What can you do about a bad teacher?

Yes, this is my concern. The teacher will be 'improving' while my DD is in her crucial exam years. She's been taught by every other Science teacher in the Department at some point and they are all fantastic. Just feels like extreme bad luck that she's landed with a less capable teacher when it matters most.

But what do you realistically expect them to do? Your daughter is very lucky to have had good science teaching so far .. believe me, that is a priveleged experience, because there aren't enough good science teachers to go around every class in every school. Schools do everything they can to recruit the best teachers, but don't always get a good pool of applicants. This year many will have had to rely on interviews via Zoom and wouldn't have been able to observe teaching as part of the process. Once recruited, they can't just sack and replace struggling teachers at the drop of a hat. And if your school is like every other school in the country their support capacity will be currently more stretched than usual too. So you can make a fuss, but unless they are willing to move your daughter or the teacher to another class (which would solve your individual problem but nobody else's) all you can do is support your daughter to fill in the gaps at home. Many thousands of students around the country have the same experience but your daughter will come out of it much stronger if she realises she can teach herself using the many free resources available online.

In our school (and I assume most other good schools) new teachers are observed, and given support if they need it. If they don't improve with support then eventually the capability procedures kick in and they effectively managed out, usually choosing to leave before they're given a formal warning. But they do need to be given the opportunity and support to improve first, and that takes time. If you want to know how much time then ask to see your school's HR policies. But as a parent you've done enough and should let the school deal with it. You can support your daughter by encouraging her to self-study the topics on BBC Bitesize or similar. There are lots of materials out there that cover everything she needs to know.

Bear in mind that science teachers are in short supply, so your school may not easily be able to recruit a replacement.

I would email again.
As pp said, senior management won't be popping into lessons as regularly where this kind of concern would be noticed and addressed more casually due to the nature of the virus rules. They can however spend time talking to the teacher to discuss how the students are progressing and get the teacher to reflect on how the lessons are going. If she is new to the school I would expect that she is having support from a colleague who has been at the school for a while (that's my experience anyway) and any concerns that are raised would then be addressed in the mentoring meetings they would have. Have you emailed the head of department? They are responsible for managing such concerns. Also, make it clear that your daughter likes the teacher and is keen to have a good working relationship with her. As a head of year myself, when parents show they are concerned and the students are keen to learn it always helps to resolve the concern more effectively and quickly - it also often suggests that the teacher is the one that needs the guidance. If I was dealing with your concern I would also speak to your DD privately to acknowledge her thoughts and offer to organise a conversation between her and the teacher. I would be there to ensure it was a positive conversation where your DD could share what she is thinking and for the teacher to be able to share her thoughts too. Having led this type of conversation with all different year groups I've found it to be very beneficial for both the teacher and student's working relationship and therefore ability to progress (I know the relationship isn't the issue here, but my intention would be for your DD to feel comfortable saying to the teacher that something hasn't been explained fully or too quickly during future lessons if necessary which then resolves the actual issue).

Maybe get her the relevant books to help her learning. Once she has the basic understanding the lessons will be easier to follow the way the teachers teach. I wouldn't necessarily blame the teacher, we all work differently and we all have to adapt. Same as at work.

I’d email again. The fact that you gave it a month, then left it a month, to actually see if there was an improvement, suggests you’re not an unreasonable parent and therefore that the school will take you more seriously. What you’re describing does sound fairly classic for a relatively new teacher who takes on a top/high KS4 set; they often overestimate how able the class are and therefore don’t scaffold enough. Giving clear explanations is actually one of the hardest teaching skills to learn. With COVID, senior/middle leaders won’t be popping in and out of lessons as much so they won’t be seeing those things and reminding these newer teachers that though able students can cope with high challenge, they still need scaffolding to get there too, especially at the moment when we can’t helicopter round and do this in person! When you email again be really specific about what the positives were that your daughter found helpful.