TAPS
Teaching and Assessment in Primary Science
Focus4TAPS Trial
Focus4TAPS online CPD - Aut1.pdfFocus4TAPS Trial
The Focus4TAPS programme aims to support teaching, learning, and assessment in primary science. Bath Spa University have developed and will deliver the Focus4TAPS programme, which draws together research from the Teacher Assessment in Primary Science (TAPS) project, which was funded by the Primary Science Teaching Trust. The Focus4TAPS programme provides a package of training for teachers, with resources and activities to support the teaching of ‘Working Scientifically’ and the delivery of science content within the curriculum.
The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) and the Wellcome Trust are funding the UCL Institute of Education to compare Focus4TAPS against other teaching across many primary schools in the country.
What happens in the trial?
The trial considers children in Year 5, during the 2020-2021 academic year. Due to Covid restrictions both 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 cohorts were used.
Schools are randomly assigned to either receive the Focus4TAPS programme or to carry on as normal during the 2020-2021 academic year. Children will complete a short questionnaire and a science test in the summer of 2021.The questionnaires will ask for the children’s names so that their responses can be matched against the National Pupil Database. The questionnaires will ask about experiences of science at school, such as whether practical work in science is enjoyable or interesting.
Awaiting results of trial April 2022 - SEE BELOW!
Your school helped EEF to demonstrate pupil progress in science - Sarah Earle
Dear Head teachers, science leads and Y5 teachers,
It's been a longer wait than expected, but I am pleased to announce that the EEF's independent evaluation of the Teacher Assessment in Primary Science (TAPS) is now out. They found a statistically significant impact of the Focus4TAPS training, equating to 2 months additional progress, which is fabulous news!
EEF news story and project page with full report at the bottom.
Huge thanks to all schools and teachers involved in the 'intervention group' in 2019-2021. Without your dedication and hard work in such challenging times, the trial would not have been possible. The high EEF 'security rating' recognises the way teachers fully implemented the programme, both attending training and using the TAPS resources with their class.
Plans are underway for further work with new schools!
