The Royal Society of Biology has been preparing for curriculum and assessment reform across the UK. Today we publish an expanded suite of documents to sit alongside our recommendations and framework for 5-19 biology curricula, and are pleased to announce the appointment of our new Curriculum Committee Chair – Professor Dudley Shallcross OBE FRSB.

Preparing for curriculum and assessment reform

In the coming weeks the RSB will be engaging with the Department for Education’s curriculum and assessment review panel (England), led by Professor Becky Francis, which seeks to inform curriculum and assessment reform, and will work with Education Scotland as a stakeholder in the next stage of the Curriculum Improvement Cycle. The RSB will also continue to engage with the Department for Education and Skills in Wales, Qualifications Wales on the new Curriculum for Wales and new The Sciences GCSE. The Society is well prepared to inform these reviews, and encourages our members to engage with our publications and social media communications over the coming weeks to further inform the Society’s policy positions and recommendations.

Published in 2021, Evolving 5-19 Biology: recommendations and framework for 5-19 biology curricula sets out a vision for the teaching and learning of biology, informed by the expertise of our members, research, and evidence. To complement Evolving 5-19 Biology, the RSB published the Primary Curriculum Advisory Group’s Framework for Primary Science in 2023 and, along with our partners at the Association for Science Education, Institute of Physics, and Royal Society of Chemistry, recently published further recommendations in Developing a Primary Science Curriculum.

To support teachers, schools, and curriculum developers in Wales, the Society has produced Welsh language versions of the Framework for Primary Science and Evolving 5-19 Biology - Fframwaith ar gyfer Darpar Gwricwlwm Gwyddoniaeth Cynradd and Eslygu 5-19 Bioleg.

The RSB is also pleased to publish an expanded suite of documents to provide more detail on areas of curriculum and school experience that are often overlooked in biology and the sciences. The role of practical activities, sustainability education, transferable skills, and improving teacher and student perceptions of ecology are all critical to improving biology and science education across the UK.

All our curriculum and qualification related policy documents can be found at www.rsb.org.uk/curriculum, including summaries for teachers, awarding organisations, and policymakers. The RSB encourages our members, teachers, schools, awarding organisations, and others with a keen interest in school biology and science to read and share these documents, and refer to them in discussions about curriculum and specification development including in responses to formal calls for evidence.

RSB appoints new Curriculum Committee Chair

The RSB is delighted to announce that we have recently appointed Professor Dudley Shallcross OBE FRSB, previously CEO of the Primary Science Teaching Trust, as our new Curriculum Committee Chair. Professor Shallcross is Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry at the University of Bristol and was recently awarded an OBE in the King’s Birthday Honours earlier this year for his outstanding contribution to science education in the UK and overseas. Professor Shallcross’ contributions to primary, secondary and tertiary education, the promotion of science to a wide range of audiences, and working with those with a disadvantage or disability are well known.

As Chair of the Biology Curriculum Committee, Professor Shallcross will lead the committee as it contributes to the evidence RSB will submit to curriculum and qualification reform reviews ensuring that all young people experience accessible, equitable, and inclusive biology curricula and assessments, which prepare them to be scientifically literate, able to make scientifically informed choices, and ready them for a diverse and evolving world of work.

Commenting on the curriculum and assessment reform and his new appointment, Professor Shallcross said: “As we anticipate an exciting period of education reform across the UK, I look forward to championing the work of the Royal Society of Biology and the expert members in the curriculum committee. RSB has spent many years gathering evidence, developing curriculum and qualifications policy, and preparing to engage with reform. Now we will put that work into action.”

If you would like to find out more about the RSB’s education policy activities and how to contribute to our recommendations on curriculum and qualifications in England, Scotland, and Wales, please email education.policy@rsb.org.uk, and follow us on LinkedIn, X, Facebook and Instagram for updates and opportunities to engage over the next few weeks including how you can engage with the upcoming reviews.