Science

By the end of Year 11, students at Pendle Vale College will: 

• Have developed scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics. 
• Have developed understanding of nature, processes and methods of Science through different types of science enquiries that help them to answer scientific questions about the world around them. 
• Be equipped with the scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of science, today and for the future. 

We fully believe that Science contributes to the development of all students at Pendle Vale College through our unrelenting focus on: 

• Currency: Providing a broad, balanced and ambitious science curriculum; rich in disciplinary and substantive knowledge and explicit in understanding the interplay between them.  
• Core Skills: Understanding the nature, processes and methods of Science with an unswerving determination to embed literacy, oracy and fluency in all new learnt knowledge. Formative and summative assessment is embedded throughout that acts as a diagnostic tool to demand action on our instruction or on our curriculum.  
• Character: Developed by eliciting, valuing and linking students prior experiences from home, family and social contexts and building on previous schema to ensure students learn, understand science but also reason scientifically. Also, highlighting the relevance and transferability of science for students daily and future lives while most importantly building young people’s sense that ‘science can be for me’ and become life-long learners of Science. 

We seek to instill a true love of learning in all our students by: 

• ‘Normalising error’ so that expert teachers can pre-empt error as part of their planning to address gaps swiftly, and students see error as a learning opportunity.  
• By giving students regular opportunities to challenge concepts and ideas and discuss and articulate views of science with passionate practioners in real life contexts. 
• By using a range of strategies to deepen knowledge so that it is committed to long term memory so that students know more, remember more and understand more.  

In order to achieve a true understanding of Science, topics have been intelligently sequenced based on the following rationale: 

• That students have a strong knowledge and understanding of scientific phenomena. 
• That students are able to apply their knowledge to a range of scenarios. 
• That students can communicate their understanding of Science effectively.

We fully believe that Science contributes to the development of students at Pendle Vale through their development in five key areas: 

• Social development is encouraged through collaborative learning to challenge misconceptions and change thinking. In Science lessons, students consider the social impact (both positive and negative) of science and technology.
• Moral development of students is promoted by encouraging students to form reasoned opinions around ‘big’ Scientific questions that are based in fact not prejudice. Students are encouraged to be both open minded and critical and to use their understanding of the world around them in a positive manner during ethical debates
• Spiritual development is highlighted when students are encouraged to respect different opinions and values and how these impact on the Scientific world and how society can impact on Science.
• The curriculum contributes to the cultural development of students in exploring and celebrating research and developments that take place in many different culture, both past and present. We explore how scientific discoveries have shaped the beliefs, cultures and politics of the modern world.
• Personal development is taught by developing an understanding of the relevance of Science in the wider world and encouraging students to take responsibility for their own health and economic well-being through their scientific studies. 

The Science curriculum ensures that any potential equality issues are mitigated by: 

• Students have access to a GCSE qualification no matter what their ability in Science at KS4.  
• Students having access to knowledge organisers at both key stages. 
• A bespoke intervention programme based on in depth analysis of gaps in knowledge. 
• A relentless focus on mastery of knowledge, teaching to the top and scaffolding down. 
• Provision of revision resources and workbooks for all to support independent work. 

Our belief is that homework should be a deliberate practice of what has been modelled and taught in lessons, as well as interleaved revision to ensure students are embedding previously learn knowledge but also developing high level skills alongside powerful knowledge. All Science homework is meaningful and contributes towards students’ progress. KS3 tasks focuses on literacy and key terminology and KS4 focuses on long term memory; repetition and retrieval.

Opportunities are built in to make links to the world of work to enhance the careers, advice and guidance that students are exposed to including: 

• A weekly career focus for Y7-11 where explicit discussions occur based on one scientific career.  
• Specific careers attached to each KS3 topic that is explicitly taught amongst a relevant topic learnt 
• Comprehensive option talks with students having the option to study separate sciences where appropriate to allows them to follow their chosen career path.  
• External visits to different facilities to highlight different careers in Science. 

Whilst ensuring students are well prepared for their GCSE examinations, we teach beyond the exam specification by: 

• The KS3 curriculum is supported with a variety of school trips throughout the year for KS3 that have included a day out to Chester Zoo to highlight conservation programmes and to link with interdependence and variation topics as well as a visit to Jodrell Bank to experience an immersive tour through the building blocks of the universe to elaborate on our understanding of space.  
• The KS4 curriculum is supported with an annual trip to Science LIVE to listen to presentations from lead examiners to help improve their Science GCSE results and see and hear exceptional scientists deliver exciting, thought-provoking presentations to generate greater enthuasiam for Science. Local colleges have also provided a Chemistry master class and a Physics and Electronics conference for the more-able in Y10.      
• Science Week: A week dedicated to scientific activities in form and science lessons that have a specific STEM focus including a science staff fancy dress competition. We offer inter-form, drawing and knowledge competitions for staff and students to also generate a love for learning in Science.  
• Encouraging students studying separate sciences to go beyond the specification to ensure they are A-Level ready.

The Science curriculum at Pendle Vale has been influenced by: 

• The National Curriculum 
• The principles and big ideas of Science education from the Association for Science Education 
• EEF report into improving secondary Science education 
• Tom Sherrington Walk thrus 
• Ausubel’s theory of meaningful learning   
• Rosenshine’s 10 Principles of Instruction 
• Research into the importance of retrieval practice and spaced learning which have now been incorporated into all schemes of learning.