There’s a quote from Jay Conrad Levinson that reads “consistency breeds familiarity (and) familiarity breeds confidence” - and experienced science leaders may feel that much of what is shared in this Ofsted video is familiar. That doesn’t mean it’s not worth watching. However – what you will get from it will vary (as ever) according to experience/career stage, role and phase.
For those starting out in their careers; those teaching science but whose background is a different subject; those returning to the classroom after a career break and those with responsibility for line managing science, it provides a helpful guide to the curriculum, the implications for how it is taught and assessed, and what that means in both primary and secondary settings.
The explanations are clear, and the exemplification would be helpful for those who are new to the role of subject leader, or for more experienced practitioners who wish to use it to within their own settings to develop the knowledge and understanding of their own teams. The examples used could then be reworked using different contexts.
In light of Finding the Optimum: the science subject report, the section of the video which discusses disciplinary knowledge is particularly relevant since this is the area that more schools have yet to develop (as result of the impact of the pandemic on practical activity). Again, for schools looking to review and revise their curricula, this could be used as starting point.
Another area mentioned in Finding the Optimum is transition and the final part of the video looks at implementation in both primary and secondary settings. Watching the section for the setting other than your own (so primary if you teach secondary science and vice versa) may again prompt meaningful discussions and help with planning.
As with everything in teaching, they key is to take what works for your own particular context – whether that is a deeper understanding or more reassurance.
Read Sarah’s initial response to the report here. We’ve also written primary and secondary blogs and created mapping documents with links to our CPD which addresses specific needs in the report – find the primary one here and the secondary one here.
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