ADVERTORIAL
Making science practical with White Rose
working scientifically skills. These include observing, measuring, recording, comparing, and drawing conclusions, as well as planning, carrying out and evaluating investigations. At White Rose Science, learning is broken down into small steps, each focusing on one skill to reduce cognitive overload. Scientific enquiry is similarly structured into plan, investigate, and evaluate stages, allowing discrete skills to be explicitly taught and carefully scaffolded. Our schemes of learning are designed to ensure that children develop key scientific skills progressively throughout their time in school. Practical work is also a powerful tool for embedding key scientific vocabulary and concepts. Conceptual understanding can be built when practical work is explicitly linked to ideas that have been taught within science lessons. This can be particularly powerful for processes and abstract concepts. For this to be impactful, talk, questioning, and reflection are essential. Our schemes of learning and premium resources are structured to promote scientific talk, reflection, and application to new contexts. Key vocabulary is deliberately planned for rather than incidental, with adaptable teaching slides supporting teachers to introduce and revisit language in engaging, real-world contexts.
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ractical work has always been at the heart of primary science. It is what makes the subject distinctive, memorable, and contextual for children. From exploring magnets and materials to modelling digestion or testing simple circuits, hands-on experiences help bring science to life and spark curiosity about the world around us.
Yet, despite its importance, the Purposeful Practical Work in Primary Science report (Earle et al., 2025) found that many teachers are left feeling uncertain about how practical science should be used most effectively in today’s busy primary classroom. Resource availability, curriculum demands, and competing priorities can mean that practical activities are sometimes added as an extra, rather than planned as an integral part of learning, risking practical science being something that children do, rather than something they learn from.
Perhaps the most reassuring message from the report is that practical science does not need to do everything at once. By selecting one core purpose, planning becomes more manageable for teachers. The White Rose Science resources support teachers to select meaningful practical ideas for each small step, reducing planning time while still delivering high-quality science lessons.
“White Rose Science encourages purposeful practical work within the sequence of learning, helping pupils make meaningful connections rather than treating hands-on activities as an add-on. I often begin my planning by looking at the ‘Practical Ideas’ section of the White Rose Science schemes. Starting there helps me ensure that practical work is engaging, well-timed and clearly linked to the intended learning, rather than being bolted on at the end.”
Tom Boxall-Goynes Deputy Headteacher Gaddesden Row JMI School
This raises an important question for schools: how can we ensure that practical science is not just hands-on, but genuinely purposeful? How can teachers provide practical activities that support engagement while also building scientific understanding, vocabulary, and skills in a clear and manageable way? The Purposeful Practical Work in Primary Science report helps to answer this by defining practical science as experiences in which “children observe, manipulate, communicate, and connect their science thinking through real experiences” (Earle et al., 2025). At White Rose Education, we believe that practical science works best when it is rooted in purpose and have embedding practical ideas in every small step that are closely linked to the knowledge or skills. By being clear about why an activity is being used, and what learning it is intended to support, teachers can make practical work more meaningful, more inclusive, and more impactful for every child, ensuring that hands-on experiences lead to lasting understanding.
One core purpose identified in the 2025 report is the development of scientific practices, including scientific enquiry and the development of
January 2026
Purposeful practical science transforms hands-on activities into meaningful learning experiences. By being clear about why practical work is used, teachers can build understanding, skills, and curiosity in a manageable way. Visit White Rose Education to explore how our Primary Science resources and professional development can help you make practical work purposeful for every learner.
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