The Education Reform Act of 1988 established, amongst other things, the idea of a National Curriculum (NC) for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The National Curriculum set out to “promote the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and of society”; and “prepare such...

Following the establishment of the 1989 National Curriculum (NC) for science, the National Curriculum Council made recommendations to the Secretary of State regarding the revision of Attainments Targets (AT) for science. This document sets out the recommendations for the 1991 NC. The key ideas included:

*A...

Prior to 1989 subjects such as CDT (Craft, Design and Technology - still then often called woodwork, metalwork and technical drawing in schools), Home Economics, Textiles (or Needlework) and Electronics were all separate subjects in secondary schools.

Since the introduction of the first National Curriculum...

Outlined in March 1985 (Science 5-16: A statement of policy DES), one intention of the National Curriculum was that all students aged 5 to 16 learn science – so there should be ‘Science for All’ in primary and secondary level education. The science taught should include both the ‘methods of science’ and the...

The National Non-Food Crops Centre (NNFCC) is committed to the sustainable development of markets for biorenewable products. The Centre promotes the benefits of biorenewable energy, fuels and materials for enhancement of the bioeconomy, environment and society. This collection contains educational resources,...

This report, prepared for the Wellcome Trust in January 2008, presents the results of an audit of in-service training accessed by science teachers across regions of the UK. The data gathered provided a picture of what training was available, and the uptake of training.

Key findings showed various causes for...

In 2015-16, the regional Network has been found to have sustained a strong upward trajectory in the amount of CPD that it is delivering, increasing its level of CPD delivery by 45% compared to 2014-15, and surpassing the levels of CPD delivery achieved in previous years.  

The Network has also forged new...

The National Science & Engineering Week quizzes are an easy and popular way of taking part in the celebrations in March. The quizzes are available in two different formats, a multiple choice quiz, a questions only quiz. The quiz also has two levels. The multiple choice quiz is designed for everyone, we have,...

Published in July 2015, this report from the ISOS Partnership evaluates the implementation and impact of the third phase of the National Science Learning Network’s regional programme.

The full collection of STEM Learning impact and evaluation research reports can be viewed...

This group of activities, based around trees can enhance the teaching of aspects of both the science and mathematics curriculum.  They range from resources to help identify different leaves, such as leaf bingo, to activities collecting and...

Ideas and resources for STEM activities for National Tree Week for primary and secondary pupils.

This collection includes a set of resources which use the context of trees to help teach areas of mathematics and science.  They include:

• Using counting trees as an example of how to estimate populations
• articles from the popular Catalyst magazine about horse chestnut trees
• a Crest...

These resources, aimed at primary level pupils, offer different activities on the theme of dinosaurs. Included are resources focussing on how humans impact the planet and particularly birds - ‘the dinosaurs of today’, fossils, and the story of Mary Anning.

The Nature Year Collection is a 12-book set that contains a book for each month as it tells the story of amazing wildlife around the world. With beautiful illustrations, each book features a detailed narrative providing a description and explanation of each month's major events. 

A study published in 2012 showed that possessing greater general knowledge about the brain does not appear to protect teachers from believing in “neuromyths” – misconceptions about neuroscience research in education. A study in Frontiers in Psychology found that teachers who are interested in the application of...