Science Curriculum
Intent
At Hillyfield, Science teaching focuses heavily on working scientifically. The school’s science programme aims to ensure that all science lessons include elements of scientific enquiry as well as knowledge; we want all children to have a secure understanding of scientific concepts and confidently use their scientific skills to answer questions. To develop our pupils’ ability to conduct investigations and to facilitate a more practical curriculum, the school provides an abundance of high quality resources.
At Hillyfield, we want our pupils to be challenged in science lessons to ensure that they reach their full potential and leave our academy with the skills necessary to succeed in secondary school and beyond. Our academy ensures that the skill and knowledge components of science lessons progress as pupils move through the school. Also, teachers at Hillyfield are working to ensure that science units cater to all needs and are adapted to each individual.
We ensure that pupils at Hillyfield are aware of the great diversity within the different fields of science. Across the school, pupils are taught and encouraged to challenge stereotypes within science and understand why they exist. Through planning, teachers tackle these stereotypes by providing pupils with the opportunity to research scientists with a range of different backgrounds.
At Hillyfield, Science is not restricted to the classroom. We offer a range of enrichment opportunities (e.g. science trips and visitors) to enhance children’s understanding and experience of science. Furthermore, when organising different events and enrichment opportunities for our pupils, we ensure that the individuals that we work with represent the diversity of our local and school community.
Implementation
Hillyfield aims to ensure children are receiving rich science lessons which are planned thoughtfully and delivered to a high standard.
Planned:
To ensure that the national curriculum is taught and staff are going beyond, the progression document breaks it down into basic chunks. By using this resource, it supports the staff who may not be as confident in science and allows them to do research of their own. By looking at the progression document, we aim for children to be involved in at least one scientific trip by the end of the year. As science leads, we oversee the mid-term plans to ensure science lessons show continuous development of knowledge and scientific skills are being used.
Delivered:
Every half-term, pupils will be taught at least one science lesson a week, with the focus on national curriculum targets for a balance of knowledge and skills. At Hillyfield, we want children to view science as fun, rather than it being a group of facts to learn and know. The ‘scientific skills’ are there to ensure pupils are learning through inquiry, which allows them to make connections to the world around them.
We are lucky to have access to, and utilise, a range of high-quality resources to conduct investigations. With training, we want all children to feel confident enough to take ownership of their learning and lead investigations. Hillyfield provides outdoor learning opportunities such as going to the local park and using the garden area.These opportunities further develop our pupils’ knowledge of how the different scientific knowledge that they learn in class will look in the real world.
Members of Hillyfield staff make opportunities to challenge children’s perceptions and use what they have learnt and know to answer questions. These link closely to helping them assess what the children have learnt. During lessons, children may conduct an investigation; gather, present and analyse data, and question the validity of their findings.
Assessed:
Science units at Hillyfield are launched with a baseline assessment of knowledge. This assessment doesn’t take the form of a standardised test, but rather a discussion of key concepts within the unit they are starting. This discussion will allow for teachers to adjust the structure of their units to suit the needs of the pupils in the class.
We at Hillyfield, do not assess the children through standardised tests but use what children discuss or show through investigations to assess their abilities. As part of our school, we have recently begun to use knowledge organisers as a form of supporting children in their learning. These wealthy resources support children to become more independent in their learning, when they are unsure. During science lessons, teachers may ask leading questions from what they have written as part of evidence.
The structure of this model therefore prepares children for science teaching and learning in secondary school and beyond, and informs them of where the study of science can take them in the future.
Our science curriculum is further shaped by our school vision which aims to enable all children, regardless of background, ability, additional needs, and to flourish to become the very best version of themselves they can possibly be.
