The Society provides Government and other policy makers – including funders of biological education and research – with independent evidence-based opinion, representative of the widest range of bioscience disciplines.

We aim to influence science education policy at both the school and higher education levels through a combination of proactive and reactive activities. These include consultation responses, evidence gathering, position and policy statements, and face-to-face meetings.

These are key areas that the Royal Society of Biology believe should be focused on within education.

Teacher Expertise

It is important to raise the professional status of teachers at all levels. All young people should have an unbroken chain of experts teaching the science disciplines. Therefore, all teachers must have or be working towards a teaching qualification, and be committed to engaging with professional development opportunities throughout their careers, including high quality, subject specific CPD to ensure subject knowledge is up to date. This will help to raise the professional status of teachers and educators, and support their career development.

Teacher Recruitment and Retention

Teacher retention should be acknowlegded by the UK government as a national issue which requires a coordinated national solution, improving teacher salaries to reflect their skill level at all points on the pay scale. There should be a coherent and coordinated strategy for recruiting and preparing the right people for roles in teaching the sciences in a disciplinary specific way, ensuring that all trainees are able to access subject specific support, and ensuring that ITE programmes are fit for purpose.

Curriculum development

All young people should experience curricula and assessment which prepare them to be scientifically literate, able to make scientifically informed choices, and ready them for a diverse and evolving world of work. The curriculum must reflect the current needs of students and employers to support progression into technical, vocational and academic qualifications, ensuring parity of esteem between the routes, and all students should have equal opportiunities to continue studying the sciences. Any curriculum reforms should be informed by RSB's Evolving 5-19 Biology framework.

Practical science

Practical work and the development of practical skills is highly valuable and must be an integral part of all biology taught in schools and colleges, and bioscience courses at universities, funds must be available to ensure all students are able to take part in investigative work. Curricula should provide ample opportunities to engage in practical and investigative work, including in the field.

Our detailed education priorities can be downloaded.