INSET: Exceptional Primary Science Teaching

🌟 Exceptional Primary Science Teaching – Inspiring Young Scientists and Building Lifelong Skills

Primary science plays a vital role in shaping how children understand the world, think critically, and solve problems. Far more than a foundation for future study, it is a gateway to curiosity, creativity, and scientific literacy. According to the Primary Science Teaching Trust’s 2025 report, schools with strong science leadership and regular provision show significantly better outcomes in engagement and attainment. Science develops essential skills such as observation, prediction, reasoning, and communication, which are transferable across the curriculum and into everyday life. It also nurtures attitudes like resilience, open-mindedness, and collaboration, helping pupils become confident learners and informed citizens in a rapidly changing world.

This CPD course supports primary teachers and science leads in delivering exceptional science provision that aligns with the 2025 Ofsted framework’s focus on curriculum and teaching, inclusion, and personal development. Through practical strategies, curriculum planning, and pedagogical insight, participants will be equipped to raise standards, inspire learners, and prepare for inspection with confidence.

---

🧭 INSET Outline

🎯 Primary Science Curriculum and Teaching

• Design a science curriculum that is coherent, ambitious, and sequenced for progression across year groups.
• Embed working scientifically skills through enquiry, observation, and hands-on investigation.
• Use cross-curricular links to reinforce scientific concepts and vocabulary.

📈 Achievement and Progress

• Use formative assessment, pupil voice, and work scrutiny to evidence progress in scientific knowledge and skills.
• Support disadvantaged learners and those with SEND through adaptive teaching and inclusive strategies.
• Develop strategies to ensure pupils retain and apply scientific knowledge over time.

🧠 Scientific Literacy and Engagement

• Build pupils’ confidence in using scientific language and explaining their thinking.
• Promote curiosity and questioning through real-world contexts and outdoor learning.
• Use science to develop cultural capital, linking learning to careers, sustainability, and global issues.

🛠️ Primary Science Pedagogy and Practice

• Apply research-informed strategies such as dual coding, retrieval practice, and scaffolding.
• Use practical work effectively to support conceptual understanding and engagement.
• Plan lessons that balance exploration with structure, ensuring all pupils can succeed.

🔍 Inspection Readiness

• Understand how Ofsted evaluates primary science under the new framework.
• Prepare evidence of curriculum intent, implementation, and impact.
• Align science provision with whole-school priorities for inclusion, safeguarding, and personal development.

---

👥 Who is this INSET for?

• Primary Science Subject Leaders
• KS1 and KS2 Teachers
• Curriculum Coordinators
• Senior Leaders overseeing teaching and learning

enquiries@jmcinset.com

🗣️ Testimonial

“This CPD helped us rethink our approach to primary science. The focus on progression, inclusion, and inspection readiness gave us the confidence to improve our curriculum and teaching practice.”
— Science Lead, Primary Federation