Focus4TAPS – second trial

Focus4TAPS (Focus for Teaching Assessment of Primary Science) is a professional development programmeA programme is a package of support, including professional development, that helps early years educators to improve particular areas of practice and children’s outcomes. that aims to improve primary pupils’ science attainment, by helping teachers improve the way they teach and assess science.

The programme focuses on helping pupils develop science thinking, including scientific enquiry and reasoning skills, by encouraging them to investigate questions, collect and interpret evidence, and use self- and peer- assessment.

Two teachers from each school attend three days of in-person professional development training and complete in-school tasks during their normal class science lessons between training sessions. They also have access to lessons plans, classroom activities, and curriculum and assessment materials on the Primary Science Teaching Trust website.

This evaluation tested whether the programme improved pupils’ science attainment when delivered at scale, compared with usual Year 5 science teaching practice. It also explored whether pupils felt more confident in science, enjoyed science more, and were more interested in the subject.

The programme focuses on the Working Scientifically principles in the English National Curriculum, which help pupils develop scientific enquiry skills and apply them in practical science lessons.

It was tested through a large randomised controlled trialAn RCT is used evaluate an educational programme by assigning settings to one of two groups: the intervention group, who receive the programme or the control group, who continue with business as usual. This ensures that any differences in outcomes can be confidently attributed to the programme, providing a robust estimate of the impact and contributing to the evidence for what works in improving educational outcomes., under everyday conditions.

Science is a core subject in the English primary curriculum. The State of Primary Science in the UK report found that, since 2017, more schools have a designated science lead and that weekly science provision is more common. However, it also found that teachers’ confidence, access to support, and access to subject-specific training have declined.

At Key Stage 2, primary science attainment is assessed through teacher assessment rather than formal external tests. This highlights the importance of having a skilled and confident workforce to teach and assess science effectively.

A previous EEF trial found that Focus4TAPs improved pupils’ science attainment by the equivalent of two additional months’ progress. Following these encouraging results, this trial tested whether the programme could achieve similar results when delivered at scale, using a scalable version of the training and resources across a larger number of schools.

• Pupils in Focus4TAPS schools made no additional months’ progress in science, on average, compared with pupils in schools delivering usual science teaching. This finding has a moderate to high security rating, which means we have a good level of confidence in it.
  
• Pupils eligible for Free School Meals made the equivalent of one additional month’s progress in science, on average, compared with similar pupils in schools delivering usual practice. This finding should be interpreted more cautiously because it is based on a smaller group of pupils so we cannot be as confident that it was a direct result of the programme.
• The evaluation found positive effects on all pupils’ attitudes and beliefs about science. Lesson observations in Focus4TAPS schools showed that pupils took greater ownership of their learning. This included planning parts of investigations, selecting variables, and recording their own results.
• Teachers reported that the approach supported a positive classroom culture and engagement with scientific investigation. They also said that practical activities were particularly inclusive for pupils who were less confident in science.
• Teachers reported increased confidence in teaching science, particularly in relation to using formative assessment and developing pupils’ Working Scientifically skills. The implementation and process evaluationAn IPE is used to understand how and why an intervention has (or has not) been successful. Data is analysed to explore programme quality, reach, adaptation and differentiation, as well as setting fidelity and responsiveness to the trial design. found that the Focus4TAPS training was delivered largely as intended. Where adaptations were made, these were consistent with the programme guidance.
• Some elements of the Focus4TAPS approach were similar to practices already used in schools. Some schools were also already using Primary Science Teaching Trust resources before the trial. This may have reduced the distinctiveness of Focus4TAPS relative to usual teaching practices.