Hadley Learning Community: Science Curriculum
“The important thing is to never stop questioning”
At HLC we have ambitious expectations of achievement across the curriculum for each and every child, so that our children make maximum progress and achieve their full potential. That’s why we provide a science curriculum which enables pupils to excel through exploring and discovering the world around them, deepening their understanding of the world that we live in. We do this through weekly science lessons that are exciting, practical, hands on experiences that ultimately encourage curiosity and foster learning.
Through the teaching of science across the whole of primary, we incorporate the five areas from our whole school vision: Belong, Respect, Inspire, Succeed and Enjoy. We thoroughly believe that in order for our pupils to succeed, they must enjoy the learning that it taking place during their science lessons and staff always strive to inspire and motivate the children during each and every science lesson.
Young children are naturally curious and passionate about learning. At HLC, we provide a stimulating EYFS curriculum that nurtures children’s natural curiosity and their on-going knowledge and understanding of the world around them. Through hands-on, enquiry-based activities, children will experience the joy of learning ‘how’ and ‘why’. We seek to promote this open-mindedness and further develop their enquiring minds, so they eventually become independent learners moving into Key Stage 1. Making use of our fabulous forest area enables the children to explore and investigate within the school grounds.
We believe in equality of access, and endeavour to unlock pupils’ potential for future life choices and careers. With that in mind, STEM is integral to our delivery of the curriculum and is interwoven within our topics. Real-life examples are a fundamental part of our approach and members of the community are regularly invited in to share their experience and expertise. Workshops often have a STEM focus and give pupils the opportunity to explore science in a cross-curricular manner. We encourage pupils to be confident to ask questions and not to be afraid of being incorrect, but instead viewing it as an opportunity to learn. The science curriculum across both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 is carefully structured in that it is progressive, focuses on key vocabulary, builds on prior knowledge and also embeds new skills.
All staff understand and value the importance of providing children with numerous opportunities to work scientifically and utilise skills and knowledge they have been taught during a specific science topic. Providing suitable resources to plan and carry out a range of investigations and experiments, at times independently, is at the heart of our science curriculum. Once an investigation/experiment is completed, the children are always encouraged to reflect on their methods used and whether they managed to achieve the desired outcome. Through this careful questioning, the children are able to evaluate their performance in detail and utilise what they have learned for future reference.
"Never give up on what you really want to do. The person with big dreams is more powerful than the one with all the facts."Albert Einstein
Science Curriculum
At HLC we have ambitious expectations of achievement across the curriculum for each and every child, so that our children make maximum progress and achieve their full potential. That’s why we provide a science curriculum which enables pupils to excel through exploring and discovering the world around them, deepening their understanding of the world that we live in. We do this through weekly science lessons that are exciting, practical, hands on experiences that ultimately encourage curiosity and foster learning.
Through the teaching of science across the whole of primary, we incorporate the five areas from our whole school vision: Belong, Respect, Inspire, Succeed and Enjoy. We thoroughly believe that in order for our pupils to succeed, they must enjoy the learning that it taking place during their science lessons and staff always strive to inspire and motivate the children during each and every science lesson.
The science curriculum across both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 is carefully structured in that it is progressive, focuses on key vocabulary, builds on prior knowledge and also embeds new skills.
How to help your child at home
Understand what your child is learning in Science across the year (See above)
Continue to embed key vocabulary linked to science topic
Continue to ask ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions to improve understanding of a given subject.
Access useful websites to support learning in class:
https://www.bbc.com/education/subjects/z6svr82
https://bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks2/science
https://www.educationquizzes.com/
