How many science specialists are there in primary schools?

There are significant differences in how children are taught in primary and secondary schools in England. While at secondary level, teachers specialise in specific subjects, primary teachers typically teach most or all subjects to one class. As such, they don’t have to have a degree in a specific subject – the only subject requirements are grade 4 in GCSE English, maths and science (1). In order to ensure that teaching and learning in specific subjects* is effectively monitored, primary schools have subject leaders who are responsible for leading improvement in the teaching and learning of that subject, and for supporting teachers to deliver the subject to a high standard.

The difference in how subjects are delivered means that, unlike in secondary schools where science lessons are often taught by a specialist – using the Department for Education definition of a teacher with a relevant degree – this isn’t the case in primary schools. This isn’t a flaw of primary schools; it is by design as the primary curriculum is less specialised than at secondary. However, employing a science specialist can still be beneficial for a primary school. Who is better placed to share accurate subject knowledge and explain more tricky topics?

Research on the presence of science specialists in primary schools is sparse. In 2013, Wellcome reported that just over 9% of primary school teachers in England have a science-related degree (2), and in 2014, the Royal Society of Chemistry said that 5% of England’s primary school teachers have a science degree (3). To help understand how this picture has changed in the intervening years, we decided to explore the prevalence of science specialists in primary schools across England.

Figure 1 shows the proportion of primary schools in each local authority district (LAD) that employ a science specialist. The main trend we can see is that the map is predominantly light green, meaning a low proportion of schools in each LAD have a science specialist. The proportions range between 8% and 66%, and the mean proportion across LADs is 36%.

To see any regional variation more clearly, we placed LADs into quartiles – four evenly sized groups based on the proportion of primary schools with a science specialist, with 1 being the lowest and 4 the highest (Figure 2). We can see large clusters of dark red – LADs with the fewest science specialists – in the North of England, Yorkshire and the Humber, and the East of England. In contrast, there are clusters of dark green – LADs with more science specialists – in and around London, and the West Midlands. Figure 3 further explores this: many LADs in the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber, the East, the East Midlands, and Inner London have an average proportion of primary schools with a science specialist that’s below the average for the country.

Compared to our previous investigations into secondary specialists, the proportions in primary schools are generally far lower – this is expected, because primary teachers aren’t expected to be science specialists. The pattern of northern regions showing less access mirrors the pattern seen in physics and chemistry specialists in secondary schools.

Primary school provides the foundation for pupils’ understanding, so it’s important to ensure teachers have a strong understanding of each subject to avoid ingraining misconceptions that they carry through their education. Non-specialists are more than capable of having that subject knowledge, but it’s likely that some feel less confident explaining to others. STEM Learning offers support primary teachers and leaders who want to develop their science teaching – and for easy-to-use science resources shown to increase teacher confidence and subject knowledge, check out Explorify.

* A subject leader may not necessarily lead in what would be considered a subject at secondary level, especially in English. They may be responsible for specific aspects of that subject, such as phonics.

1:https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/is-teaching-right-for-me/qualifications-you-need-to-teach

2:https://wellcome.org/sites/default/files/wtp056231_1.pdf

3:https://royalsociety.org/-/media/education/policy/vision/reports/vision-full-report-20140625.pdf