Mrs Nicky Waller

Winner: 2021 Excellence in Primary Education Prize

Centre for Industry Education Collaboration, University of York

For sustained contributions to the professional development of primary teachers in the teaching of science.

Celebrate Mrs Nicky Waller

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Nicky’s role is to make primary science ‘hands-on’ and engaging for young children and provide classroom-based training for primary teachers. This, and liaison with local chemical and manufacturing companies, enables pupils to see how the science they learn at school has 'real life' relevance and provides a diverse representation of roles within science-related careers.

Nicky Waller is an outstanding teacher; she is dedicated and passionate about primary science education, always looking for innovative ways to inspire children and teachers. After working in primary schools as class teacher and science leader, Nicky became primary science advisory teacher for the science-education project ‘Children Challenging Industry’ (CCI). She is employed by the Centre for Industry Education Collaboration (CIEC) at the University of York, and is based in Teesside, working closely with primary schools across the north-east of England.

In 2016, Nicky was awarded the Institute of Physics Primary Science Teacher of the Year for her excellent contribution to primary science teaching. She has also received a STEM Educators award from the National STEM Learning Centre at the level of national expert, as well as Chartered Science Teacher status.

Nicky’s book ‘A Creative Approach to Teaching Science’ was published by Bloomsbury in 2017. This has enabled her to share her expertise on a wider scale and offer primary teachers an exciting and motivating way of improving children’s ability to work and think like a scientist. The book continues to be a source of support and guidance to primary teachers around the country.

Chemistry education is exciting, hands-on and often surprising. It can help to ignite a spark for science in young people that stays with them for years to come and can affect their future career choices.

Q+A

How did you first become interested in chemistry or science?

It was when I began training as a primary teacher during my PGCE year at Newcastle University. The course tutor, Professor Doug Newton, was the first person ever to show me how exciting and engaging science could be at the primary level. I realised then that science is not always about knowing answers to questions but about finding new ways to make your own discoveries and put forward your own scientific possibilities. I decided then that I wanted to lead science wherever I got my first teaching job so that I could pass on my new-found enthusiasm to other teachers and children.

Who or what inspired you to have a role in education?

From a very young age, I knew that I wanted to teach. I am not sure where that came from but I was that child playing teachers with my own chalk board and I would ‘mark’ any school books I was allowed to bring home. Once I qualified as a primary teacher and began to pursue my interest in science education, I was inspired by exceptional days of CPD led by people like Anne Goldsworthy, Rosemary Feasey, and Brenda and Stuart Naylor. I remember asking such role models, “How does someone like me get to do similar work to someone like you?” and I followed their advice to keep working hard, take every opportunity that comes along and build up a rich and varied portfolio of experiences.

What motivates you?

I am an incredibly self-motivated person. I am always looking ahead to future timelines and deadlines and I work in an extremely conscientious and organised way. I think I have always looked to my parents for inspiration, I have watched them work hard throughout my life, I have learned resilience and perseverance from them, to strive for goals that may seem beyond you at the start of the journey and never give up. I have always felt their belief in me and that I could achieve anything I put my mind to if I worked hard enough.

How have your students inspired you?

The children I teach inspire me all the time! They have made me realise that I should not teach science with any preconceived ideas about who will or will not achieve or excel in each lesson. Science is about thinking and questioning and you should always prepare to be amazed by children’s ideas and suggestions. The child that you may have thought might struggle to understand a particular scientific concept may astound you with their scientific insights! Children can be experts in things like dinosaurs, space and rocks due to their own personal passions and the people around them at home.
Over the years, my students have inspired me to share that I don’t have the answers to all of their questions and that science is about making new discoveries together.

Why is chemistry education important?

Chemistry education at the primary level is crucial for children to learn about the materials around them, how they are used and why they are suitable for purpose. Learning about how materials can be mixed and separated, how they can change in different ways and how this is relevant to our lives can help children to understand everyday occurrences such as why their bread changes to toast in the toaster, what happens to ingredients when they bake a cake and why the snow eventually melts on a warmer day. Chemistry education is exciting, hands-on and often surprising. It can help to ignite a spark for science in young people that stays with them for years to come and can affect their future career choices.

What has been a highlight for you?

Over the many years of teaching primary science, I have built up a bank of creative and motivating activities to help children to understand often tricky scientific concepts. I was honoured to be asked by Bloomsbury Publishing if I would collate my ideas into a book to help primary teachers ‘breathe life’ into the primary science curriculum. ‘A Creative Approach to Teaching Science’ was published in 2017 and continues to be a source of support and guidance to teachers around the country. The day that I logged onto Amazon and saw my book with my name on the front cover as the author, available for anyone to buy, is a day I will never forget!