Science

Science at Richmond Hill Academy

Lead by Miss Charlotte Russell

'The most important thing is to never stop questioning'.

Albert Einstein

Intent

At Richmond Hill, the aim of our science curriculum is to encourage children’s exploration, investigation, discovery and experimentation. We strive to unlock each pupil’s excitement and enthusiasm for science whilst making our sessions practical, creative and challenging. From EYFS to year 6, pupils gain hands-on experience of discovering the world of science all around them. They are encouraged to make links between concepts and to ingrain a curious and inquisitive approach within each and every lesson.

We do not believe that there is a single, ‘one size fits all’ approach when it comes to teaching science. Instead, we carefully tailor our lessons from a blend of high – quality sources and pedagogical approaches. This ensures that we personalise our teaching and learning to obtain the best outcomes for our pupils and their diverse range of learning styles. Our ambition is to not only progress our pupils through the curriculum, but to also instill a love and enthusiasm towards the subject that extends far beyond their primary school years.

Implementation

The core of our science lessons are inspired by the Hamilton Trust’s hands-on investigative science lessons. These lessons promote a deep understanding of scientific concepts and help children develop effective methods of scientific enquiry in a sequential and progressive manner.

Our science units are arranged to take advantage of seasonal study opportunities and to ensure progression in scientific working skills, while covering the National Curriculum for England. We strive to offer our children every opportunity to practise the full range of scientific investigative approaches such as; pattern - seeking, exploring, problem solving, fair testing and analysing secondary sources. Each lesson begins with an introduction to our learning intention, how it links to prior - learning and its relevance to that particular unit. Every lesson shines a light upon the scientific vocabulary that is encapsulated within that concept or area of science, and this vocabulary is repeatedly revisited in order for it to become fluent and embedded within our childrens' learning.

We also integrate and blend the 'Thinking, Doing, Talking Science (TDTS) pedagogical approach into our curriculum. TDTS is designed to develop pupils’ higher order thinking skills, promote oracy through dedicated activities such as ‘Bright Ideas’ discussion slots and boost knowledge and enquiry skills through purposeful, practical activities.

As opposed to the ‘traditional’ method of pupils writing down a step-by-step recount of everything that they have done each lesson (which deducts a large portion of practical activity time), TDTS promotes ‘focused recording’ for the written element of assessment. Focused recording leads to a reduction in overall writing but enhances the quality of what is actually recorded. This extends greater opportunities for learning and enhancing metacognition.

A proportion of our ‘Bright ideas time’ activities are taken from ‘Explorify’. Explorify encompasses a wealth of high-quality videos, images and thought-provoking questions to get pupils thinking like scientists. It is carefully designed to stimulate curiosity, discussion, debate and reasoning skills in the classroom. These valuable activities are carefully woven into our lessons at pinnacle moments.

In the same manner that we carefully structure our curriculum to obtain the best outcomes for our pupils, we mirror this approach within our assessment of pupils' attainment within Science. We believe that ongoing, formative assessment is the most effective way of gaining an accurate and balanced insight into the progress of our pupils. The fact that our lessons are heavily centred around rich discussions and practical tasks means that we can easily reap a wealth of understanding about each child's individual progress. This approach also affords us opportunities to address any misconceptions, offer support, and also provide instant praise for the wonderful attitudes and work which are demonstrated by our little scientists.

With regards to summative assessment, we utilise low - stakes quizzes at the end of each unit. As per the aforementioned TDTS focused recording approach, the work recorded in our books is relevant, succinct and avoids being cumbersome to our pupils. The real beauty of our curriculum, our pupils' outcomes and our shared love and enthusiasm towards science is best witnessed by observing our lessons live!

Impact

The biggest impact can be seen within our lessons, which are alive with inquisitive and engaged learners. Our pupil voice pays testament to a high level of enthusiasm and enjoyment towards science from our pupils - and this is matched by our fantastic staff who effectively deliver these lessons. Our pupils enthusiastically engage with their activities and thrive within collaborative challenges and rich, thought - provoking discussions.

As our pupils progress through their years spent with us, they develop and hone a deep knowledge, understanding and appreciation of science. They are able to apply their scientific insights to a much wider context as well as to the world around them. We seek to include extra occasions to extend pupils' experience of science via trips, extracurricular activities, external visitors and also in - house opportunities. Our wish is for every child to aim high, succeed and grow into confident, knowledgeable and self - effacing individuals.