Teach Secondary - Issue 13.2

Helping hands We hear how an ambitious inter-school partnership initiative helped one school in the North East bolster its already extensive science offer H ere at St Leonard’s Catholic School, we attribute our success in science to the holistic approach we take to the subject. We don’t demand an ‘exam factory’ mentality of our students, but we do believe in equipping themwith all the attributes they’ll need to enter STEMfields. As a department, we have agreed ‘non-negotiables’ with regards to our curriculum, teaching and learning principles. We don’t see our curriculum as the contents of a textbook, an exam board specification list or a series of subject content points on the National Curriculum. It needs to go above and beyond that. ‘Science capital’ Our results have always been driven by the ability of our staff to deliver an ambitious curriculum, with further continuity provided by extracurricular clubs that have developed over time. These include our KS3 Science Club, KS4Mini Bio Society, Sixth formChemistry, Biology and Medical societies, as well as our Physics Surgery. We also run additional ALevel mentoring sessions and reading groups, which have helped to boost students’ engagement with science subjects and encourage excellent uptake at A Level. Our department’s aimhas always been to ‘Provide the best science experience, to produce the best future scientists.’ To achieve that, we’ve sought to develop our students into great scientists who: • Think scientifically • Possess a scientific skill set • Can apply logic to real-life scenarios • Transfer their science skills across other subjects • Can ask insightful questions • Demonstrate enthusiasm for the natural world • Are keen to knowmore We’ve seen sustained academic success over the past five years, but still recognise the importance of regularly evaluating what we do and seeking out areas for improvement – particularly in relation to changes across the educational or employment landscape. Following a recent audit of our curriculum, teaching and learning principles, we felt it wise to enrich our STEM opportunities with a focus on careers guidance. This initially led us to review our understanding of the Gatsby benchmarks and ‘science capital’. The term ‘cultural capital’ was originally coined by the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, who described it as “The cultural knowledge that serves as currency that helps us navigate culture and alters our experiences and the opportunities available to us.” Building on that notion, ‘science capital’ could be summarised as the knowledge, attitude, skills and experiences our students develop over the time they spend with us. As a department we’re confident that we’re able to deliver on the following areas: ‘What you know’ – through our challenging curriculum and regular use of Rosenshine’s principles and effective recall strategies ‘How you think’ – via cognitive and metacognitive approaches in our T&L practice, promotion of growth mindsets and igniting of students’ curiosity ‘What you do’ – through our delivery of disciplinary knowledge, teaching the skills required by scientists to hypothesise and problem solve, and by giving pupils as many opportunities to experience practical science as possible. There has, however, been a key piece of the puzzle missing – namely ‘ Who you know’ , which has proved to be a difficult component to fulfil here in the North East of England, where science- based opportunities and experiences are somewhat limited. Or so we thought. Unmissable opportunity Our efforts to address this gap is what first led us to become involved with an ENTHUSE Partnership. Since September 2022, St Leonard’s has been the lead school for the ENTHUSE Partnership within our trust, the BishopWilkinson Catholic Education Trust, under the direction of its director of science, Rob Swinney [see panel]. ENTHUSE Partnerships are collaborations between eight to ten schools or colleges, supported by £25,000 of funding over two years. Each Partnership involves drawing up a tailored two-year action plan that typically includes teacher CPD combining residential, local and online courses; free curated and quality-assured resources; engagement with STEM Ambassadors to inspire young people; and the development of STEM clubs to further engage young people and improve their practical skills. We’ve endeavoured to invite local STEMproviders who can give us better insights into the learning and networking “Wedon’t see our curriculum as the content ofa textbook, anexamboard specification list ora series of subject content points” 62 teachwire.net/secondary