The British Science Association has given a cautious welcome to today’s final report on the Curriculum and Assessment Review, and the Department for Education’s (DfE) response.
Overall, we welcome the report’s focus on young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), as well as the increased focus on digital literacy, recognising the very different world we live in compared to the last curriculum review in 2014.
We also welcome the call for more representation of diversity in the curriculum and the new core enrichment entitlement.
On science specifically, we support the recommendation to give more students access to high-quality practical science. Research such as the Science Education Tracker shows that hands-on science has a significant impact on student engagement, knowledge, and skills development - particularly benefiting young people with lower prior attainment and/or from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Our manifesto, published in 2024 ahead of the last General Election, called for all young people to have access to high quality practical science learning, and multiple evaluations of our CREST Awards over the last 40 years have shown the significant impact that project work, in particular, can play in this area.
Research suggests that most young people - especially those from groups typically under-represented in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) - discount STEM career paths before the age of 10, but that good quality hands on interventions such as CREST can help children develop positive STEM identities and aspirations. We, therefore, also support the Curriculum and Assessment Review’s call for greater emphasis on cohesion across the primary science curriculum, including clearer guidelines on what should be taught at different ages and promoting high quality hands-on experiences that ignite early engagement in science.
We also support the report’s increased focus on climate change and sustainability, both within science lessons and across the wider curriculum, reflecting the recommendations from our engagement with children in this area.
Also among the recommendations is a plan to reduce the widely acknowledged overload of content in GCSE science by reducing duplication and repetition. We welcome the planned reduction in content and hope this content review will also provide children opportunities to consider the ‘big ideas’ within science disciplines, allowing deeper and more lasting knowledge and understanding among students.
A notable recommendation from the review – and the one gaining most media attention - is the introduction of an entitlement to triple science for all students. Currently, fewer than 25% of students take triple science, with most sitting combined science GCSE. Nearly one in ten schools do not currently offer triple science, and a national shortage of physics teachers means that the challenges are most acute in schools in challenging circumstances, especially in the North-East of England and West Midlands.
There is a clear link between young people taking triple science and progressing to science A-Levels and degrees, which can lead to higher paid jobs within and outside the STEM sector. However, only 13% of students from disadvantaged backgrounds take triple science, compared to 28% from more affluent backgrounds.
While welcoming the aspiration to reduce barriers and create a more level playing field, the British Science Association warns that introducing an entitlement to triple science, without appropriate support, will not solve the underlying issues.
Significant challenges remain, not least the practicalities of implementation, and how schools, particularly those not currently offering triple science will be supported to do so.
Understanding how accountability measures might affect access also requires careful consideration. Alongside introducing the planned entitlement, it will be crucial to monitor the impact on progression in STEM for young people who continue to take combined science.
Not all young people will study triple science even where this is an option. It will therefore be essential to address the perception that only children who take triple science are talented enough to do post-16 science qualifications. Without this, many young people will effectively be filtered out of progression in STEM as early as age 12 or 13. This disproportionately impacts particular groups, such as girls, and risks inadvertently reinforcing the wide diversity and inclusion issues already seen in the sector.
Commenting on today’s report and government response, Hannah Russell, Chief Executive at the British Science Association said:
We welcome the commitment to making science education more inclusive and impactful for all young people. Delivering on both the aspirations and practicalities of the recommendations set out today will require careful consultation, thoughtful implementation and significant support for both primary and secondary teachers.
While curriculum and assessment reform is important, a truly high quality science education also depends on broader factors, both in and outside schools. We look forward to working with the DfE and the wider government and STEM sector to help ensure that every young person, regardless of background, has the opportunity to succeed in science.