www.psqm.org.uk Session 2: Planning for Action I 2

PSQM Structure GOLD AWARD The subject leader ensures that excellent practice is visible, sustained and evolving across the whole school. This excellent practice has a clear impact on partners beyond the school. SILVER AWARD The subject leader is having an increasing impact across the school, where science has a high profile. Many excellent practices are developed and implemented. Some links with partners outside the school are being established. BRONZE AWARD The subject leader is beginning to have an impact beyond his/her own class and the profile of science is growing across the school. Some excellent practices are being developed and implemented. PSQM SILVER PSQM GOLD PSQM Bronze Reminder of what PSQM is all about – progression and Impact. 3

Core Documents PSQM action plan Principles of teaching science in your school- “We know that good when…” Log of science subject leader 4. List of CPD activities of subject leader & other members of staff and their impact 5. School Development Plan: sections that have relevance to science 6. Portfolio to illustrate science in your school to support reflections of impact: Bronze Award - from your own class Silver Award - from several other classes Gold Award - from your school and the wider community 7. Calendar of science events in school (assemblies, outings, science days and weeks, visits, visiting speakers, activity days) 4

Core Documents Principles A single page word document is sufficient, containing just the principles produced within school. Some schools compile a complementary set with pupils and include these on the same sheet. Some schools create a poster version for display. Question: how will you refer to these in your portfolio, e.g. 1 slide per Principle? 5

Core Documents School Development Plan (SDP) We only require sections from this document that are relevant to Science. You can cut and paste them into a Word document. If science is not currently in the SDP then consider adding into reflection thoughts as to what you would like to be in the next SDP. Question: how has this document helped in creating your action plan? 6

Core Documents Subject Leader Log (You) This works well as a two or three column table in Word, containing date, task/activity and a brief (one sentence) focus on impact. This log is about and what you do as subject leader, including leading your team if you have one. Question: did you set this file up at start of year and regularly keep it up to date? 7

Date CPD What did I gain? June 2012 Day 1 and 2 PSQM Knowledge of what was needed to gain the award and time to reflect on current position of school 4 times throughout 2012/13 Leadership training Skills to develop a team of science champions all focused on the same aims and vision for science in the school. 19/11/12 What works well….science. Run by local education department Awareness of what was going on in other schools around us. Took away how to use QR codes, subsequently used this in end of term Learning walks. Feb Getting practical How to set questions that will lead to greater critical thinking and independent investigations. Used in ESI week problem videos. Twice termly science network meetings Jumeirah Primary school showed us how they use concept cartoons. I subsequently delivered similar training at xxx. I shared assessment tools (Aiming High, Mini-Sats). Which are now being used at other schools. April Day 3 PSQM Progress so far. Learned how to write reflections and how to reference in portfolio

Core Documents CPD List (All staff) This also works well as a two or three column table in Word, containing date, CPD event and a brief (one sentence) focus on impact. Note CPD is more than just courses. For silver and gold this should include your colleague’s engagement with CPD. Question; did you set this file up at start of year and regularly keep it up to date? 9

When Action Impact October 2011 New Role as Science leader Start working on Action Plan. November 2011 Staff Meeting – Aiming High target document Targets and expectations shared with children at start of each topic January 2012 Staff meeting – Mini-Sats assessment Teachers now able to use teacher judgment and standardized summative assessment to determine level. More reliable data February 2012 Staff meeting – Independent investigations Inspection feedback discussed with staff. Ideas for increasing children’s independence shared. Each year group challenged to plan for a child- led investigation in next topic. April 2012 Staff meeting - ESI week Antarctic theme. Miss. V visiting Antarctica, what problems might she encounter. Ideas shared and each year group decided on a video problem to be made by NL and Miss. V May 2012 Year group Science champions meeting First champions meeting. Role and responsibilities discussed June 2012 PSQM day 1 Started work on action plan. Reflected on current position of school September 2012 Staff meeting for new staff Assessment procedures shared Champions meeting - principles Sorting of principle activity cards. 15 key areas found. Discussed differences between child and teacher responses October 2012 Staff meeting - principles In groups teachers ranked 15 key areas. Results were collated and principles document created for teacher files. Principles would form focus of Term 2 informal obs. November 2012 science network meeting I shared assessment procedures with 4 other schools. Received training on use of concept cartoons. Champions meeting – scientific enquiry Skills tracking document introduced. Champions to share with year groups. Greater focus on skills.

