Science
Science – helping pupils to use evidence to make sense of the world around them!
Vision
In science, we will inspire our pupils by giving them the opportunities to pursue their natural curiosity; promoting the experience of exploring and investigating scientific phenomena, in a range of contexts, to ensure a continually evolving knowledge and understanding of the world around them.
Our pupils will be encouraged to ask questions, take risks, experiment, reflect, make and learn from mistakes, in a safe environment; whereby they acquire and apply core skills which equip them for an ever-changing world.
Science helps us understand our relationships with the world around us (how the physical world behaves, the independence of all living things). Making new discoveries increases our sense of awe and wonder at the complexity of the world we inhabit. At the HH Trust, our vision is to provide a hands on science curriculum, which empowers pupils to explore and discover the world around them. We aim to do this through practical and exciting experiences, which encourage curiosity and foster learning. Pupils at the HH Trust are naturally curious and passionate about learning. We aim to provide a stimulating and open-minded curriculum that nurtures pupils’ natural curiosity, independence and their on-going knowledge and understanding of the world around them. Through hands on, enquiry-based activities, pupil will confidently experience the joy of exploration, discoveries and improvements.
End points
- Understand the structure of organisms - from a cellular level to organ systems.
- Appreciate the fight between disease and immune systems and how medical treatments help
- Through comparison of photosynthesis and respiration, understand the balance of energy on Earth
- Use knowledge of organism structure to understand how the human body responds to external and internal stimuli
- Understand the evolutionary history species and how the human species impacts on the world ecosystem
Domains of Knowledge
- Cell biology
- Organisation
- Infection and response
- Bioenergetics
- Homeostasis and response
- Inheritance, variation and evolution
- Ecology
Key Concepts
| Key Propositional Knowledge | Key Procedural Knowledge |
| Cells | |
|
Cell structure Cell division Transport in cells |
Investigate the effect of a range of concentrations of salt or sugar solutions on the mass of plant tissue. Recognise, draw and interpret images of cells. Use models and analogies to develop explanations of how cells divide. Recognise, draw and interpret diagrams that model diffusion. |
| Organisation | |
|
Principles of organisation Animal tissues, organs and organ systems Plant tissues, organs and systems |
Use qualitative reagents to test for a range of carbohydrates, lipids and proteins. Investigate the effect of pH on the rate of reaction of amylase enzyme. Students should be able to develop an understanding of size and scale in relation to cells, tissues, organs and systems. |
| Infection and Response | |
|
Communicable diseases Communicable (infectious) diseases Human defence systems Plant disease |
Evaluate the global use of vaccination in the prevention of disease. Culturing microorganisms Understand that the results of testing and trials are published only after scrutiny by peer review. |
| Bioenergetics | |
|
Photosynthesis Respiration Metabolism |
Investigate the effect of light intensity on the rate of photosynthesis using an aquatic organism such as pond weed. Tests to identify starch, glucose and proteins using simple qualitative reagents. Investigations into the effect of exercise on the body. |
| Homeostasis and Response | |
|
Homeostasis The human nervous system Hormonal coordination in humans Hormones in human reproduction Plant hormones |
Plan and carry out an investigation into the effect of a factor on human reaction time. Evaluate the benefits and risks of procedures carried out on the brain and nervous system. Evaluate information around the relationship between obesity and diabetes, and make recommendations taking into account social and ethical issues. Show why issues around contraception cannot be answered by science alone. Understand how the everyday use of hormones as weed killers has an effect on biodiversity. |
| Inheritance, Variation and Evolution | |
|
Reproduction DNA and the genome Genetic inheritance Variation and evolution The development of understanding of genetics and evolution Classification of living organisms |
Modelling behaviour of chromosomes during meiosis. Interpret a diagram of DNA structure but will not be required to reproduce it. Appreciate that embryo screening and gene therapy may alleviate suffering but consider the ethical issues which arise. Use the theory of evolution by natural selection in an explanation. Explain the potential benefits and risks of cloning in agriculture and in medicine and that some people have ethical objections. |
| Ecology | |
|
Adaptations, interdependence and competition Organisation of an ecosystem Biodiversity and the effect of human interaction on ecosystems Trophic levels in an ecosystem Food production |
Recording first-hand observations of organisms. Extract and interpret information from charts graphs and tables. Interpret graphs used to model predator-prey cycles. Interpret and explain the processes in diagrams of the carbon cycle, the water cycle. Explain how waste, deforestation and global warming have an impact on biodiversity. Understand the conflict between the need for cheap available compost to increase food production and the need to conserve peat bogs and peat lands as habitats for biodiversity and to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. |
Progression map