Overall Aims
The Science faculty at Queensbury is a progressive department with a focus on deepening knowledge and skills through a variety of pedagogical approaches, such as active student learning; in which staff have high expectations of themselves, each other and our students through support and enabling challenge. We believe that student’s lives can be enriched through science, empowering them to unleash their limitless potential, whereby they contribute positively in the wider community. Through science, pupils understand how major scientific ideas contribute to technological change – impacting on industry, business and medicine and improving quality of life.
| KS3 | Intent (Why are we doing it) | Implement (How we are going to do it) | Impact (What we want to see and develop) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discovery | Learning to Be and Live together Focussed on developing the skills and knowledge of common everyday aspects of science through collaborative work, including science of their own bodies and science in their homes. The aim is to promote independence, understanding of the world and confidence. To be creative yet ambition. | Help develop and extend our pupil’s scientific concept of themselves and daily encounters through concrete learning. | Skills which equip them to progress from their starting points, and within their everyday lives. |
| Explorer | Learning to Live together and Know Immersed in scientific vocabulary, which aids children’s skills and knowledge and understanding not only of the topic they are studying, but of the world around them leading to greater independence. Students begin their journey for preparation into adulthood and the world of work. The aim is to support student communication and interaction through their curiosity of science. | Build on our students’ natural curiosity and developing a scientific approach to problems through real life context. | A richer vocabulary which will enable our young learners to articulate their understanding of science around them. Developed use of scientific language, recording and techniques. |
| Navigator | Learning to Know and DoThrough building up a body of key foundational knowledge and concepts, pupils are encouraged to recognise the power of rational explanation and develop a sense of excitement, curiosity and creativity about natural phenomena. Develop self-belief and the cultural capital they need to succeed in life, through resilience, promoting independence and the necessary skills for adulthood and further study | Encouraged to understand how science can be used to explain what is occurring, predict how things will behave, and analyse causes. | Enable the children to articulate scientific concepts clearly and precisely, assisting them in making their thinking clear, both to themselves and others. |
| Venture | Learning to Know and Do Flexibility in the learning of science to suit the cohort. Build up a body of key foundational knowledge and concepts, pupils are supported and challenged to recognise the power of rational explanation and develop a sense of excitement and curiosity about natural phenomena. The aim is to develop resilience and trust in relationships. Having an ambitious yet bespoke curriculum. | Encouraged to understand how science can be used to explain what is occurring, predict how things will behave, and analyse causes. | Enable the children to articulate scientific concepts clearly and precisely, assisting them in making their thinking clear, both to themselves and others. |
| Quest | Learning to Be and Live together. Through the delivery of Science, we aim to develop the understanding of the body and science in the home. Continue to give students a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject and provide opportunities for channelling, practicing and reinforcement. | Help develop and extend our pupil’s scientific concept of themselves and their daily encounters through investigations to develop their understanding. | Skills which equip them to progress from their starting points, and within their everyday lives both in and out |
| KS4 | Intent (Why are we doing it) | Implement (How we are going to do it) | Impact (What we want to see and develop) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discovery | Learning to Be and Live together Developing student’s ideas and ways of working collaboratively that enable them to make sense of the world in which they live and to contribute positively to a life in modern Britain. | Help our pupils acquire a growing understanding of the nature, processes and some methods of scientific ideas. | Acquire knowledge related to the science curriculum, but also skills which equip them to have a greater awareness of themselves, their environment in which they live and the world around them. |
| Explorer | Learning to Live together and Know Develop pupil’s ideas and ways of working that enable them to make sense of the world in which they live through investigation, practise and reinforce, as well as using and applying process skills. | Prepare our students for life in an increasingly scientific and technological world today and in the future. | A wide variety of skills linked to both scientific knowledge and understanding, and scientific enquiry skills. |
| Navigator | Learning to Know and Do Equipped with the scientific skills required to understand the uses and implications of science, today and for the future. Support them in their journey for life after school enabling creative thinking and greater independence. | Encouraging open-mindedness, self-assessment, perseverance and developing the skills of investigation – including: observing, measuring, predicting, hypothesising, experimenting, communicating, interpreting, explaining and evaluating. | A wider variety of skills linked to both scientific knowledge and understanding, and scientific enquiry/investigative skills. High aspirations, which will see them through to further study, work and a successful adult life. |
| Venture | Flexibility in the learning of science to suit the cohort. Equipped with the scientific skills required to understand the uses and implications of science. Support them in their journey for life after school to contribute positively to life in modern Britain. | Developing open-mindedness, self-assessment and developing the skills of investigation – including: observing, measuring, predicting, hypothesising, experimenting, communicating, interpreting, explaining and evaluating. | A wider variety of skills linked to both scientific knowledge and understanding, and scientific enquiry/investigative skills. Developing high aspirations, which will see them through to further study, work and a successful adult life. |
Examples
The learning is supported through educational trips/ visits such as the yearly trip for KS4 students to RAF Cosford. At KS3 some groups visit the butterfly farm whilst learning about living things. Students have an opportunity to enter national competitions such as the ASDA plastics pollution poster competition.
Careers has been embedded within the science curriculum. We aim to have a mixture of trips/ visitors to support our students understanding of the careers within science and other STEM subjects.
This year we will be introducing STEM Ambassadors. The ambassadors will be involved in supporting activities relating to STEM including supporting the yearly British Science Week activities. Further, our ambassadors will
* Learning to Be, Learning to Live Together, Learning to Know and Learning to do are the four pillars of education described by Jacques Delors in his report for UNESCO on Education in the 21st Century.