issues that teachers should be aware of when translating the research into effective classroom practice.

This session aims to share some of the issues that retrieval practice research raises for teachers and discusses some key consideration for teachers who already use or want to use retrieval-based strategies in their practice. Drawing on findings from two recent research projects, the concept of retrieval-based learning will be outlined, along with key ideas to support the development of effective and efficient strategies.

Join in with Primary Swap Shop Pops Up, where primary teachers have an opportunity to pop their project, free resource or artefact onto a table top for discussion and networking/swapping ideas etc, with other primary educators.

If you have something that you would like to share with conference delegates, please contact Sheetal Kowalczyk by email at s.kowalczyk@bro.gdst.net . Spaces are limited!

Contributions should be no larger than 40cm x 80cm - and fit on a table top
Whatever you show, should take no longer than 5-10 minutes to arrange on the table
Contributions should be inspiring and thought provoking, something that teachers may not have seen before
Ideas should be tried and tested - so that teachers can feel assured that they can replicate your idea back at their school.

If you have had an article published about your idea in Primary Science Magazine or another journal, please have a copy of that on the table alongside our display, so that teachers can read more about it. If you are happy for teachers to contact you, please feel free to leave your card or material on your table for teachers to take away.
Everything shared in the Primary Swap Shop is free of charge and without agenda, that creates the special friendly atmosphere of the pop-up!

Through the eyes of Science Across the City (SATC) and the Primary Science Quality Mark (PSQM), this session looks at the importance of fostering a critically reflective approach to subject leadership and promoting a commitment to continuous growth.

How do children’s career aspirations change over time?  We know quite a lot about what types of jobs children want to do, but less about how an individual child’s aspirations change over time. This session will present research on the changes in individual children’s career aspirations between 2019 and 2021. We will also discuss the implications of the research for teachers, primary schools and organisations interested in encouraging children to do STEM careers when they are older.

Enquiry types are an important part of the disciplinary knowledge in the primary science curriculum (England). This session, presented by the authors of the new edition of the book ‘It’s not fair – or is it?’, will use the latest thinking on this aspect of science education to help you to:

•distinguish between the science enquiry types, considering where confusion may arise
•identify which is the most useful enquiry type for particular contexts and questions
•plan for progression in teaching children how to carry out science enquiries from the early years through to upper key stage 2

This session is related to the ASE/Millgate book It's not fair - or is it?

Megan and Amy will discuss the action research process before delving deeper into their studies. Themes and outcomes will shared from recent research including suggested activities for best practice.

Megan will be discussing topics on retrieval practice in KS1 science reflecting on the use of dual coding, peer communication and feedback-driven metacognition and their impact on cognitive load.
Amy will be discussing how forest school approaches including risk-taking can impact upon children's resilience and overlapping mental capacities in KS1.

The process of action research will be reflected upon and how this has influenced and impacted practice for Early Carer Teachers.

If you are a primary science educator, come along to the "Meet the Primary Committee" session at the end of Friday of Annual Conference 2024.

Got a question? Ever wondered about what goes on behind the scenes? Ever thought about getting involved in Committee activities? Are you wanting to know more about Professional Registration or writing an article in Primary Science or one of the ASE journals?

We look forward to listening to your questions and will endeavour to answer them!

This invitation only reception has been arranged by CLEAPSS and is an opportunity to launch their Primary Ambassadors' work moving forward.