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Science Teaching

My Lords, I, too, thank my noble friend Lord Broers and his committee for their timely and perceptive report. I declare an interest as a former chairman of SETNET, which supports the teaching of science and mathematics by partnering with schools and employers to show young people that these subjects can be both interesting in themselves and lead to interesting jobs. I suspect that most of us here share the concerns about the declining interest in physical science and mathematics at school that was highlighted by the committee’s report. However, we must recognise that we are not the only country that is experiencing those trends. They are seen in the United States, Japan and many other developed countries. That tells us that, although our solutions are necessarily local, our understanding of the problem can be helped by looking abroad. Those trends are less evident in India, China and other rapidly developing countries, where science and technology are seen as a rung on the ladder to national and personal economic success. In my view, two languages form the bedrock of our school education—English and mathematics. They are fundamental because they open the door to so much else; both are essential for science and engineering, but I suspect that in the UK, at least, it is fear of one of those—maths—that deters many people at an early age from both maths and the sciences. We will not reverse the decline in science unless we crack the problem of school mathematics. In 2004, Professor Adrian Smith submitted his report on the teaching of mathematics after the age of 14, Making Mathematics Count, to the Secretary of State for Education. The report summarised the role of mathematics in modern society, saying that, "““it has been widely recognised that mathematics occupies a rather special position. It is a major intellectual discipline in its own right, as well as providing the underpinning language for the rest of science and engineering and, increasingly, for other disciplines in the social and medical sciences. It underpins major sectors of modern business and industry, in particular, financial services and ICT. It also provides the individual citizen with empowering skills for the conduct of private and social life and with key skills required at virtually all levels of employment””." If we do not ensure that everyone who goes through our education system achieves a reasonable level of numeracy we shall make problems of social exclusion even worse. The report offers a detailed and constructive analysis of the problems of mathematics teaching in England today: a chronic shortage of qualified teachers, curriculum and assessment arrangements that are not fit for purpose, and a lack of an effective support structure for mathematics teaching. I know that the Minister has taken a close personal interest in the report and he and his department are to be commended for the progress that has been made in acting on the recommendations. However, I have two concerns. First, some of the recommendations have costs attached to them. It is essential that these proposals be adequately funded, and not just in the short term. This will be a long haul and will require consistent policies for at least a decade if we are to make a step change in the mathematical literacy of the nation. Secondly, not only must there be sufficient funding, but it must be ring-fenced. There is an understandable resistance to ring-fencing. But we have to recognise that sometimes day-to-day pressures at a local level may simply not pull in the same direction as national priorities. It is unrealistic to expect that there will be a consistent long-term focused programme unless its funding is protected. Turning to science more generally, unless we remedy the long-term decline in A-level numbers for physics, chemistry and mathematics—the prerequisite subjects for university engineering courses—we shall pay dearly. The world is now facing two major climate change challenges: adapting our infrastructure to deal with a more uncertain and extreme climate, and developing technology to satisfy our future energy needs without damaging the environment. Meeting those challenges will depend heavily on science and engineering. The message that must go out to our young people is: ““If you want to save the planet, work at your mathematics, science and engineering””.