ABSTRACT
Performance indicators, league tables and accountability make the business of effectiveness high on a school’s agenda. It is no longer sufficient for teachers to know that they are effective. They must show this to be the case to the outside world, particularly to parents and OFSTED inspectors. The effective general management of the school by the headteacher and the management of the separate curriculum areas by subject coordinators is essential for success. This requires you as the science coordinator to:
The National Curriculum Orders make it clear that the headteacher should:
This is no light task, since it applies to the full National Curriculum. Headteachers are likely to delegate this responsibility to the subject coordinators. With subjects like English and mathematics, the coordinators have a substantial body of experience and resourcing with which to work. Since this is still developing in primary science teaching the task facing you as the science coordinator will be to support a programme of policy development and review to ensure that science stands alongside its core curriculum partners on an equal footing. Science in the National Curriculum (DfE, 1995) provides teachers with a framework for developing skills, knowledge and understandings of science. There are now numerous books which provide background science for those primary teachers who need it. Resource books for teachers and commercial schemes also provide ideas for translating the science into classroom experience. However, none of these make a school policy statement for science, nor do they translate the policy into effective classroom practice.
