Science

Science Curriculum Intent – Click on the link to view the curriculum intent

‘Science knows no country, because knowledge belongs to humanity, and is the torch which illuminates the world.’ At Pickhurst our curriculum is rooted in this principle that pupils should see Science as a mechanism of empowerment. It should help them to ask demanding questions and equip them with the knowledge of how to approach complex concepts effectively. Pupils are clear in their understanding that Science is the study of the world around us. Scientists learn about their subject by observing, describing, and experimenting and our Science curriculum echoes this approach.

Intent: Snap Science provides a comprehensive curriculum that is designed to meet the needs of all pupils and foster a lifelong intellectual curiosity and rigour. It is cohesively structured and allows children to apply their prior knowledge to new contexts. At its core is a child-centered approach, tailored to enhancing pupils’ understanding of key questions about their world. Its emphasis is not just on Scientific knowledge but on working Scientifically in a range of ways. Following from children’s feedback the scheme was chosen to allow as many opportunities, where conceptually appropriate, for them to explore their understanding in a practical context. One of the fundamental ideas of the scheme is that all children work from a shared starting point to answer the same key questions. Teachers are expected to modify the delivery of the scheme to meet the needs of their classes whilst retaining this core approach

Implementation: Snap Science is designed to be delivered by non-specialists, with core scientific knowledge identified and explained throughout. The scheme suggests ways that each lesson can feature an element that is child led to encourage engagement and to explore concepts in a context that is meaningful to the children. Assessment for learning during the lesson, largely through discussion, is a key litmus test of pupil understanding. Questioning throughout lessons allows pupils opportunities to demonstrate the depth of their thinking and teachers an immediate chance to address any misconceptions. This together with recorded outcomes across the unit allows teachers to gauge pupil competence. Teachers use marking and verbal feedback as strategies to address misconceptions, enhance understanding and further challenge pupils that have shown a strong understanding of the content. From September 2021 we will be incorporating the use of knowledge organisers within our units to create a clearer summative assessment for teachers.

Impact: The impact of Snap Science is evidenced through the pupils’ use and understanding of the identified Scientific concepts and their ability to apply this understanding in new contexts including combining their theoretical knowledge with practical enquiry. It is evidenced by the use and outcomes of the varied activities. Teachers are encouraged to supplement the scheme with assessment ideas from the ASE(PLAN resources) and this will be further developed in the next academic year (2021-2022).

Progression: Skills and knowledge are introduced then revisited in different units and in different contexts. This enables progression to be identified, planned for, developed and monitored. Skills are not taught in isolation for their own sake, but in interesting and appropriate contexts. By providing a starting point accessible to all pupils, they can each make their own progress along a scientific journey, some getting further than others. Some pupils will be able to synthesise their learning across units at the relevant level, achieving ‘greater depth’ or ‘exceeding expectations’. Although others will get less far, making a start and achieving ‘working towards’, the next step for them is identified.