The practical endorsement: switching to OCR for A Level sciences
15 July 2024
Andri Achilleos (A Level Biology), Andy Brunning (A Level Chemistry and Geology) and Mike Jackson (A Level Physics)
The requirements for the practical endorsement are part of the Ofqual GCE subject level conditions and requirements for science. The related subject content sets out the skills, apparatus and techniques which then form part of the qualification specifications produced by awarding organisations (AOs – often called exam boards).
This means that there is significant common approach from awarding organisations but also some key differences to be aware of. In this blog we aim to answer some common queries and support your change to OCR for A Level sciences.
OCR’s approach to the practical endorsement
Practical skills are found in Module 1 of the subject content in the specification for each OCR A Level science qualification. The practical endorsement is found in 1.2, split into 1.2.1 ‘Practical skills’ and 1.2.2 ‘Use of apparatus and techniques’. Our practical endorsement training helps teachers understand how to assess students and apply the criteria for practical endorsement.
Practical skills
‘Practical skills’ form the Common Practical Assessment Criteria (CPAC) and are common to all four subjects. You can check how the CPAC are mapped against the practical skills 1.2.1 in our Practical activities guide (biology, chemistry, physics, geology).
These skills are common to all AOs so the only difference with OCR is how competency skills are recorded. At OCR we expect that centres assess students’ individual skills (specification points, e.g. 1.2.1(a)), rather than just the five wider CPAC statements.
To help you record your students’ achievement, there are three different trackers to choose from. You can learn more about the trackers, and our approach to practical endorsement, in this video. Alternatively, you can use your own tracker, if it tracks all of the required detail.
The Practical skills handbooks for each subject (found in Teach Cambridge) provide detailed explanation and exemplification of how to assess each practical skill, along with ‘Pen portraits’ and ‘Identifying the CPAC from the Practical Skills Statements’.
Use of apparatus and techniques
The ‘Use of apparatus and techniques’ is common across AOs (but different for each subject). However, at OCR there are no ‘required practicals’. Our flexible approach allows you to complete any 12 practicals which cover the range of apparatus and techniques and practical skills routinely and consistently.
To support centres with this, we have developed 12 Practical Activity Groups (PAGs) for each subject. These are detailed in our practical activity resource guides for biology, chemistry, geology and physics. Each PAG has three or four suggested activities, with accompanying teacher and student resources. These are pre-populated into the OCR PAG trackers.
Centres may choose to use one or more activities from each group as they are, but they can also amend the current activities, or even use their own activities designed in the centre or from other sources.
A centre can even use the practical activities as offered by other AOs. If they decide to do this, they need to map each activity with the practical skills and apparatus and techniques as listed in the specifications under 1.2.1 and 1.2.2. The new practical activities can be added to the flexible or portable PAG tracker as additional activities carried out by the centre.
Switching to OCR
Switching AO should be relatively straightforward in terms of the practical endorsement if your centre is already meeting the requirements for another AO. Some planning time will be needed to map the activities on an appropriate tracker (such as those offered by OCR) but ultimately you are free to carry out activities in a way which suits your students, teachers, technicians and resources.
You may wish to initially use your existing activities and focus on planning changes for the differences in subject content while still retaining the ability to review practical activities in future.
The monitoring visits are coordinated between AOs, so please let us know as soon as possible when you change by emailing science@ocr.org.uk. You will be visited by the AO of the qualification who you are (or will be) entering candidates with for that year, but changing AO does not trigger any additional visits or change to sequence of visits. You can learn more about the monitoring visits and the cycles in Andy’s blog about practical endorsement monitoring.
Stay connected
Subject advisors are here to support you so please let us know if you have any questions or if you would like a chat to consider or support changing to OCR. We also welcome ongoing feedback from centres.
Share your thoughts in the comments below. If you have any questions, you can email us at science@ocr.org.uk, call us on 01223 553998 or message us on X (formerly Twitter) @OCR_Science. We each have a Microsoft Teams booking page which you can use to set up a virtual meeting with us.
You can also sign up to subject updates to keep up-to-date with the latest news, updates and resources.
About the authors
Andri Achilleos was a teacher for ten years before joining OCR in January 2019 as the subject advisor for A Level Biology. She studied Biology at University of Bristol and completed an MA in Science Education at University of York. She has taught in Birmingham as Teacher in charge of Biology, as well as an international school in Europe. During her teaching career she has taken on various roles within the department and has also been an examiner for different exam boards.
Andy Brunning joined OCR in September 2017 as the subject advisor for A Level Chemistry. He has a Chemistry BSc and a Secondary Science PGCE from the University of Bath. Before joining OCR, he worked as a chemistry teacher in Bournemouth and Cambridge. He also sidelines as a science communicator and has produced infographic projects for the Royal Society of Chemistry and the American Chemical Society.
Mike Jackson joined OCR in January 2024 and is a subject advisor for A Level Physics. Before joining OCR, Mike was Head of Science in a Birmingham comprehensive school and has been a Physics Network Lead among other roles to support science in schools. Mike is passionate about inclusion in education, environment and sustainability.
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