LHPS Science Curriculum Design

Guiding Principles

We are committed to providing a Science Curriculum designed to equip our children with the skills and motivation to solve the world’s big issues. Our STEM based approach will enable our children to recognise that overcoming the world’s environmental challenges is the greatest task facing society today. Our teaching of science will empower the children to find a range of solutions to the environmental issues we are faced with, to enable us to live within our means.

Core Constructs

Appreciate

Aspire

Achieve

A science curriculum that develops every child’s ability to appreciate, care, respect and understand themselves, others and the world in which they live. A science curriculum that also ensures that every child feels valued and cared for.

A science curriculum that provides a range of opportunities, designed to empower every child to ‘dream big’ and develop a sense of what is possible for them to achieve now and in their future lives.

A science curriculum that ensures all children with the skills, knowledge, attitude and social understanding to achieve in all aspects of their lives and equip them to become active and engaged citizens.

Science

Approach

Our mastery approach to lesson design is based upon our strong knowledge of pedagogy and our understanding of our children’s needs. This is to ensure that each lesson maximises both learning and our core beliefs of Appreciate, Aspire and Achieve.

Our aim is for all children to develop a scientific curiosity during practical sessions, as well as developing the necessary knowledge and skills needed to be able to have access to future learning. A carefully considered teaching cycle is followed throughout the school promoting progress of knowledge and skills. The cycle consists of using a STEM based approach.

Science is largely taught in mixed ability groups as we believe all children can achieve.  With this approach, all children are exposed to higher-level thinking questions and problem-solving as well as having the opportunity to collaborate and develop a growth mind-set through working with their peers.

Teachers reinforce an expectation that all pupils are capable of achieving high standards in science.  All staff use a reflective approach to each lesson to evaluate learning and to plan next steps for all children. This is coupled with well-placed assessment points built in to a unit of work to assess scientific understanding and reasoning independently.

Teaching is underpinned by using high quality STEM resources which map to the National Curriculum for science. This alongside opportunities for scientific enquiry and key skills enable the children to progress, year on year developing their subject knowledge, scientific abilities and curiosities. To further embed this, Years 1, 4 and 6 take part in an annual CREST Award scheme, which helps them to develop their STEM skills solving real life problems in context. Science begins in Foundation Stage developing understanding of the world around them using children’s interests as the key driver.

Science progresses into Key Stage 1 with National Curriculum study. The children collaborate to plan experiments together, predict and reason. Carefully designed Key Stage 1 investigations link with appropriate mathematical skills to enable the children to develop their science in a connected way.

As the children progress to Lower Key Stage 2, they build on their previous learning; demonstrating their ability to apply their skills throughout their science journey.

Science skills are then perfected as the children move to Upper Key Stage 2. The topics covered not only show progression but develop and promote an insight in to the bigger problems the world is facing and how they can help to make a difference. The children will develop the skills to take a problem and reason with the issues in formulating a scientifically robust solution.

Vocabulary is a priority within our teaching, each child develops scientific terminology throughout the school year with teachers encouraged to ensure it is embedded within all science lessons.

Differentiation is achieved through adult support, personal challenge, and encouraging children’s individual flair and fluency. Interventions focus on gaps in knowledge and developing resilience in order to ensure all children achieve.

We provide high quality professional development to ensure that we are always improving the quality of our teaching so that this impacts upon children’s learning. All our teachers have deep subject knowledge and understanding of how to teach science. They engage in collaborative planning and are continually seeking to improve their effectiveness through the help and support of the subject leader.

We capitalise on local links within the science industry through our parents. These opportunities are invaluable to our children in developing their enthusiasm for and understanding of the role science plays in the wider world of work.

Impact

Children’s knowledge, understanding and progress across all subject areas as well as their desire and ability to learn will be measured using a range of qualitative and quantitative strategies including: information from book scrutiny, performance data measured from starting point, lesson observations, drop ins, all stakeholder voice, collaborative research, use of external critical friends, and self / peer evaluation.

By the time a pupil leaves Lunt’s Heath Primary School in Year 6, they will have the essential knowledge to understand the uses and implication of science. Children understand how science has changed people’s lives and have developed a sense of excitement and curiosity about scientific possibilities in our world.