I was surprised and delighted to walk into my new classroom home yesterday to find these two beasties adorning the window sill. It’s the first time I have ever seen a microscope in a primary school classroom although hopefully it won’t be the last!

Strangely enough I have found that I really do care that science is, in some schools, paid scant regard. In fact, I’ve found the level of science provision in schools to vary so wildly that it’s hard to imagine the schools are following the same curriculum. In England, our national curriculum states that there are three “core” subjects – English, Maths and Science. English and Maths are highly scrutinised. They are the key focus of every teacher and, of course, rightly so – the acquisition of proficiency in both subjects opens so many more doors than skills in any other subject. Let’s face it, it’s hard to learn anything if you can’t read, write or express yourself properly.

Science on the other hand shares supposedly equal status with English and Maths but has none of the attention because it’s not a tested subject at primary school. Some schools, therefore, choose to more-or-less ignore the subject, teaching it rarely and possibly poorly. That’s not to say all provision is bad, far from it. In fact, some is quite breath-taking. I’ve seen both extremes of the spectrum in a relatively short time and heard many similar stories from my peers. (I don’t include my current school on my continuum because after two days it’s not yet possible to judge BUT the signs are good – microscopes on windowsill are a good indicator, along with a proper science lesson on day two…it’s looking good so far.)

Despite landing my biology degree by complete accident of fate and that I deliberately chose not to teach science in secondary school because I couldn’t imagine spending my days doing nothing but science, I mind a great deal that some children, by dint of the school they attend, don’t get a real grounding in the skills of science. You see, even if you take it no further, the core life skills of observation, experimentation and assessment of results are so important that attending a non-science-friendly school could be regarded as being deprived of hugely important and completely relevant skills.

I was VERY glad to see these microscopes…and if you use that fabulous science skill of observation, you’ll learn that I am in the photo, that the pic was shot on a Canon camera and that I’m wearing my silver wedding ring. You’ll also spot the fact that I’m in a rural school and that spring is not yet sprung in these parts. I could go on but I’m sure you’re getting the picture.