Building a shared understanding of the value of science across the school community can support the development of science capital, which encapsulates a feeling of ‘science is for me’. At Uplawmoor Primary School, a range of activities and events are used to help build children’s science capital. For example, in order to relate STEM to real life jobs, visits to Scottish water and local house building took place. Also, visits to school were arranged from family members who use science in their work, like a pharmacist, together with researching local jobs e.g. Forth Road Bridge civil engineers. Family STEAM challenges helped to relate engineering to real life problems. Use of science in the news and Topical Science Update resources helped to maintain the interest in schools throughout the school year.

Increasing awareness of the relevance and importance of science helps to support progression in primary science.

Jenny Meighan, Uplawmoor Primary, East Renfrewshire, Scotland

Jenny explains further in a video – copy and paste this into a new tab: https://youtu.be/0vxRZBHd-xI