Science curriculum in schools improves despite pandemic pressures

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Today’s report looks at science education and draws on evidence from a sample of primary and secondary schools, collected through routine inspections.

Inspectors found that science curricula are improving and growing despite the ongoing challenges of the pandemic. The science curriculum taught to students, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), is usually at least as ambitious as the goals of the national curriculum. This is an important force in science education in schools in England.

However, the report notes areas where improvements still need to be made. In secondary schools, inspectors found that students sometimes lacked opportunities to participate in quality practical work. On the other hand, the emphasis was more on practical work in primary schools, but not necessarily on work with a clear objective in relation to the curriculum. In a small number of schools visited, students were not retaining the scientific knowledge they had acquired.

Ofsted Chief Inspector Amanda Spielman said:

A good science education can open the door to some of the most interesting and socially valuable paths in life. I am therefore encouraged to see the progress that has been made in science education, despite the pressures of the pandemic.

I hope this review will help subject leaders and teachers build a stimulating science curriculum with relevant and useful practical work.

The report makes a series of recommendations on how schools and other organizations can ensure that all students leave school with an authentic understanding of science, including:

develop a curriculum that identifies and sequences the knowledge that students need, particularly to work scientifically provide opportunities for all students to participate in high-quality hands-on work that has a clear purpose for the curriculum allow sufficient time in the program for students to learn and remember key knowledge initial teacher education providers who help trainee teachers develop their knowledge of what science is and the methods it uses, and how to ‘to teach

All inspections were carried out between September 2021 and July 2022.

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