This report from Ofsted describes how assessment in science is most effective where it is used as a teaching tool as well as a means of judging attainment. Similarly the assessment of practical coursework is not just a means of assigning students to levels but of giving them the information they need to improve...

This report is about career guidance in English secondary schools, and how it could be made better. Career guidance has been much criticised but what would it look like if it were better? Through international visits, analysis of good practice in English independent schools and a comprehensive review of current...

This report looks at hands-on practical science in secondary schools and uses an international study to answer the question ‘What does good look like?’. Using a  model of...

This case study describes how an inclusive approach to attendance and punctuality can improve overall success rates for learners with a declared disability or health condition, many of whom were formerly not in education, employment or training.

This case study describes how one primary school used a 'forest school' initiative to engage a group of boys who were not keen on school. Inspectors identified the ‘forest school’ as an outstanding feature of environmental education at the school. All the children are involved in activities in the outdoors and in...

Good career guidance helps inspire students towards further study and enables them to make informed decisions whenever choices are open to them. It helps them to understand enough about the world of work to know what skills they need to succeed.

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This report summarises the activities undertaken in Froglife’s Grass Roots, Green Shoots Project which ran from July 2006-December 2007. The project involved environmental education sessions with a strong social inclusion element. It aimed to help young people improve their local environment, and develop their self...

This report summarises and evaluates the Green Pathways scheme which ran from 2008 to 2011. Undertaken by the wildlife charity Froglife, it was designed to offer vulnerable and disadvantaged young people between the ages of ten to seventeen the opportunity to participate in innovative conservation projects and...

A Catalyst article about green chemistry. Many reactions take place in solution. Water is a familiar solvent but there are many others, including a rather surprising one, carbon dioxide, which is a non-polluting ‘green’ solvent. The chemical industry relies on solvents to produce many everyday products, such as:...

A Catalyst article about using computers to crunch data from CERN. The article looks at GridPP, a UK computing grid for handling particle physics data.

This article is from Catalyst: GCSE Science Review 2007, Volume 17, Issue 4.

Catalyst ...

From LSIS, this case study describes work by Wirral Metropolitan College. A core focus of the LSIS STEM Programme is embedding and supporting whole organisation approaches to STEM provision across the learning and skills sector. Wirral Metropolitan College has demonstrated how a whole-organisation approach to STEM...

This report from Ofsted is based on evidence gathered during a rapid response survey. Inspectors visited 45 secondary schools in February 2010 to look at their science curriculum provision at Key Stage Four and to find out how students at the end of Key Stage Three and Key Stage Four were guided towards specific...

This Catalyst article looks at some of the unusual features of water and especially the way it behaves when it is frozen. The article explains the properties of water and how it behaves at different temperatures with the aid of illustrations showing its molecular structure. Some unusual scientific ideas are also...

A Catalyst article about hair, how it grows, how it can be sculpted into the latest fashionable shapes and can hold fast to all the colours of the rainbow. The article explores how hair grows and how its physical structure and chemical make-up are affected by hair products.

This article is from Catalyst:...

This report of the Central Advisory Council for Education (England) resulted from research into the state of secondary education, focusing on students aged 13 to 16 who were of average or below-average ability. The report was known as the Newsom Report, named after Mr J H Newsom, chairman of the advisory council....