Ofsted Subject Reports 1999-00: Secondary Science

This report from Ofsted is one of a series that were published annually in association with the Annual Report of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector. The report gives the main findings of Ofsted concerning the state of science education for students aged from 11-19.

The evidence base, which the report is based upon, includes data gathered through the Section 10 inspection of Schools, which involved science specific inspectors gathering evidence and writing subject specific sections of the report.

The evidence base also included data from subject specific inspection of a sample of secondary schools.

The 1999-00 report gives a range of findings including:

• Students’ achievement has risen slightly. In the GCSE, 49 per cent of students attained grades A* - C.
• Teaching is good in six schools in ten and unsatisfactory in one in ten: planning too often fails to promote sufficiently rapid progress through Key Stage Three, particularly for higher attaining students.
• In many schools better development of basic skills is needed within science for lower attaining students.
• The science curriculum is often fragmented, with many pupils unable to make essential links between the areas they have studied.
• The growing shortage of physical science teachers is beginning to have a negative impact; there is an unsatisfactory match between staff and the curriculum in one school in nine.
• A large majority of schools have improved standards in science. Attainment continues to rise slowly in Life processes and living things, Materials and their properties and Physical processes, but attainment in Scientific Enquiry remains patchy.
• Science teaching is good in the majority of schools. Practical activity is becoming more purposeful. There has been slight improvement in the explicit teaching of investigative skills.
• Pupils are well-prepared for external examinations in Key Stage Four, but preparation for Key Stage Three national tests is often less thorough.

Other issues considered in detail are:
- Promoting progression through Key Stage Three
- Planning a coherent science curriculum
- Developing basic skills in science