At Hanley St Luke’s Church of England Academy we dedicate time, at the start of each science lesson, to recapping and checking on previously taught material. This takes a variety of forms: a quick quiz, multiple choice starter, talk partner activity or What am I? Knowledge notes, shared and referred to regularly, are an important resource for each lesson, a reference for new learning and support vocabulary knowledge and development for all pupils.

Formative assessment, carried out through low stakes multiple choice questions, specific questioning, open-ended tasks and observation of investigation are essential tools in our teaching and learning of science. Where it is clear gaps in prior knowledge exist, curriculum plans are adapted and teachers are encouraged to reteach material, in order that children can move forward with a more secure understanding of key content.

Where pupils exhibit misconceptions or gaps in knowledge, teachers are encouraged to reteach material, in order that children move forward with a more secure understanding of key content.  

Our priorities at Hanley St Luke’s are core knowledge and literacy, and so an emphasis has been placed on subject specific vocabulary, science texts (both fiction and non-fiction) and a rich science curriculum, filled with multiple opportunities for ‘hands-on’ and experiential learning. Core knowledge is revisited multiple times, both in theory and through investigation, working towards a more secure understanding and basis for progression through the school.

Child led investigation, the implementation of a ‘creative approach’ to science, British Science Week activities, visits from external STEM Ambassadors and enrichment activities such as the ‘Star Dome’, encourage our pupils to have the best experience of science, make greater connections between previously taught concepts and see themselves as ‘scientists’.