Science

Our vision for Science at Tottington High School is for all students to develop a passion for science by providing them with access to a curriculum that fosters curiosity. Science developments influence our lives and are vital to the future prosperity of our world. At Tottington High School, we want all students to become scientifically literate members of society who have the tools to make informed decisions about the world around them. All students are encouraged to understand how science can be used to make predictions; formulate experimental methods; conduct experiments; and analyse and explain scientific results. Our science curriculum will enable students to recognise the power of rational explanations and to develop a curiosity in scientific phenomena.

Our curriculum principles are to:

• Adapt our curriculum to meet the unique needs of all our learners
• Stretch and challenge all learners, considering different starting points
• Develop learners’ key scientific skills including math skills
• Promote effective literacy and communication skills with a focus on tier 3 scientific vocabulary
• Enthuse students to have a love of science by relating it to the world around them
• Embed a range of wider opportunities and experiences for all, to ensure our learners have an educational experience that is rich and varied.

Science Learning Journeys

At Key Stage 3 (KS3) we follow the Science Mastery Ark Curriculum. This builds on pupils’ scientific understanding from KS1 and KS2 and sequences the knowledge and skills outlined by the National Programme of Study under a series of big ideas. The curriculum starts in year 7 and 8 with the fundamental knowledge all pupils must know to understand the substantive knowledge necessary to build a big picture of the world around them and begin to develop their thinking skills in thinking like a scientist.

To specify what young people should know by the end of Year 9, the links between the KS3 and KS4 National Curriculum have been identified, and larger units were developed that are rooted in the fundamentals of the KS4 curriculum. This approach ensures that pupils engage with the fundamental knowledge in more depth prior to Year 10; revisiting and consolidating key concepts from KS3 to prevent the prevalence of misconceptions as they begin KS4. Some traditionally ‘separate science’ content has also been included where there are links to the KS3 curriculum, or where its relevance to today’s world means that all pupils should have the opportunity to learn the content regardless of the route followed at GCSE.

The Key Stage 4 (KS4) science curriculum aims to build upon prior knowledge from KS3 to develop students' scientific knowledge, understanding, and skills in biology, chemistry, and physics. It focuses on preparing students for GCSE exams by strengthening their understanding of scientific concepts, enhancing their ability to apply knowledge to exam-style questions, and fostering critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The curriculum is designed to align with the requirements of the AQA GCSE Combined Science specification or the AQA Triple Science (Biology, Chemistry and Physics) specifications. 

To support deeper learning within our curriculum, staff use the 7-step model of metacognitive strategies to help pupils succeed in their lessons. This involves a series of steps within each lesson that begins with activating prior knowledge in a retrieval activity then moves on to explicit instructions along with extensive modelling of the learned strategy followed by checking for understanding. Key learning activities will promote a controlled progression to independent practice before ending with a structured exit activity to consolidate and review the success of intended learning outcomes.

In all lessons, teachers meet and greet pupils at the door. Students are provided with their stationary packs, (including a whiteboard) and their ‘Do Now’ activity. Students enter, collect their exercise books and sit in their assigned seat to complete their Do Now. Clear seating plans are in place that align with our ‘Know Your Students/Class’ culture of inclusion for all.

At the start of each new topic:

• Students receive a knowledge organiser. Students stick these in books at the start of the topic. Teachers use these to support low stakes testing such as quizzes / progress checks. Students use these to retrieve knowledge for formative assessment activities. Students also use these to revise and formulate revision questions for assessments.

In each subsequent lesson:

• A strong start with retrieval practice (review of relevant prior knowledge to activate schemata ready to build new knowledge into long term learning).
• Teachers help students to link this content to previous and future learning.
• Small amounts of new knowledge are presented at a time with the opportunity for students to apply and practice this using extensive ‘I do, We Do, You Do’.
• There is regular questioning of all students using strategies such as wait time, cold calling and no opt-out. Students are strategically targeted. Resilience is developed by not accepting ‘I don’t know’ as an answer and prompts are provided to support answers independently. Teachers use this formative assessment to plan future learning opportunities, where appropriate. 
• Model answers and worked examples are regularly provided, where appropriate.   
• Students have opportunities for extensive independent learning practice, and this is evident in exercise books.
• Every lesson will finish with a structured exit ticket to consolidate and review the success of the learning intentions.
• Students ensure all books and equipment are packed away and all pupils wait calmly behind desks to be dismissed. 

Formative assessment is used in every lesson in the form of retrieval practice, low-stakes testing, questioning strategies and exit tickets to consolidate and review the success of the intended learning outcomes.

Recall of knowledge and interleaving are vital elements in supporting students to commit information to their long-term memory. To that end, we have committed to beginning every lesson with low-stakes questions (Do Now) to test and recall previous knowledge. These low stakes assessments are central to the learning process. There is a clear format and rationale that is utilised by the department in using formative assessment at the start of each lesson. Self-assessment is also an essential skill to ensure students develop independent learning habits. Students will self-assess their low-stakes questions, and any misconceptions identified will be addressed at the next most appropriate time in the curriculum.

Teachers complete book checks every lesson to provide feedback on presentation, literacy and to ensure work is completed to a high standard. Live teacher feedback in lessons enables students to check, mark and improve their work.  A range of strategies are used including:

• Whole class front of class feedback on the board/PP after work checked
• Live sampling during lesson with feedback on the board
• Peer/self-assessment

In all year groups the students will also complete an exit ticket at the end of every learning intention that is recorded and tracked. This allows for knowledge gaps and misconceptions to be addressed at the next most appropriate place in the curriculum. 

The students will also complete a learning check point at the half-way phase of a topic to check for retention of core component knowledge and identify misconceptions. At KS3, at the end of each topic, students also complete a mastery quiz, which supports with identifying how well the learning has been recalled and applied. Whole class feedback will be provided after both the learning checkpoint and the mastery quiz. At KS4, students will complete an end of topic assessment focused on application of knowledge to exam style questions and, like KS3, whole class feedback will be provided. Units at both KS3 and KS4 are divided into Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

There are three centralised summative assessments per academic year.  These assessments include about 80% content from topics covered since the last summative assessment point, and 20% content from previous topics to help students to consolidate and improve learning throughout the curriculum. Teachers use the data obtained to reteach areas that the whole class needs to develop and provide each student with individual personalised feedback to enable them to make progress.

Homework at KS3 and 4 follows SPARX Science where each week students are set a range of questions on topics that they have studied either this year or in previous years. These quizzes are designed to designed to test knowledge and promote scientific thinking across the secondary curriculum. We can provide tailored practice questions based on the curriculum topics taught in class, adjusting the difficulty to each student's ability. If a student struggles with a question, Sparx Science offers step-by-step guidance and support, allowing them to learn from their mistakes. 

The curriculum is enriched further with regular science clubs; science-based projects; educational trips; professional guest speaker events; dedicated career focused lessons; and engagement with the British Science Week activities.  

Our department are passionate about improving the science capital of our students, so they are equipped with the knowledge and skills for the next stage of their journey.

We understand the importance of equipping pupils with the scientific knowledge and skills to understand and question the world around them. 

The subject of science at Key Stage 5 can be linked to a variety of different fields, from those well-known academic pathways such as aerospace, engineering and medical, to less well-known connections such as fashion and beauty. 

We would hope that pupils will go on to choose to study higher education in the form of A-levels in Biology, Physics or Chemistry or vocational courses such as animal management and Health and Social care at college.