What is required for monitoring and record keeping of the Practical Endorsement?

What is required for monitoring and record keeping of the Practical Endorsement?

The practical endorsement is assessed by visiting monitoring. The purpose of the visit is to ensure that the centre is implementing the requirements of the practical endorsement appropriately and applying the assessment criteria (CPAC) correctly. The monitoring process will not moderate or adjust the results of individual candidates. 

What will happen during a monitoring visit? 

The monitor will: 

• observe a practical activity taking place 
• review the records kept by the centre and by a sample of students 
• talk with staff and students.
• be able to offer support and guidance and answer any questions. 

How often will I be monitored? 

Monitoring visits take place in two-year cycles. To find out more about how the monitoring cycles work please read our blog. 

Each centre will receive one monitoring visit for one science (Biology, Chemistry or Physics) in each two-year monitoring cycle. (Large centres, who have more than 140 students for any one science, will receive visits in that period for all sciences.)

Where a centre offers Geology there will be a separate Geology monitoring visit in each cycle.

How do I know when my centre will receive a monitoring visit?

Examinations officers at centres receiving a monitoring visit in the two-year monitoring cycle will be contacted by an Cambridge OCR monitor directly anytime during the two-year cycle to arrange a visit. If you have received a monitoring visit for any science in either the first or the second year of the current two-year cycle then this means that your next monitoring visit will be taking place in the next two-year monitoring cycle. If you have neither been visited nor contacted in the current monitoring cycle then you should email Cambridge OCR at science@ocr.org.uk. 

Centres may be visited at any point during the two-year cycle. The year in which the visit took place in a previous cycle has no bearing on whether you’re visited in the first or second year of the next cycle. Some centres may find themselves being visited in consecutive years while others may find they have a larger gap between monitoring visits.

Centre monitoring visit allocations are based on candidate entries in the previous year. If all of your A Level science entries were with Cambridge OCR, then you will already be on our list of centres requiring a monitoring visit. If you make A-level entries with different awarding organisations across the three sciences, you will receive a monitoring visit from one of these awarding organisations. Large centres, who have more than 140 students for any one science, will receive visits for all sciences from the relevant awarding organisations. 

To find out more about how the monitoring cycles work please read our blog. 

How much warning do I get?

Examinations officers will receive contact from Cambridge OCR to notify your centre of the need for a monitoring visit. Centres which will be monitored in the first half of the two-year monitoring cycle have already been notified. The monitor will make contact with the registered lead teacher two-to-four weeks before the monitoring visit. A mutually convenient date and timetable for the day will be agreed. 

What happens with monitoring visits if our centre has just switched to Cambridge OCR? 

If you have switched exam boards, you will likely still be contacted by your previous awarding organisation to arrange a monitoring visit. They should be notified that you have switched. You should also notify Cambridge OCR that you have started teaching our qualifications by emailing science@ocr.org.uk with the subject ‘Switching to Cambridge OCR’, including details of your centre name and number, the qualifications with which you are switching to Cambridge OCR, and when you expect to be making your first examination entries with us. We can then arrange your monitoring visit. 

Which records need to be kept? 

Centres are required to have the following records available for the monitor to review: 

1. documented plans to perform sufficient practical work to cover the requirements of the practical endorsement in the two-year course of study 
2. a record of activities that have taken place 
3. for each activity, a record of which criteria were assessed including all practical skills and the apparatus and techniques specified in the DfE subject criteria 
4. a record of student attendance 
5. a record of which students met which assessment criteria in each activity including all practical skills and the apparatus and techniques specified in the DfE subject criteria 
6. any written information provided to support practical activities (worksheets, instructions etc.) 
7. students' own records. 

The Cambridge OCR activity (PAG) tracker spreadsheets available on Teach Cambridge can be used to meet records two to five in this list. When planning a program of practical work the Cambridge OCR activity tracker will allow a centre to check that their plan includes all the required skills and techniques (i.e. module 1.2.1 and module 1.2.2) of the specification. The finalised plan must be documented showing where practical activities will be used. For example, the planned activities could be incorporated into your program of study or detailed schemes of work. Where circumstances require the approach to be changed the documented plan should be modified accordingly to show the revision required to meet the requirements of the practical endorsement. 

What should be included in the student record? 

Students should keep records that are appropriate to each activity. This should as a minimum include the title and date for each activity, and relevant observations and measurements. Students would not be expected to copy complete sets of instructions out in full, though they should record any modifications or additions made to a basic method provided. Where students are making decisions about which practical work to carry out, for example in investigations, they will need to make a note of their methods. It is important that students record their practical experiences in their own ways. Their records could be in lab books, ring binders or an electronic record. It is up to the centre how they want the students to record their practical activities and observations. Over time, they should demonstrate that they are able to make decisions about what information to include, and how to present it. 

Is the monitor judging individual teachers? 

No. The monitor will look at the approach taken across the subject in the centre. Experiences from the practical activity observed may be used as a starting point for discussions with students and teachers. 

Should I have students practice the practical activity before the monitor comes in? 

No. The monitor is looking for practical activity taking place as a normal part of teaching, and for assessment to be taking place within that context. The monitor is not expecting to see ‘perfect’ practical work. They would expect to see a level of achievement appropriate to the point in the course. 

What if we fail to meet the standard (Biology, Chemistry or Physics)? 

You will be given details of what actions need to be taken. There will be a follow up visit to confirm that the remedial actions have been taken. The other sciences at your centre may receive a monitoring visit from their exam board(s). 

What if we fail to meet the standard (Geology)? 

You will be given details of what actions need to be taken. There will be a follow up visit to confirm that the remedial actions have been taken. The exam boards used for the other sciences at your centre will be informed.