Core Documents Calendar of Events (The children) This, again, works well as a two or three column table in Word, containing date, event and a brief (one sentence) focus on impact. This is about what the children have beyond their regular curriculum entitlement for science Question; did you set this file up at start of year and regularly keep it up to date? 11

Date Year Activity/trip/visit Focus area Impact of activities All Term 1 3 to 6 Science club Investigation skills Children carry out different experiments and work together to explain what happened and why. 27/9/12 6 Building Forces and motion Year 6 children were given a construction challenge. The trip taught them about what forces act on buildings. 1/10/12 1 Visitor from cultural heritage centre Growing plants Children became aware of what characteristics plants must have in order to survive in the desert. 23/10/13 1 and 3 Link up between year groups to share what they learned about plant topics Growing plants /Helping plants grow well Year 3 shared the results of their experiment to find out what was the most important factor for a plant to survive. Year 1 able to see future learning. 4th – 8th/ 11/12 Whole school Science fair Increased parental involvement and focus on investigation process and skills. 19./12/12 Learning walk Parental involvement Children and parents aware of science learning across whole school not just child’s year group. 15/1/13 4 Birds of Prey trip Habitats Children able to see first hand the habitat of falcons and desert owls and how they survive.

2 Models of Action Planning SMART targets Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic Time related Effective CPD model (Adey et al) Relevant to need Sustained Collaborative Embedded in culture of school Career linked Offer two models for giving feedback on action plans. One managerial, definitely necessary for PSQM success; one which leads to a type of reflective leadership which is necessary for silver and gold, subject leaders can’t do this on their own! SMART targets- A taxonomy which is often used for identifying vital elements to effective CPD that supports individual primary teachers’ needs and improves professional practice in science teaching in primary schools should be:   Highly relevant need – is the action that has been identified relevant to the needs of the whole school, teachers or teacher, children or classes? How identifed? My self or others? Ofsted, SDP, talking to children, curriculum or teaching monitoring, new leader What might need be? Raising profile, keeping profile high in a new curriculum, introducing APP, strengthening TA, speaking and listening, practical work, outdoors? Sustained – how will it become embedded? A quick fix is rarely an effective one. It takes time to embed a new skill or piece of scientific understanding into pedagogical practice. For CPD to be effective it needs to offer teachers a framework for embedding freshly gained enthusiasm, confidence, new ideas, skills and understanding into their own long-term classroom practice. It is a truism amongst CPD providers, but a useful one, that simply passing on a trick to do in class tomorrow is not the mark of good CPD. These may include implementing new teaching and learning strategies, acquiring and using resources, reading deeper into the subject, or instituting organizational change. This action plan has several functions. Collaborative Does it include others? Embedded in the culture of the school- is it supported by the school? Does the school viewing its teachers as learners and support experimentation and change It is very difficult for a primary teacher to initiate change in his or her professional practice if it is not supported by the school. Stenhouse (1975) defined three critical characteristics of what he called the ‘extended professionalism’ which is essential for curriculum research and teacher development: the commitment to systematic questioning of one’s own teaching as a basis for development the commitment and skills to study one’s own teaching the concern to question and to test theory in practice .     Career path appropriate – what professional benefit for them as well as colleagues and children? 13

Completing an Action Plan Your action plan needs to be clear and concise, but also pinpointing where the evidence can be found. It’s like a lesson plan.. You need to know what you want at the end to be different and then look for ways to show this. Don’t just do an activity because it fills the space. Think carefully about how it will make a difference.

