Great Bowden Academy’s Curriculum: STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths)

Please look at our curriculum page for an overview of the way that we have split our STEM curriculum into teaching units across the school.

Mathematics 

At Great Bowden Academy, our aim is to develop curious and creative mathematicians who thrive on investigating and exploring mathematical concepts and ideas, whilst developing a deep understanding and love of the subject. 
We follow a Teaching for Mastery approach, believing that mastering a mathematical concept is achievable for all children, focusing on deep and sustained learning, making connections and developing reasoning alongside procedural and conceptual fluency. 

We foster a growth mindset culture and our maths teaching and learning is underpinned by the following key messages: 

• Everyone can learn maths to the highest level. 

• Mistakes help us to learn; never be afraid to make mistakes. 

• Asking great questions deepens our understanding. 

• Maths is about being creative and making connections. 

• Maths is about being fluent and flexible. 

• Understanding mraths is much more important than how fast you are. 

• The steps that you take when finding the answer are just as important as the answer itself. Below are details and useful information about our maths curriculum. 

Maths progression document 

 

Science 

Our ambition is that our children become educated and informed about scientific concepts and knowledge, and are curious about the world they live in. We want our children to develop their scientific knowledge so that they have a greater understanding of the world around them. Our curriculum is designed to provide stimulating and challenging experiences to help the children develop their curiosity and to be able to answer scientific questions about the ever-changing world in which they live.  We want them to engage with and enjoy science and understand its relevance to them and life in the modern world. We aim to build cultural capital in order for pupils to take advantage of opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life. Science allows every pupil to develop a deeper understanding of the world in which they live. Through a stimulating curriculum provide memorable learning experiences allowing all pupils to discover, question and develop their curiosity thus evolving their knowledge and bank of core skills which will equip them for an ever-changing world.

 

Science in action at GBA

 

We follow the national curriculum and our aim is for children to achieve the endpoints at the end of each topic and each key stage.  Our science curriculum is mapped out against the Association for Science Education’s fourteen Big Ideas of and about science, so that whichever order science units are taught in children revisit, review and reflect upon these key concepts and big ideas, augmenting their understanding of them by revisiting them in different contexts and units of work.  

Teachers take account of the big ideas and related threshold concepts in their science planning to secure mastery of subject knowledge year on year and over time.  Within the science curriculum domain specific skills such as setting up practical enquiries, making systematic and careful observations are taught alongside key knowledge.

Science is taught where possible within topics which take account of links between concepts, and address the ways science contributes to our curriculum themes ag GBA.  Throughout the school knowledge is built on prior knowledge, and is sequenced through answering a series of Key Questions in each unit of work.

For each science topic there is a knowledge organiser with key information which is used for retrieval practice to enable children to know and remember more. In and out quizzes show progress over a topic of work and identify gaps and misconceptions.   

We base each science unit around an enquiry question.  Our curriculum is written to answer this question using a series of Key Questions which unpick the knowledge needed to understand and answer the enquiry question.  This knowledge helps the children to deepen their conceptual understanding of the Big Ideas of science. 

 

Computing 

Our aim is to provide a high-quality computing education which equips children to use computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world. The curriculum will teach children key knowledge about how computers and computer systems work, and how they are designed and programmed. Learners will have the opportunity to gain an understanding of computational systems of all kinds, whether or not they include computers.

By the time they leave Great Bowden Academy, children will have gained key knowledge and skills in the three main areas of the computing curriculum:  

• computer science (programming and understanding how digital systems work),  
• information technology (using computer systems to store, retrieve and send information)  
• digital literacy (evaluating digital content and using technology safely and respectfully). 

The objectives within each strand support the development of learning across the key stages, ensuring a solid grounding for future learning and beyond. 

We use the Teach Computing scheme of work which is written by the STEM community and which Learn-AT colleagues have adapted to use our Microsoft Teams software.

 

Design and Technology 

Design and technology is an inspiring, rigorous and practical subject.  Lessons encourage children to learn to think and intervene creatively to solve problems both as individuals and as members of a team. Working independently and collaboratively children will, using their creativity and imaginations, design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts, considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values.

 Through a variety of creative and practical activities children at Great Bowden are taught the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to engage in the process of designing and making. Children design, make and evaluate in a range of contexts to develop functional products. The National Curriculum is the basis for our work in Design and Technology, and we use the Design and Technology Association's "Projects on a Page" as our scheme of work. We link this into our topics and themes where we can. This provides a coherent skills and knowledge progression.