Science at Co-op Academy Medlock

'Science is fun. Science is curiosity. We all have natural curiosity. Science is a process of investigating. It's posing questions and coming up with a method. It's delving in.'

Sally Ride 

Intent

Science   is an integral part of the broad and balanced curriculum provided for all pupils at Co-op Academy Medlock. We believe that all children should be able to develop a sense of excitement and curiosity about natural phenomena to develop their knowledge and understanding  in order to ask and answer scientific questions about the world around them. 

All children have opportunities to develop their knowledge in Science through a carefully structured and progressive curriculum which enables pupils  to understand  how science can be used to explain what is occurring, predict how things behave, and analyse cause and effect. We also want our children to be equipped with scientific knowledge to help them understand the uses and implications of science today and in the future. Our curriculum closely follows guidance from the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework (EYFS) and the National Curriculum Programmes of Study. 

We also believe that it is important we recognise the diversity of  people who have made scientific contributions across time. Science provides opportunities for our children to see, experience and understand how scientific discoveries have impacted upon the discoveries that are still being made today and their role in shaping the world’s future as the next generation of global citizens. 

Implementation 

Science is taught by class teachers, of which the delivery is supported by the subject leads.

In Early Years, pupils  follow a holistic approach to develop their early scientific knowledge which includes guided, adult led and child initiated opportunities both inside and out. There is a strong emphasis on developing wonder  to support them in asking questions about the world as a foundation to scientific enquiry. 

This is supported each half term, by an Understanding the World ‘topic’ which helps children to make sense of their physical and natural world. These broad topics have a National Curriculum driver with a particular emphasis on developing subject specific knowledge and skills in preparation for the National Curriculum.              

The frequency and range of children’s personal experiences increases their knowledge and sense of the world around them – from the emphasis on natural materials in the environment, forest school opportunities and exploration of people, plants and natural phenomena . In addition, listening to a broad selection of stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems will foster their understanding of the natural and man-made world. As well as building important knowledge, this extends their familiarity with words that support understanding across the curriculum. Enriching and widening children’s vocabulary is seen as particularly crucial in order to prepare them for the key stage 1 curriculum and beyond. 

The environment is structured at each stage (including provocations) to provide children with opportunities to develop, explore and investigate these new skills freely with adults carefully skilled at intervening and moving learning forward. 

In years 1-6, the curriculum builds on our foundational learning in the Early Years following progressive and carefully written medium term planning developed by the subject leader. These have been structured  so that pupils' learning goes beyond that set out by the National Curriculum and is designed to revisit and further develop their understanding with an emphasis on core concepts, constantly building on the learning that has come before. 

This learning includes substantive and disciplinary knowledge from the National support these children in developing their understanding of Science. These substantive concepts include curiosity and questioning, experimental work and recording for reporting. This enables the pupils to develop their scientific knowledge and understanding through an investigative approach and enables them to make connections across the different disciplines of science. 

 Further to this, they support and enhance the learning in other curriculum areas, where appropriate, and give pupils opportunities to transfer and apply their knowledge from other curriculum areas. 

Every unit is planned to follow a specific cycle to support the acquisition and development of substantive and disciplinary knowledge which are taken from our progression documents.  Each lesson is planned according to the pedagogy outlined in our ‘Teaching and Learning Principles’. Both of these have been implemented based upon current educational research. 

Critical thinking is a key aspect of the science curriculum. This is done in a variety of ways including throughout and at the end of a lesson where the children have to justify their opinions based upon the knowledge they have acquired.  This might also be done informally through discussion. 

Reading  and vocabulary development is of utmost importance at Co-op Academy Medlock and as such this is reflected in the way that science is taught, with pupils being explicitly taught vocabulary they will need to access the core knowledge at the start of each lesson. 

Due to our location near the city centre we are fortunate to have a number of museums, parks and our close relationship with the STEM department at the University of Manchester. We actively encourage pupils to visit local museums and galleries as well as work with institutions such as the university throughout their time at Co-op Academy Medlock.

Impact 

Teachers and the subject lead triangulate information from a variety of sources to make  judgements about what the children have learnt at the end of each topic. In Key stage 1 exit tickets are used to assess the core knowledge at the end of each lesson. In Key stage 2 Summative google quizzes are completed. Significant gaps are recorded by the teacher and this is then shared with the subject leader. These gaps are then used to inform future sessions. The subject leader then uses this to inform future actions to ensure that pupils continue to make good progress in Science.

Pupils positively engage with science, make good progress and produce work of a high standard.