This page covers the effectiveness trial of Focus4TAPS, which tested the programme in a larger number of schools in circumstances that are as close as possible to everyday conditions. To read about the first trial of the programme – click here.

This project was recruiting but is now full.

The Focus for Teacher Assessment in Primary Science (Focus4TAPS) programme provides three days of professional development for science subject leaders and Year 5 teachers, with in-school tasks in between, over the course of an academic year. The programme supports teachers to use assessment for learning in their classrooms, with a particular focus on assessing practical inquiry tasks to help pupils develop scientific reasoning skills and the use of self and peer-assessment to develop pupils’ metacognitive skills.

The school science subject leader and a Year 5 class teacher attend the face-to-face training. The three days are spread across the academic year. The Year 5 teacher and science subject lead then use the approaches in their classes straightaway and throughout the year. The programme provides resources and activities for teachers to use, and teachers are encouraged to apply the principles so that the approaches become embedded in their teaching.

Who can take part?

Any school with Year 5 pupils that is based in the areas listed below that:

• Has not previously participated in TAPS training
• Is not involved in the Thinking Doing Talking Science EEF-funded trial
• Is not involved in the Primary Science Quality Mark EEF-funded trial

Bexley, Bromley, Bury, Croydon, Derby, Ealing, Essex, Harrow, Hounslow, Liverpool, Newcastle upon Tyne, Nottingham, Sheffield, Southampton, Suffolk, Sunderland & Wolverhampton local authorities.

Wider evidence demonstrates the importance of formative use of assessment, an area that teachers find difficult to implement. The Teacher Assessment in Primary Science (TAPS) team developed and piloted the resources and approach over several years. That development included qualitative research that suggested teachers improved their assessments following TAPS training, and increased their use of practical activities in science.

A previous EEF independent evaluation found that pupils in Year 5 who received Focus4TAPS made an average of +2 months’ additional progress in science compared to children in comparison schools. The teachers who took part in Focus4TAPS reported, on average, higher confidence than those in the comparison group for many aspects of teaching and assessing science. Together, these findings are promising for impact on pupils in Year 5.

Since that trial, Bath Spa University has developed a more scalable model to deliver to a larger number of schools. This includes training new trainers who will deliver to schools as part of this effectiveness trial. This trial will test whether a scalable version of the training and resources can produce similar results.

This project will be evaluated by the National Centre for Social Research through a 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., randomised at school level. This means that schools that sign up are randomly assigned to one of two groups: the intervention groupAs part of a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT), settings will be randomised into either the intervention or control group. Settings in the intervention group will receive the programme being tested. , who implement the Focus4TAPS programme; or the control groupAs part of a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT), settings will be randomised into either the intervention or control group. Settings in the control group continue with their usual practices and help provide a comparison to measure the intervention’s impact. They are usually offered a monetary compensation as thanks for their contribution., where practice continues as normal. This is the best way to find out the impact of the programme being tested. Schools assigned to the control groupAs part of a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT), settings will be randomised into either the intervention or control group. Settings in the control group continue with their usual practices and help provide a comparison to measure the intervention’s impact. They are usually offered a monetary compensation as thanks for their contribution. get thank you payments for taking part in the evaluation activities, as they’re crucial for allowing the evaluators to make a good estimate of the programme’s impact. 

The evaluation will be an effectiveness trial, meaning it will assess the impact of Focus4TAPS on pupils’ science attainment. It will also evaluate the impact of Focus4TAPS on pupils’ attitudes towards science.

An 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. will be conducted alongside the impact evaluation to explore how schools implement the programme and perceptions of Focus4TAPS.