Since January 2022, children at Morley Newlands have been participating in the Mastery Awards. Starting in EYFS and continuing throughout their time with us, these awards emphasise scientific enquiry skills, broken down into manageable steps, guiding each child on a journey from science novice to expert.

‘Experts know more science than novices and this knowledge is better structured. When knowledge is well-structured, it becomes meaningful, flexible and easier to access. This knowledge can then be used to solve complex, and interesting, scientific problems without overloading working memory.’ (Ofsted. 2021)

The Mastery Awards involve a 20-to-30-minute session, designed by the teacher, which is delivered every other week focussed on building on particular enquiry skills. Over time, this ensures regular and robust experiences with the disciplinary knowledge essential in science. Each child’s progress through the skills is tracked on a Mastery Award Chart. Over two years, children work on mastering these skills, and once they achieve proficiency, they earn a completion badge named after a scientist closely associated with that field.