ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the implications of a science curriculum for all pupils aged from 5 to 16. It addresses the particular opportunities and challenges that this provides for teachers working in special schools in the context of the latest version of the science National Curriculum. The government had originally indicated its intention of introducing 'Science for all' in a policy document. The development of science in the curricula of special schools has, in some respects, been slower than in mainstream schools. Teaching science poses considerable challenges for many teachers, including those working in special schools. An understanding of 'science' as a process leading to provisional understanding, rather than as a fixed body of knowledge, is another potential benefit of science education. Pupils learn best in science when they engage in a practical way with world around them. The guidance on science for pupils with learning difficulties includes additional descriptors, which teachers of pupils with learning difficulties will find more useful.
