Intent
At Kippax Greenfield, we aim to provide a rich, challenging and ambitious Science curriculum which builds progressively to ensure our children equipped with the scientific knowledge and understanding to be able to:
- Work in a scientific manner
- Have a genuine curiosity and interest in the world around them
- Have developed the skills to explore the world around them
- Decide whether their scientific findings support their predictions and ideas
Our curriculum incorporates clearly sequenced content and progression which pairs both substantive and disciplinary knowledge in order to ensure knowledge is meaningful, connected and easier to access and that new knowledge is systematically integrated into prior learning.
Knowledge and concepts are reinforced through a sequence of clear teacher explanations, a range of questioning and carefully planned activities.
Language development underpins our science curriculum through the explicit teaching of ambitious, subject-specific vocabulary and encouraging children to ‘speak like a scientist’ through the modelling of high-quality, exploratory language. We ensure children learn the language of science through stories, texts, songs, rhymes and poems which enables them to further enhance their knowledge base and understanding.
At the heart of the Science curriculum lies our Greenfield values
Respect - We teach pupils to respect and nurture the world around them. We also ensure preconceptions around diversity, gender and stereotyping within Science are challenged.
Resilience - We equip our children with the ability to show resilience when faced with a scientific investigation by developing their confidence to apply the five enquiry types (‘research using secondary sources’; ‘pattern seeking’; ‘observing over time’; ‘identifying, classifying and grouping’; and ‘comparative and fair testing’)
Responsibility - Within their Science learning, children take responsibility by marking their work, responding to feedback and ensuring that their presentation meets high expectations.
Collaboration - Children develop their ability to collaborate through the sharing of knowledge, resources and experiences. They are taught to ask and answer their own questions, work in groups and share their findings in an open-ended manner.
Aspiration - Scientific careers and opportunities are deliberately embedded within our Science curriculum. This is to ensure our children have a full awareness of where their Science learning may take them in the future and to reinforce our BLP mission of ensuring all of our children live lives full of choice and opportunity.
Implementation
Our Science curriculum at Kippax Greenfield is divided into a two-year rolling programme which encompasses the main three strands of science (Biology, Chemistry and Physics). These are underpinned by the ‘working scientifically’ skills which are woven into each main strand. Our Science curriculum is largely guided by the national curriculum which we have carefully sequenced across our mixed-year group classes within our long-term plan and progression of knowledge document. This organises knowledge into block themes where related content is taught under one topic in order to enable children to see connections between previous learning, current learning and future learning.
Teachers are supported in their delivery of this curriculum through the provision of medium term plans. These medium term plans make the interaction between substantive and disciplinary knowledge clear; most lessons have two objectives, one related to substantive knowledge (or scientific knowledge and content, the ‘to know that…’ aspect) and one related to disciplinary knowledge (or how to work scientifically, the ‘to know how to…’ aspect).
Retrieval practice
Retrieval practice is used to ensure children remember their learning in a way which reinforces their conceptual understanding. All lessons begin with a ‘ Greenfield Grid’ which allows children to recall their learning from previous years, terms or lessons in a structured way, committing this to long-term memory. This moves from cued retrieval to free recall dependent upon age.
Practical opportunities
We ensure all practical investigations and opportunities are used purposefully in line with curricular goals to develop a deeper understanding of the associated scientific concepts. Practical activities are delivered through a combination of teacher-led demonstration and pupil participation in order to ensure that all practical science work:
- Has a clear purpose
- Forms part of an instructional sequence
- Happens only when pupils have enough prior knowledge to learn from the activity
For more information on our Science curriculum, please speak to Mrs Brown.
Click here for our Science long-term plan and progression of knowledge document which includes information about each key stage.
