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Chapter 3

Potential issues arising from changing the curriculum model

Timetable constraints are often quoted as being the reason for limiting the number of students studying triple science at GCSE. Difficulties timetabling an extra triple science group in one cohort relative to a previous one can limit the number of students able to follow this curriculum pathway even if there are sufficient students wishing to do so.

ACTIVITY:Your current science timetable as a whole:• How was the science timetable constructed?

Who by? What role did the science department take?

• When does a discussion about the required structure of the science timetable take place with the senior leadership team? How much flexibility does the department have to change the balance of curriculum pathways offered to students in a particular cohort? What limits this flexibility?

• Who should requests for additional classes be addressed to? When are these representations made and how are they supported by the members of the department?

• What are the constraints that shape the timetable you operate in science? What are the advantages and disadvantages of these constraints?

ACTIVITY: Leaving possible staffing and resource issues aside, what would your ideal science timetable look like? Consider the following questions and justify your answers: • How long should each science lesson last?• How many lessons should there be during a

week?• What proportion of the curriculum time should

be dedicated to science?• Should lessons be grouped together or

spread out during a week?• Should all students have the same amount of

science lesson time?• What range of courses would you offer to

your students? • Which students should be offered which

courses? Why?• Do you have minimum and maximum class

sizes? If so, what are they?• How often should the curriculum offer to

students be reviewed and changed if necessary? How will you know it needs

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Timetable constraints

This page will give you the opportunity to:

• Consider the timetable constraints which limit the number of students following a triple science pathway.

• Explore ways to overcome timetable constraints

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changing?• How different is your ideal timetable from the

current real timetable? Why is this?

ACTIVITY:Overcoming constraints. If your ideal timetable is very different from the current provision, who can you discuss this with? Who is responsible for providing a broad and balanced curriculum for all students in your school?It may be that some of the constraints can be reduced during the timetable development process (such as too many classes on at the same time, or triple science lessons after the end of the school day), in which case your involvement at this time is critical.Other constraints may require more discussion and negotiation to reduce – for example timetables are usually constructed in blocks; which subjects are blocked together to enable the whole of a year group to be taught at the same time? You could raise these at a subject leader’s meeting and prompt a discussion and

exploration of the justification behind the decisions made when the last timetable was constructed (in preparation for the next one).

ACTIVITY:Case Study. Consider the school in this Case Study. When there was insufficient time available within the school timetabled day, they found a solution which was positively supported by the teachers involved and engaged the students wishing to follow triple science.

Often lessons outside the timetabled day demotivate students and decrease progression to A level science courses, so what was different in this school? What can be learnt from this specific case study and what might be transferable to other triple science classes?

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Chapter 03

The teaching and support staff are the most important resource and asset in any school. As professionals, we are all mindful of the need to deliver a curriculum which not only enables students to succeed but which will also engage and hopefully motivate them to progress their study of science further. The staffing of the science timetable is often a complex process, reflecting the particular strengths of colleagues and the needs of groups of students.

ACTIVITY: Current staffingDraw a diagrammatic representation of the staffing structure as it currently exists for GCSE science courses in your school.• How many teachers work with each group of

students in each year of your GCSE courses?• How many teachers who work with each

group of students during Year 10 (and Year 9 if you use a three year GCSE curriculum model) work with the same students in Year 11?

• Who is responsible for the overview of the progress of the students in each group? You might like to consider how this relates to communication with parents when sharing of progress takes place, both formally and informally; who works with the students to agree their learning and progress targets?

• How many of the teachers working with each group in Year 10 and Year 11 will have taught those same students during Key Stage 3? Are there any students who will be taught by the same staff for five years (or possibly seven years if you have a sixth form)? Are there any GCSE science teachers who do not teach in

year 7, 8 or 9? If so, you might like to reflect on the possible implications for both the students and teachers in this situation.

ACTIVITY:Successful staffing approaches. There are a wide range of staffing approaches employed in science, with educational research having shown that all of the variations have positive effects on different students being taught by different teachers in different schools. The important common feature of the successful approaches is that the approaches have been evaluated by the schools concerned. (The chapter on ‘Developing a new curriculum model for science’ explores the evaluation of impact). For example, in some schools triple science is staffed as three separate subjects with individual specialist teachers, who may or may not teach the same groups of students throughout the GCSE course; in others, triple science is taught by one teacher who develops a closer working relationship with the students they teach as they may see them for up to 9 hours a week.

