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Original poster

Primary school science SATs end

15 replies

juuule · 07/05/2009 08:44

Primary school science SATs end after this year.
Why science?

Heard on the radio that from next year SATs will be sat in June rather than May so that teachers are not in the position of not knowing what to do with Y6 until the end of term

OP posts:

snorkle · 07/05/2009 10:06

They're taking science off the primary core curriculum (replacing with ICT) so it makes sense to axe the science SAT I suppose. I think it's a great shame - taking science off core curriculum that is, I don't have strong feelings either way about the SAT paper. I thought the primary science curriculum was quite good and well thought out, but I suppose they're doing it as mostly it all gets repeated in KS3 anyway. Shame they didn't think to upgrade the secondary science rather than downgrade the primary one imo.

KingCanuteIAm · 07/05/2009 10:08

They are taking away primary science?
Why was I not consulted? AFAIC primary science provides some of the most fun and enjoyable lessons in primary. My dcs have all learned a real love of science in primary which is continuing into secondary.

What is the thought process behind this?

(Sorry for the hijak!)

ramonaquimby · 07/05/2009 10:13

what a joke
the gov't thinks that everyone will be a drone sitting behind a pc in years to come and will leave invention/discovery/research to other nations

this gets me v angry

snorkle · 07/05/2009 10:14

It was in the news last week (though not main headline at all, so easily missed), article here.

cuppateaplease · 07/05/2009 10:15

DS has spent most of this year being taught SATS 'stuff' and have to admit he has been taught very dodgy science! His current teachers are not science orientated and therefore can only teach to the SATS. He has brought his SATS science book home for 'revision' - I've looked through it and boy is it boring!! Science needs to be taught with experiments to make it interesting (I am science orientated - sad I know) so at home we grow things in the garden, make water bottle rockets, models of the solar system.... I'd much prefer they had spent their time learning the fun bits of science to get them interested in the subject rather than thinking it's a boring subject.

TBH all the SATS stuff has been boring - he's had SATS revision since January and he's bored, bored, bored!

And Yes I think the whole system of how SATS are currently done is a load of rubbish as well!!

Original poster

juuule · 07/05/2009 10:18

They are taking science off the primary core curriculum

The system gets more and more bonkers by the day.

OP posts:

Original poster

juuule · 07/05/2009 10:21

Cuppatea, I was just thinking that science at primary could get more interesting now if it wasn't necessary to teach it to the test. I (obviously naively) thought that the teachers could have more of a free hand in how they approached science.

Now I find out they are getting rid

OP posts:

KingCanuteIAm · 07/05/2009 10:24

Our school teach it through experimentation, even in the Sats years. Maybe they are not the norm then? When dd brings back her revision books she is always saying "oh yes, that is the same as this experiment".

ramonaquimby · 07/05/2009 10:27

they wont' be getting rid of science, it just won't be part of the 'core' of numeracy, literacy and now ict

cuppateaplease · 07/05/2009 10:27

Perhaps now science will be just 'scientific and technological understanding' (whatever that means) rather than a core subject they might get to do the fun things! Trouble is so much depend on the teacher. DS has nagged and nagged and nagged his teacher, into making water bottle rockets later in the year. She said she will do it - also including D&T by designing and decorating the bottles- but i bet the other year teachers won't be doing it!

cuppateaplease · 07/05/2009 10:29

oh how i envy you KingCanute.............

Ninkynork · 07/05/2009 10:31

Won't science become a foundation subject now, alongside geography, art, music and history? And while they're at it can they get rid of design technology if they haven't already?

In my DD's school science is very much taught as a written subject and they have found it easy to drill knowledge and vocabulary into increasingly bored and demotivated pupils. Results are always superb, but it isn't really "science" IYKWIM.

snorkle · 07/05/2009 10:32

To be fair they've not got rid of it entirely, but downgraded it from a core subject to "scientific and technological understanding" whatever that means. I think it's a fair assumption that it's going to mean less rather than more of it though.

cuppa, your dcs experience of primary science doesn't sound that great. Mine did lots of practicals - there's no reason that the primary stuff can't be taught that way & just have the SATs paper to test understanding at the end or not, in fact I'm sure that's how it should be taught. I'd say it was a failing of your school to make it uninteresting rather than of the curriculum itself. We did also run against some lacking of understanding by teachers (mostly in the electricity area) but mainly the teaching was OK - given all primary teachers should be reasonably intelligent graduates there's not much excuse for them to struggle with essentially very basic science topics.

cuppateaplease · 07/05/2009 10:40

Snorkle - i agree, so much depends on school/teachers how interestingly they teach all subjects and unfortunately our school is not very inventive with ways to teach. But hey that means we get to do all the fun things at home! And boy is he looking forward to going to new school in September!

KingCanuteIAm · 07/05/2009 12:28

Cuppa, we are lucky enough to have an outstanding school with excellent staff, leadership and so on. They don't always get it right IMO but they do a lot better than many schools I know of. I am well aware of how privaliged my children are by going there and do my best to support it.

I am still stunned that science is being downgraded in favour of ICT. At secondary school level they are being told to drop ICT after year 9 as they already have a gcse in it which is enough to get into college - even for a computing/programming course. What is the plan now? If they do even more hours they will be doing GCSE in year 6!

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