Examples of Action Planning Silver Award Criteria C1 Action Plan Impact expected Evidence Children’s curiosity is encouraged. They ask questions and encounter challenging problems, and independently come up with ways to investigate them using their growing scientific skills. Differentiated activities of appropriate challenge are provided for all pupils offering extension and open-ended work for the most able, and support / guidance for the least. Children are given the opportunity to reflect on their work. They are encouraged to engage in relevant and motivating science at home. Pupils are encouraged to participate in school-based science initiatives. 15

Examples of Action Planning Silver Award Criteria C1 Actions Impact expected Evidence Children’s curiosity is encouraged. They ask questions and encounter challenging problems, and independently come up with ways to investigate them using their growing scientific skills. Differentiated activities of appropriate challenge are provided for all pupils offering extension and open-ended work for the most able, and support / guidance for the least. Children are given the opportunity to reflect on their work. They are encouraged to engage in relevant and motivating science at home. Pupils are encouraged to participate in school-based science initiatives. This year we aim to increase the children’s curiosity and enthusiasm in a number of ways. KP to arrange KS2 Big science project competition (in relation to Science and Engineering Week) and get photos, feedback from children. There will be an emphasis on SC1 planning All science lessons clearly differentiated to reflect AG &T The children are encouraged to use the fronter science room. Science club members encouraged to try out mini science experiments with their parents/careers Children are responding to their teachers marking. Collect examples of questions from plans. 16

Examples of Action Planning Silver Award Criteria C1 Action Plan Impact expected Evidence Children’s curiosity is encouraged. They ask questions and encounter challenging problems, and independently come up with ways to investigate them using their growing scientific skills. Differentiated activities of appropriate challenge are provided for all pupils offering extension and open-ended work for the most able, and support / guidance for the least. Children are given the opportunity to reflect on their work. They are encouraged to engage in relevant and motivating science at home. Pupils are encouraged to participate in school-based science initiatives. This year we aim to increase the children’s curiosity and enthusiasm in a number of ways. KP to arrange KS2 Big science project competition (in relation to Science and Engineering Week) and get photos, feedback from children. There will be an emphasis on SC1 planning All science lessons clearly differentiated to reflect AG &T The children are encouraged to use the fronter science room. Science club members encouraged to try out mini science experiments with their parents/careers Children are responding to their teachers marking. Collect examples of questions from plans. Children will use Fronter for science homework or activities. (see print out of screen)   Evidence in planning Children will be more aware of how they can improve through teacher feedback. Children will have more opportunity to consider open ended questions 17

Examples of Action Planning Silver Award Criteria C1 Action Plan Impact expected Evidence Children’s curiosity is encouraged. They ask questions and encounter challenging problems, and independently come up with ways to investigate them using their growing scientific skills. Differentiated activities of appropriate challenge are provided for all pupils offering extension and open-ended work for the most able, and support / guidance for the least. Children are given the opportunity to reflect on their work. They are encouraged to engage in relevant and motivating science at home. Pupils are encouraged to participate in school-based science initiatives. This year we aim to increase the children’s curiosity and enthusiasm in a number of ways. KP to arrange KS2 Big science project competition (in relation to Science and Engineering Week) and get photos, feedback from children. There will be an emphasis on SC1 planning All science lessons clearly differentiated to reflect AG &T The children are encouraged to use the fronter science room. Science club members encouraged to try out mini science experiments with their parents/careers Children are responding to their teachers marking. Collect examples of questions from plans. Children will use Fronter for science homework or activities. (see print out of screen)   Evidence in planning Children will be more aware of how they can improve through teacher feedback. Children will have more opportunity to consider open ended questions Fronter printed Planning examples. Photos Copy of children’s responses to teacher marking. Evidence of questioning from planning and books. 18

Managing Time Only one additional action per week to that the school sets and ideally not during a heavy school week - you can’t write reports and do a work trawl in the same week! Don’t move the event forwards in time – all actions will be at the end of term or in the holidays! Always book a staff meeting slot (even if not a whole session) immediately after any monitoring to share generic feedback and next steps. Remember that all meetings and events take time to prepare…plan this into the calendar too e.g. a science week needs outline planning a year in advance, more detailed at least a term before and checking over with a staff meeting 2 weeks in advance – as a basic guide. When holding a staff meeting provide notes for information and use the face to face time for activities and discussion. Built in time to relax and to think…you are allowed time off! 19

Gap Tasks Complete your action plan before the next session. Map out your time so you can manage it all. Start to action it. Continue to update your ‘Logs’. PRIMARY SCIENCE QUALITY MARK PRIMARY SCIENCE QUALITY MARK® 20