Develop an understanding of how substantive and disciplinary knowledge are connected.
Become familiar with the ‘Working Scientifically’ skills and enquiry in EYFS, KS1 and KS2.
Consider how to develop a shared understanding of skills progression and coverage across the school.
Provide a wide range of strategies for planning, resourcing and organising scientific enquiry.
Provide ideas for using assessment for learning to support practical skills and embed key concepts.
Share strategies to monitor skill progression and to moderate teacher judgements of standards.

“Where curriculums were strong, leaders clearly identified the disciplinary knowledge that pupils needed in order to develop their understanding of these practices.” Ofsted Science Report: Finding the Optimum, Feb 2023

This full day course gives teachers the opportunity to look at intended progression throughout aspects of ‘Working Scientifically’ within the Primary Science Curriculum. Delegates will develop an understanding of the different types of scientific enquiry and consider how children can take ownership of their own independent investigations and behave like real scientists to developing the skills of working scientifically. From engaging ideas for making science more relevant through to children planning their own investigations, data handling and effective conclusions; a full range of skills will be addressed.
The following will be covered during the day:
• understanding the connection between substantive and disciplinary knowledge within a sequence of learning;
• planning for different types of enquiry;
• skills progression documents, focused skills and coverage;
• children raising their own questions which they go on to test;
• pupil independence and challenge in investigations;
• children planning their enquiries in different age phases - expectations;
• ideas and resources to support enquiries;
• focused recording of skills rather than writing up whole investigations;
• TAPS resource for skills assessment; and
• ideas for focused monitoring of WS to consider impact on learning.