New Science Leaders Network: FREE NETWORK MEETINGS

A network to support new Heads of Science to come together, learn and share ideas to promote the excellent teaching of science.

If you are new or in your first couple of years of leading science in your school why not join us and learn from experienced leads and talk through issues to find solutions with your peers. We will get together at half-termly meetings with experienced Heads of Science with space to develop and adapt according to the needs of the group.

The sessions will cover topics such as the difference between leadership and management, dealing with finance, strategies for monitoring and evaluation, assessment planning, running effective meetings, health and safety, writing a strategic action plan, how best to implement change, etc.

Every session will have a panel of expert ex Heads of Science or current Heads of Science who will be available to answer any questions as they arise through the year.

Remote - 16.00-17.00 - we recommend joining for all meetings if possible for continuity and community.

• Summer 1 - 25th April - Effective Action Planning and Leading Change - Info and booking

• Summer 2 - 20th June - Review of the Year and Sharing Best Practice - Info and booking

We are very keen to promote Environmental Science as an A-level , here are some ideas to advocate it and why it should be promoted to students, have a read.  

We are thrilled to present a series of new remote bitesize teachmeets that will help teachers enhance their knowledge on topics that a lot of students find challenging. These courses will be completely free to attend as they are sponsored by the hub. They all run from 15.45 to 16.30 and will have open forums for you to discuss topics you struggle with and share resources and ideas. 

• Session 5 (Physics) : Calculating Half Life - 7th May - Book here 

• Session 6 (Chemistry) : Condensation Polymerisation - 14th May - Book here 

• Session 7 (Biology) : Mitosis and Meiosis - 22nd May - Book here 

Subject knowledge enhancement: KS4 Chemistry - 5th June - Remote - 9.30 to 15.30 - £100/£200* - Info and booking 

Develop the background subject knowledge required to help planning and teaching chemistry for key stage 4 . Gain the tools and confidence to plan and teach effective learning for your GCSE chemistry classes. You will explore ways of building student understanding, taking into account misconceptions and common issues in teaching these concepts.

Triple Science for Chemistry - 12th June - Dr Challoners High school - HP7-9QB - 9.30 to 15.30 - £200 (70% TRP available - Contact us)/£400* - Info and booking

This course is intended for teachers that have experience of teaching chemistry at 14 - 16 and would benefit from support in effective teaching and learning of the triple science extension modules. A range of modules from across the awarding bodies will be considered, and you should be familiar with the content of your extension modules before taking part in the course.

Excellent teaching in A level Chemistry - 3rd July - Dr Challoners High School HP7-9QB - 9.30 to 15.30 - £200(70% TRP available - Contact us)/£400* - Info and booking

This course will allow you to reflect and build on your already developed teaching strategies. Making use of recent evidence, we will firstly explore what makes an excellent chemistry lesson and how to support students to become ‘hands on minds on’ learners. 

Stimulating Physics Free Bespoke Support

Receive free bespoke coaching and CPD support from your local Physics Coach. Work to improve the quality of your physics teaching and address any issues through a bespoke action plan led period of support. If you are interested in finding out more please get in touch at hubs@scd.herts.sch.uk

Post 16 Physics Subject Knowledge Enhancement: Fields - 25th April -  Remote - 9.00-15.00 - £100/£200* - Info and booking

Develop the background subject knowledge required to help planning and teaching physics for key stage 5. This course will help you to prepare for teaching the topic of fields and will focus on the subject knowledge needed to teach the content. 

Misconceptions in Physics - 1st May - Remote - 15.45 to 16.45 - £20/£40* - Info and booking

This course provides participants with the opportunity to consider the misconceptions which exist in KS3 and 4 Physics. We will look at teaching strategies for drawing these misconceptions (and preconceptions) out of students and consider ways of breaking them down and building on firmer, more concrete foundations through effective learning. Ideas on how to use the Best Evidence Science Resources (BEST) resources will be shared by Peter Fairhurst who has written many of the resources. 

Triple Science for Physics - 14th May - St Clement Danes School, Chorleywood - 9.30 to 15.30 - £200(70% TRP available)/£400* - Info and booking .  Contact us to book with Teacher Release Payment offer.

This course is intended for teachers that have experience of teaching physics at 14 - 16 and would benefit from support in effective teaching and learning of the triple science extension modules. A range of modules from across the awarding bodies will be considered, you should be familiar with the content of your extension modules before taking part in the course. 

Subject Knowledge Enhancement: KS4 Biology - 1st May and 15th May -  Remote - 15.30-16.30 - £100/£150* - Info and booking

This course will provide subject knowledge to help in planning and teaching biology for Key Stage 4 (Coordinated Science and Triple Science) with a focus on the genome, genes and gene expression and cell division.

Excellent teaching in A level Biology  - 11th July -  Sandringham School, St Albans - 9.30-15.30 - £200 (70% TRP)/£400* - Info and booking. Contact us to book with Teacher Release Payment offer.

This course will allow you to reflect and build on your already developed teaching strategies. Making use of recent evidence, we will firstly explore what makes an excellent biology lesson and how to support students to become ‘hands on minds on’ learners. 

Stretch and challenge of pupils in science - Date TBC - St Clement Danes School - 9.30 - 15.30 - £200/£400* (50% TRP available) - Info and booking 

Participants will gain an understanding of what stretch and challenge should look like based on evidence from Ofsted and research.

