Science at Scargill
What some of our children think…
“We build up our sticky knowledge when we do the RRR to remember everything.” Y2 child
“I love our ‘Make it Stick!’ because it’s just helping you remember stuff so if you don’t get it right the teacher helps you remember more.” Y1 child
Intent
At Scargill, we aim to provide a broad, rich, purposeful and well-sequenced science curriculum which enables our children to: know more, experience more, remember more and do more. Finely focused teaching covering all science objectives from the National Curriculum will embed prior and new learning, helping all children achieve in science. We do not use a specific science scheme; our lessons are carefully planned using the guidance of our knowledge organisers and progression documents for curriculum components, enquiry skills and tier 2 and 3 vocabulary. We believe that providing an engaging science curriculum will encourage our children to learn new facts and have opportunities to generate their own questions, research and investigate in addition to developing children’s curiosity, interest, knowledge and understanding of their immediate environment as well as the world beyond school. We endeavour to help our children develop their knowledge of scientific ideas by using scientific enquiry in order to answer their own questions. At Scargill, our aim is that through stimulating and challenging experiences, children will secure and extend their scientific knowledge, skills and vocabulary. Providing these opportunities will ensure that our children are confident and curious learners who are developing the skills and knowledge to explore and build their understanding of our technological world.Implementation
Our school curriculum is based upon the programmes of study outlined in the National Curriculum 2014 for Key Stage 1 and 2 and the EYFS Framework in the Foundation Stage. Learning is defined as a change to the long-term memory and our approach to teaching science ensures that children are supported to know and remember more. Children in our Reception cohort work towards achieving the Early Learning Goals in the prime and specific areas of Development Matters. Teachers plan topics and build upon and develop children’s own interests and curiosity about the world they live in. In Key Stage 1 and 2, teachers plan lessons that are based around the units outlined in the National Curriculum. These have been developed into half-termly topics and organised within our two-year cycle curriculum overview. A science sequence of learning is split into 5-7 lessons depending on the number of National Curriculum objectives in the unit. The lessons are ordered so that the children’s knowledge builds and is reinforced each week so that they develop well-connected webs of knowledge (schema). Knowledge organisers and component documents help teachers to plan well-sequenced lessons in manageable chunks and opportunities for working scientifically are identified and planned for throughout. Every science lesson encourages pupils to retain all taught knowledge by providing retrieval practice opportunities, vocabulary checks, and ‘Make it Stick!’ reflection every lesson. New information is provided in a variety of forms such as text, video clips, teacher explanations/modelling or demonstrations. In addition, we scaffold and reinforce learning during each lesson with a range of tasks: basic, advancing and deep (BAD – based on the Chris Quigley approach), as this technique supports children to develop and increase their knowledge of a concept. Our children are also given the chance to generate their own investigations and test their theories. We also include outdoor learning, visits and workshops to help broaden their science capital.Impact
The children at Scargill will have embedded strong scientific knowledge, developed enquiry skills and increased their science capital.
- Our children will be able to confidently articulate their scientific knowledge using acquired vocabulary and show enthusiasm for everyday science.
- Our children will be curious and keen to question assumptions.
- Our children will be able to identify opportunities in further education and careers that science provides.
There are various ways that the impact of science is measured at Scargill:
Pupil voice – talk to children in different year groups about their learning and how they feel about the subject to gather opinion. Find out what they have learned from a topic and/or an educational visit. Find out how science links to what they do in everyday life. What would they like to do when they grow up?
Work scrutiny – look at the quality and content of work produced by children across the school.
Learning walks – observe science lessons throughout the school. Observe teaching, learning and attitudes.
Staff CPD – providing appropriate CPD to ensure that teachers are suitably equipped with the understanding, knowledge and skills required to teach our science curriculum at Scargill.
Class assessment grid – quality assure assessment judgements and liaise with staff.1 - Asking questions
2 - Making predictions
3 - Setting up tests
4 - Observing and measuring
5 - Recording data
6 - Interpreting and communicating results
7 - Evaluating
Our vision is to increase all pupils’ knowledge and understanding of the world, and foster the developing of skills associated with Science as a process of enquiry. We are committed to increasing the natural curiosity of the child, deepening their enquiry skills and encouraging respect for living organisms and the physical environment, in addition to providing a wealth of opportunities for the critical evaluation of evidence.
Our curriculum supports our mixed year group cohorts and all teachers create a positive attitude to Science learning within their classrooms. Our large grounds and outdoor classroom are used frequently to further enhance teaching and learning.
Ultimately, we intend to create confident and motivated Scargill Scientists that have a strong sense of enthusiasm and positively enjoy scientific learning and enquiry.