ASE 2025 Annual Conference

Since moving from mainstream secondary education to work in Alternative Provision (AP*) in September 2022, Gemma has been tackling the question of what a meaningful, fit-for-purpose, and successful science curriculum, looks like in this setting. Very little is written about the curriculum in AP in general, and there is even less writing or data on Science in AP. Science provision in AP is patchy across the country, with some provisions unable to find a science teacher and dropping the subject from the curriculum. Many science teachers working in AP are the sole teacher, or work in a team of two people, and the vast majority work without a technician. Finding herself in a similar situation, Gemma reached out to others and formed the Science in AP network.

Many young people excluded from school, at risk of exclusion, or unable to access mainstream education due to SEMH needs, have poor prior experiences of science education. Reflecting the national trend, seen in research such as the Science Education Tracker, many of these young people have the least access to practical science work and enrichment opportunities - both when they have been in mainstream schools and during their time in AP.

In this session Gemma will talk about her journey so far in developing a science curriculum in AP. We will look at ways to adapt a curriculum to a setting where students come and go, and may join with many gaps in their education. We will also look at ways to enable students in AP to access practical science and science enrichment opportunities - even when budgets are tight!

The session will also discuss how the lessons from AP can be applied to mainstream secondary education - ensuring students at risk of exclusion are not excluded from the science classroom before they are even excluded from school.