Confidence and support to teach science has fallen, primary education report suggests

New research on the current state of primary school science education in the UK shows encouraging improvements, alongside a number of concerning signs for confidence in science teaching and leadership. 

The State of Primary Science Education in the UK report was published on Wednesday 8 October 2025. The research was conducted by ImpactEd Group and commissioned by the Primary Science Teaching Trust (PSTT) with the Ogden Trust and SEERIH (University of Manchester) and supported by the Comino Foundation.  

The report gives teachers, school leaders, governments and other stakeholders key insights into the current landscape of primary science teaching and leadership across the four nations of the UK.  

It looks at evolving trends, both positive and negative since the release of the 2017 ‘state of the nation’ report by Wellcome on primary science.  

The new report highlights a series of improvements in primary science since 2017, including: 

• 96% of schools now have a designated science leader (up from 91%) 

• Weekly science teaching is reported in 96% of schools (up from 75%) 

• Continuing Professional Development (CPD) participation among science leaders has risen to 66% (from 52%) 

 However, there are also worrying signs: 

• Confidence among science leaders to teach science has dropped from 96% to 79% since 2017 

• Non-science leaders’ access to mentoring and CPD has significantly decreased 

• Fewer teachers feel supported by their schools to teach science 

 The report makes a series of recommendations, including: 

• National governments should ensure sufficient provision of CPD for all teachers of primary science 

• School leaders should actively support teachers by advocating for science, recognising and raising its profile and relevance within the school and curriculum 

The findings are based on survey information collected from 1,277 teachers. Of these teachers, 78% were from England, 5% were from Northern Ireland, 8% were from Scotland, and 8% were from Wales. 

Commenting on the findings, Hannah Russell, Chief Executive of the British Science Association says:  

“Lack of confidence is a key barrier to effective science teaching - especially for practical work, which we know plays an important  role in supporting young people’s skills, knowledge and engagement with science. We support the report’s recommendations, particularly the call for national governments to ensure sufficient provision of CPD for all teachers of primary science.