Pupil recording (or teacher annotations for younger children) does not need to cover the whole of the enquiry process every lesson. It is better use of time to focus the recording on one element of enquiry such as predictions, graphs or conclusions. Having one element as the focus also helps to manage the cognitive load of practical activities.

For example, in Stoke on Trent, at St Pauls the Y3 ‘stem in dye’ predictions were recorded on individual post its, whilst at St Edwards Y5 paper spinner evaluations are recorded individually in books (see photos below). Across the year, different elements of Working Scientifically will be the focus and different recording techniques will be used.

A mix of other draft examples from different schools are attached below:

• Y2 Boat explanations, Handspan conclusions, Woodlice tally
• Y4 Biscuit dunk results, Conductors
• Y5 Aquadynamics, Craters and Sugar results

Further examples can be found under the Focused Assessment examples tab on the PSTT TAPS website. This database of examples can be filtered by topic and age group to help you find an example relevant to your context.