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Staffing issues

This page will give you the opportunity to:

• Reflect on the current staffing of science courses.

• Consider the possible staffing implications of changing the curriculum model.

• Explore different approaches to staffing triple science

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• Consider the advantages and disadvantages of each of the staffing models described on the ‘Staffing Triple Science Cards’ (also available from the iTunesU course).

• Having considered each model, reflect upon the staffing structure you currently employ to deliver triple science. How does it provide maximum benefit for the students? How does it make best use of the staff you have available?

ACTIVITY:Considering change. The potential issues will depend upon the nature of change you are thinking about implementing. • If you are considering delivering triple science

to more students, what might be the most effective way of staffing the groups of students you will be teaching? How might this be different from your current staffing structure?

• If you are considering changing the curriculum model you use to deliver triple science, how are the staffing requirements different from the model you currently have? What are the implications for staff in the department? What are the expected advantages for students? You may find Chapter 4 ‘Exploring different curriculum models for science’ helpful.

• What are the implications for the staffing of the rest of the science timetable? How might this affect students in the long-term? Consider ways that might be available to enable you to overcome any issues.

ACTIVITY:Case Study: The schools in Case study 1 and Case study 2 both lack specialist physics teachers but have developed other approaches and provided CPD so that this has not impacted upon results. Read about the development of triple science in each school and make a note of any actions that might be of benefit in your school.

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Staffing issues

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If you currently teach triple science, and / or teach A level science courses, then you will probably have the resources required to enable you to do so, though there may be items of expensive apparatus which you are unable to access. If you teach none of these, or are looking to increase the number of students entering triple science, then access to additional resources and especially practical equipment can become a real challenge.

ACTIVITY:Review and audit need. Providing a new series of learning experiences for any group of students has resource implications, even if that course is being delivered to other students already. Reflecting on the resources available to you and the current level of use, you may find it helpful to consider:• The availability of laboratory space: what are

the implications of the curriculum change on the need for laboratory space? Is there a greater need for laboratory space than that demonstrated by the existing curriculum model? What is the current occupancy rate for the existing laboratories? If you are already short of laboratory space, what will be the implications of the assumed increase in demand? Is laboratory space well used – or are teachers always in the same laboratory, even if they are not using practical activities to support a specific learning objective?

• Consumable items: what are the implications of the curriculum change on the need for consumable items such as stock solutions of

chemicals? What change do you expect regarding stationery and photocopiable resource use? Are there any specific activities which will need to be introduced in order to meet the learning requirements of the specifications? If so, what consumables will these require?

• Capital items: Are there items of equipment which are required in order to provide appropriate learning experiences as suggested in the specification to which you do not currently have access? If so, what are they? How much do they cost and how much use will they receive? Are there any implications for the availability of IT resources? The SCORE document ‘Benchmarks for Secondary Schools’ includes a list of appropriate equipment for different courses.

• Support staff, especially technicians: science is a practical subject, requiring the students to engage in ‘hands-on, brains-on’ activities in order to secure their knowledge and understanding (See Getting Practical to explore this further). The preparation of many

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Resource implications

This page will give you the opportunity to:

• Consider the need to identify the resource implications of increasing the number of students taking triple science.

• Explore strategies to gain the use of resources through collaboration with other organisations.

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practical activities requires the provision of highly trained technical support. How will changing the curriculum model you deliver affect the workload of the technical support staff? For example: Will more practical classes be timetabled at the same time? Will there be more ‘hot-spots’ during the week when equipment will need to be shared between a greater number of groups or when the preparation of large amounts of consumable chemicals will be required? Will there be many ‘new’ activities which will require the development of new resources?

ACTIVITY:Being persuasive. Having identified the increased resource need as a result of implementing your desired curriculum change, you are better able to review the approaches available to you. Although many schools are finding finances tight, curriculum development is a key focus, especially as it relates to student outcomes. The information you have gathered from the previous activity will help you to argue the case for specific development funding, however be prepared to

justify why the funding will have the most benefit for students if it is spent on your identified need rather than that brought by another colleague.• Who do you need to discuss your proposal with

in order to try to secure additional funding?• How will you demonstrate the impact of the use

of the additional funding you seek on student outcomes, both qualitative and quantitative?