Technicians & New science teachers as Demonstrators - 21st May - Remote - 10.00 to 13.00 - £75 (50% TRP for Bucks, West Herts & East Berks) / £150 - Info and booking 

Are you a science technician or new science teacher that wants to improve your demonstration techniques in the classroom? If so this course will help you understand what makes a science demonstration effective, how to enhance the learning potential of a demonstration, think about what students are learning and how to engage them, health and safety and develop your repertoire of demonstrations.

Maths in Science Series - Remote - 16.00 to 17.00 - £20 per session, or £50 for all 3 / £40* per session 

• Algebra and equations 1/3 - 16th May - Info and booking

Develop subject knowledge and teaching strategies required to confidently deliver the algebra elements of the GCSE science specifications. You will apply these skills, using appropriate resources, in biology, physics and chemistry contexts. The course covers algebra basics, solving equations and rearranging equations.

• Graphs 2/3 - 4th June - Info and booking

Develop subject knowledge and teaching strategies to confidently deliver the graphing elements of the GCSE science specifications. Apply these skills, using appropriate resources, in biology, physics and chemistry contexts. The course covers sketching graphs, interpreting graphs and drawing graphs.

• Number (Ratios/Percentages) - 19th June - Info and booking

Develop subject knowledge and teaching strategies to confidently deliver some of the challenging aspects of Maths in Science. There will be a particular focus on ratios, percentages and rates of change. Apply these skills, using appropriate resources, in biology, physics and chemistry contexts.

Effective Transition between Year 6 and Year 7 in Science - 22nd May, 12th June and 19th June - 3 session course - Remote - 15.30-16.30 - £100/£150* - Info and booking

This course will focus on how to establish effective transition between year 6 and year 7 in science. You will have the opportunity to consider the nature and content of the year 6 science curriculum, how to develop creative activities that build on prior learning and how to use diagnostic teaching to identify and address gaps in knowledge and skills.

Diagnostic Teaching and Dealing with Misconceptions in Secondary Science - 6th and 27th June - Remote - 16.00-17.00 - £90/£180* - Info and booking

A course aimed at developing the use of diagnostic teaching in the classroom including: considering what we mean by diagnostic teaching, identifying ways in which we can incorporate diagnostic teaching into lessons and lesson planning, sharing sources of quality diagnostic questions and considered best ways to use these in everyday teaching and identifying how misconceptions may have been reinforced for students in earlier schemes of learning or through remote teaching during lockdown.

Integrating Climate Change into the Secondary Curriculum - 11th June -  St Clement Danes School, Chorleywood - 9.30-15.30 - £200/£400* Possible subsidy of £400 for tier 2 & tier 3 schools - Check online to see eligibility or email slp-support@stem.org.uk - Info and booking

Climate change is among the greatest threats and challenges of our time. From scientific analysis and technology to global political debate, tackling climate change requires a multi-disciplinary approach and encompasses a wide range of topics. During this course, you will learn about the science behind climate change, the strategies that are being employed to tackle the problem and explore creative ways to integrate this topic into the secondary curriculum.

The Art of Demos and How to get the best from practical demonstrations  - 19th June -  St Clement Danes School, Chorleywood - 13.00 to 16.00 - £100(with 70% TRP Contact us)/£200* - Info and booking

Effective practical demonstration involves more than is more than just showing students a particular experiment.  You will consider how to set the practical up, where to position students, how to keep their focus during the demonstration and how to assess the learning intentions. We will discuss a range of possible demonstrations and how to ensure that these have maximum impact on student learning.  You will understand the principles of good demonstrations and how to apply these to all disciplines and phases. 

Science department OFSTED deep dives from a HODs perspective - 20th June - Remote - 16.30 to 17.00 - FREE - Info and booking 

Kirsty Bonwick (Head of Science, St Clement Danes School) will be sharing her experiences of being a deep dive subject in a recent OFSTED inspection.

Teaching KS3 Science for the 1st time - 20th June -  St Clement Danes School, Chorleywood - 9.30-15.30 - £200/£400* - Info and booking

The aim of this course is to provide further support for those who are not experienced at teaching KS3 science.  This is perfect for those new to teaching or those teaching the subject outside of specialism.  We aim to cover a number of essentials for teaching science, including key misconceptions, delivering practical work and health and safety.

CLEAPSS - Health & Safety Management for Heads of Science - 1st July -  St Clement Danes School, Chorleywood - 9.30-16.00 - £160 members/£320 non-members - Info and booking

The main emphasis of this one-day course is on management issues and risk assessment. It is intended for Heads of Science, their deputies, heads of physics, chemistry and biology and those aspiring to such posts.

Annual Secondary Science Conference - 4th July -  St Clement Danes School, Chorleywood - 9.00-15.45 - £100/£200* - Info and booking

Join us for this annual conference for science teachers and technicians (click here for technicians booking) which includes a full day of practical ideas and activities including keynote and workshop sessions throughout the day for biology, chemistry and physics. Connect with your fellow teachers and browse our marketplace in the break times. 

Using the Ofsted Research Review: Science to move your Curriculum towards Excellence - 9th July -  St Clement Danes School, Chorleywood - 9.30-15.30 - £200/£400* - Info and booking

Following the publication of the Ofsted Research Review: Science in 2021, this course is designed to enable participants, from any phase, to review their curriculum against the key messages.

CLEAPSS - Radiation Protection Supervisor Training

St Clement Danes School, Chorleywood - 9.30-16.00 - £160 members/£320 non-members

- 10th July - Info and booking

Ensure you are up to date with all you need to know about Radiation Protection and how to manage your resources.

We offer a number of courses specifically for technicians - please click here to find out more.

*State funded school or college price/Fee-paying school or college price (independent)