Science in my Pocket

Science activities for Teaching Assistants to use with children who need emotional and behavioural support.

Schools have a critical role to play in supporting children’s mental health and emotional well-being. Currently, an average of three children in every primary school classroom in the UK have diagnosable mental health conditions. The classroom can be a challenging place for these children and it often falls to a Teaching Assistant to supervise them and support their learning on a one-to-one or small group basis.

Science In My Pocket offers an invaluable addition to a Teaching Assistant’s toolkit. The benefits of using the resource include:

• Children become better at self-regulating their behaviour, enabling them to return to a whole class setting more ready to learn and participate.
• Children’s social skills improve as the resource provides a context for the child to communicate positively with their peers.
• Increase in the confidence of teaching assistants to engage children in scientific discussion.

Science In My Pocket activities have also been shown to be effective for:

• Speech and language development
• EAL – accessing scientific vocabulary in a safe environment
• Short term emotional disturbance, e.g., if a child arrives at school upset
• Extension work, e.g., children might design their own pockets
• Homework activity
• Development of specific personal habits of mind, e.g., independence, negotiation, resilience
• Developing thinking skills across the curriculum
• Promoting good group work

Science In My Pocket was developed by PSTT Fellows and Area Mentors Nina Spilsbury and Michele Grimshaw, with Ali Eley (Outreach Director).