Confidence in assessment judgements is supported by regular moderation.  The subject leader set up a series of 10 minute science moderation slots which took place within staff meetings across the year.  Each slot consisted of one class teacher bringing along some samples of work, which could be children’s writing, drawings or speech, and the staff agreeing a level for each piece. This led to lengthy discussions at first, but the process became quicker as staff developed knowledge of what to look for.

“Moderating regularly in small manageable chunks helps us to maintain a high profile for science, gives teachers confidence and means we have super evidence of children’s attainment” (Subject Leader).

Such moderation led to the creation of an exemplar for the Primary Science Quality Mark.  Further PSQM exemplars can be found at: https://pstt.org.uk/who-we-are/partners/psqm

https://www.ase.org.uk/resources/primary-science/issue-151-0

Shaw Primary School, Melksham