Developing teachers as science leaders in primary school

Children’s experiences of science at primary school
inform their decisions about studying science post16,
which impacts on the supply of STEM
professionals. In England, the Primary Science
Quality Mark (PSQM) award programme is a
recognised way of addressing the reported decline in
the profile given to science as numeracy and literacy
have been prioritised. This programme aims to raise
the profile of primary science by providing schools
with a framework and professional support for
developing science leadership, teaching and
learning. This paper reports the views of twelve
primary science leaders from schools involved in
the PSQM scheme for the first time and explores
changes in their attitudes to teaching and leading
science. Data were collected through questionnaires,
an interview and focus group and from documents
submitted for the award. The findings suggest how
the science leaders’ perspectives shifted from science
learning and practice in isolated classrooms to a
wholeschool
vision.
Keywords: Continuing professional development;
primary science; Primary Science Quality Mark
(PSQM); science leaders; teacher leadership