Prep School Science Teaching
Posted By admin in EducationIt looks like the royal societys report, state of the nation is an interesting one to read. The report basically casts a lot of light on the teaching of Science and Maths between ages of 5 and 14 and looks into the paucity of science specialists in primary school and says that the testing regime in England has stifled creativity. It would seem the study makes a very strong point on saying that science is a very practical subject that should require a lot of understanding and cannot be achieved by learning by just sitting there reading.
Although this report is a good one it does not even begin to even look into the independent sector and it would seem that the two biggest criticisms of the report do not even happen when it comes to science in independent schools.
The Royal Society highlight that only 3% of primary teachers at maintained schools in England are science specialists and only 2% are maths specialists, but figures from ISC’s own Teacher Survey paint a rather different picture for the independent sector. when it comes to the private schools around 8% have science degrees and 5% have maths degrees.
This is important because, as the Royal Society report points out, even though many primary school teachers are generalists it’s important for teachers to have access to specialist advice, particularly in relation to a teacher’s subject knowledge, where perceived lack of personal knowledge can lead to low confidence and influences teaching approaches. So it is good to have around one of each of these in each and every school.
As for the report’s other main criticism, the independent sector is also fortunate to be free of much of the regime of testing that leads to the culture of teaching to the test in the maintained sector, so this concern does not apply to independent schools to the same degree: independent schools are able to focus on inspiring their pupils and teaching them to really understand science, rather than to regurgitate facts. The teaching of science is one of the great strengths of the independent sector. This is often demonstrated by university entrance figures and impressive A-level results, but it’s also due to the superb standards of science education at prep schoolslevel. This strength is not just about having access to labs and other facilities, but the use of specialist teachers and a commitment to establishing scientific method and basic knowledge at an early age when pupils’ imaginations and enthusiasm are at their most fertile.
If you are looking for a science or maths teaching jobs in an independent school, then please have a look at the ISC Job Zone for the latest private school jobsvacancies.

