Science Vision
At Meadow Hall School, our vision is to develop every child’s skill in science as we provide opportunities to enable them explore and discover the world around them.
We realise that young children are naturally curious and passionate about learning; we therefore provide a stimulating, hands on, inquiry-based, science curriculum that nurtures children’s natural curiosity and their on-going intellectual development. Our aim is that these stimulating experiences will further challenge them as they explore, investigate and extend their scientific knowledge.
Intent
We intend for children to:
- develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics
- develop understanding of the nature, processes and methods of science through different types of science enquiries that help them to answer scientific questions about the world around them
- Equip our children with the scientific skills required to understand the uses and implications of science, today and for the future. We understand that it is important for lessons to have a skills-based focus, and that the knowledge can be acquired through this method.
Implementation
Teachers create a positive attitude to science learning within their classrooms and reinforce an expectation that all children are capable of achieving high standards in science. Our whole school approach to the teaching and learning of science involves the following;
- A cycle of lessons for each subject, which carefully plans for progression and depth
- Through our planning, we include inquiry-based and problem solving opportunities that allow children to find out for themselves
- Spaced retrieval questions through our ‘Assessments” which help create a deeper level of processing any previously learned content into children’s long term memory
- We build upon the learning and skill development of the previous years
- Working Scientific skills are embedded into lessons to ensure these skills are being developed throughout the children’s school year
- Teachers demonstrate how to use scientific equipment, and the various working scientific opportunities to develop children’s understanding of their surroundings by accessing outdoor learning whenever possible;
Impact
Our Science Curriculum is well thought out and planned to demonstrate progression. We measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:
- A reflection on standards achieved against the planned outcomes
- Tracking of knowledge in pre and post learning quizzes/ assessments/exams.
- Pupil discussions about their learning