Science

Intent

Curriculum Design

·        Knowledge is generative – the more you know, the more you can understand

·        Learning is an alteration in long-term memory

·        Vocabulary size relates to academic success, it is crucial to increase the breadth of children’s vocabulary.

The curriculum is currently in a period of redesign to ensure it provides research and evidence based teaching that has been carefully mapped out to ensure that the full statutory curriculum is covered. Great thought and consideration has also been given to the local context and the school’s ambition for all pupils.

The curriculum for foundation subjects is skilfully planned and lead by Subject Leaders supported by a dedicated curriculum leader. The current curriculum builds a progression of skills and knowledge. The redesigned curriculum will now move towards defined and documented end-points which can be tracked from Reception to Year 6 across all curriculum subjects, including science.

Sticky Knowledge

The curriculum lead has worked with subject leads to ensure the curriculums firmly embed the subject concepts in the long term memory which helps them make connections with new learning. When pupils understand concepts, it makes learning ‘stickier’. Concepts allow us to think deeply and to make links and connections to prior knowledge. 

Inclusion and adaptation

The current curriculum is purposefully structured, to provide ambitious and progressive teaching and learning experiences, which build knowledge and understanding for all pupils, including those who are disadvantaged and SEND. Leaders have considered, in detail, how the curriculum for each subject may be adapted to ensure the appropriate and effective inclusion and independence of all pupils.

Each subject curriculum aims to be ‘oracy rich’ and has undergone full review to ensure that all subjects follow a clear and sequenced programme of study that builds on prior learning with focus on the long term retention of knowledge and skills.

Assessment will include coverage of current content whilst also including assessment of previously taught skills and knowledge from previous content. We aim to cumulatively bring current and previous subject content to the forefront of the pupils mind’s.

Quality texts lay the foundation of curriculum areas of study, to provide a rich diverse structure that inspires children through story.  These have been mapped out to provide links between subjects and themes where appropriate

Woven through the sequence of the whole school curriculum,  are specific ‘characteristics for effective learning’ which teachers build into lesson plans and experiences to enable the transfer of skills and knowledge across subjects and years
groups. They are designed to provide deeper learning activities, allowing children to practice a wide variety of skills to deepen knowledge within each curriculum area. 

Documented adult assessment systems are in recently in place in Science to enable frequent review pupil of understanding and the effectiveness of teaching.

Implementation

The Curriculum

·        The National Curriculum statutory requirements are taught and assessed in each year as a basic minimum.

·        Teachers are familiar with previous and subsequent year groups’ content in order to link learning and build on previous knowledge.

·        When planning, teachers refer to the whole school curriculum design for their current topic and to the ASE PLAN and Grammarsaurus resources to ensure teaching is progressive throughout school.  They identify gaps and

Timetabling

·        Science is taught discretely once per week by the class teacher.

·        When there is a natural link between a science topic and other curriculum areas, teachers should endeavour to work in a cross-curricular manner e.g. to link the teaching of animals including humans with the history topic of The Egyptians.

·        Science content being covered through a cross-curricular approach must include a learning objective taken from the year group’s science curriculum and recorded in the science book.

Teaching

·        Most lessons will endeavour to include a working scientifically element to ensure working scientifically skills are covered across the year.

·        Working scientifically skills are progressive.

·        Time should be taken to identify and teach the specialist vocabulary associated with each topic.

·        Knowledge organisers should be provided and discussed at the beginning of each topic.

·        Teachers allow time to follow children’s interests and lines of inquiry.

·        Teaching is differentiated either by resource, support or ability grouping

·        Teachers aim to close the gap for PP children and support SEN children in line with IEPs through identifying barriers to learning.

·        Outside visitors and trips should be utilised as much as possible.

·        Challenging stereotypes where possible – encouraging girls into STEM careers

·        Resources made readily available to staff to carry out all lessons.

·        All science topics will endeavour to encompass an element of both maths and English.

·        Working walls in every classroom will be adapted every unit with information and resources to support the children’s learning.

·        Teachers will take keep a record of their lessons taught through science feedback sheets, which run in line with maths and English feedback sheets.  These will identify skills covered and any misconceptions/ next-steps to address.

Assessment

·        Staff will allow time at the beginning of the unit to carry out a pre-assessment task in order build upon children’s knowledge or identify any gaps/ address previous misconceptions.

·        Staff will assess via questioning and observation throughout the lesson.

·        Staff mark books, in-line with the English marking policy, to highlight any misconceptions and to challenge further thinking.

·        Staff will support children in using aid memoires to support children’s sticky knowledge.

·        Sticky knowledge sheets will be used within books to support learning from previous topics.

·        Children will be given the opportunity to demonstrate prior knowledge and then add to this over time and new learning occurs.

·        TAPS assessment lessons will be carried out prior to the end of a topic, allows the teacher to clearly see and address any misconceptions before a unit is finished.

Impact

Our science curriculum will ensure that children are well equipped with investigative and experimenting skills and aim to develop curiosity and excitement for the world around them.  We will endeavour that they will acquire age-related knowledge and have a rich vocabulary to help them in science and in accessing the wider curriculum.    

At Tattenhall Park, we aim to support the development of children’s learning skills- concentration, imagination and self-improvement.  They will develop their questioning skills and develop a strong growth mindset.  Through sticky knowledge, the children will be able to make connections throughout the years and build upon previous learning.  Children will be confident in being able to report and explain outcomes, both written and orally.  They will be able to record findings in a variety of age-appropriate graphs and tables.  Pupils will be able to describe methodology accurately to allow for re-testing.  We hope that this will narrow the gap for all learners and give all children an opportunity to shine.

With all of these things in mind we hope that, as a school, we are able to support the children’s understanding of the world around them; give them high aspirations and ignite their love of science, inspiring potential careers in STEM.