Science is now part of the core curriculum for children aged 5 upwards in many western countries. Primary (elementary) teachers in England have gained in confidence and success through teaching it. In the process their views of the nature of science have developed. These views form part of a 'hidden curriculum', framing the development of students' ideas about and orientations towards the subject. Understanding them is necessary to understanding learners' experiences of it. This research explored such views through case study and survey methodologies. It showed the depth and subtlety of teachers' views of science, and analysed them in terms of six factors, provisionally named scientism, naive empiricism, 'new-age-ism', constructivism, pragmatism and scepticism. Such an understanding of how science is actually being represented in classrooms can inform current debates about the place of the nature of science in the science curriculum.