• What other sources of funding are available to you? - Do any of the parents work in science based

industries? Do their companies have surplus equipment or are they willing to sponsor an aspect of the curriculum change?

- Do any local companies already sponsor or support the school? If so, would they help further? Are there any local companies who might be able to contribute information and support?

ACTIVITY:Working in collaboration. If you are part of a network of schools and colleges, you may already have contacts who will be willing to lend you specific items of equipment for short periods of time – some schools are now contributing less regularly used capital items to a common pool, which each school can use as necessary; if you are not part of such a group, you may be able to set up an informal two-way agreement with a neighbouring school or college.• Which schools / colleges are you in regular

contact with?• If it hasn’t been raised previously, discuss the

idea of sharing resources and consider the potential advantages and disadvantages with a colleague from the other establishment – this helps to remove possible issues such as time constraints, insurance and repair costs before they occur.

• Your local STEM partners may be able to direct you to possible sources of further support. Visit the STEMNET website for details of the School STEM Advisory Network contact for your area.

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Chapter 03

The introduction of linear assessment has reduced some of the complexity surrounding GCSE examination entry; however some potential issues remain, especially if you are considering changing the curriculum models you offer to students.

ACTIVITY: Current practice: When do you enter students for GCSE examinations? Nationally, the majority of students enter their GCSE examinations in Year 11. • If you enter any students for a GCSE or other

qualification in Year 9, who are they and why are they entered at this time?

• If you enter any students for a GCSE or other qualification in Year 10, who are they and why are they entered at this time?

• How well do these ‘early entry’ students perform compared to their peers and to their prior attainment?

• If you enter students for one or more science GCSEs or other qualifications in Year 11, which students are entered for which examination?

• How well do these students perform compared to their peers and to their prior attainment? For example: - Do all students following triple science gain

three A*-C grades?

- How many students make expected progress in each of their science GCSEs?

- How many students progress to post-16 science courses from each of the GCSE curriculum models you offer?

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Examination entry

This page will give you the opportunity to:

• Reflect on recent and current practice regarding examination entry.

• Consider the possible implications of changing to a different curriculum model.

• Explore similarities and differences between the approach to examination entry in partner schools.

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ACTIVITY: Potential change in practice: If you are considering changing the science curriculum model you offer to students, reflect on the changes you are considering and how these might impact upon the examination entries made by the students concerned.The Awarding Organisations provide timelines indicating when students need to be entered and when key components need to be examined, the following links will take you to their websites: AQA; Edexcel; OCR; WJEC.• In which term of which year will students

following the new curriculum model need to be entered for their science GCSEs?

• How does this compare with current practice? If this is different, what might the positive and negative implications of this change be – on students? on teachers?

• Reflect on the impact of changes to examination entry during recent years (including the effect of the move away from modular examinations) on the students and teachers in your school. What points does this suggest need to be remembered when considering a change to the approach taken to examination entry in GCSE science?

ACTIVITY: Working with other schoolsIf you work in collaboration with other schools, or are part of an Academy chain, you might find it helpful to consider how the pattern of science examination entry in your school differs from that of the other schools? • Consider the entry profile of students in each

school and the range of curriculum models

offered to students.• What similarities and differences exist regarding

approaches to examination entry in science in each school? If there is any difference in the performance of students in each school, try to find out how the entry approach has impacted upon the students concerned.

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Examination entry

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What are your priorities or next steps in exploring potential issues arising from changing the curriculum model?

You might consider...

• Identifying the potential impact of the issues explored in this chapter on the particular change you are planning;

• Completing a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) of the issue you perceive to be the greatest blocker and then considering ways to turn the threats into opportunities so that the negative impact is reduced;

• Discussing the outcomes of your activities in this chapter with your line manager or another member of the senior leadership team so that positive steps can be taken to mitigate these risks to the increased provision of triple science for your students

• Identifying how the impact of these potential issues can be reduced through activities which are already planned within your department development plan – which activities do they relate to and do any amendments need to be made so as to address the issue as well as the intended outcome in the plan?

Action planning

Potential issues arising from changing the curriculum model

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