During our LPS Review Activities, the AoLE leader and iTeam Pupil Voice Group undertook 'workbook looks' and spoke with learners from each year group about Science & Technology throughout the school feeding their findings back regarding the progress made against the Science & Technology Action Plan.   

Main Objective: Development of planning, designing and making of products (physical and digital)

There has been a noticeable improvement in focus across the school, throughout the Progression Steps, in relation to the planning, designing, and making of products. The quality of work produced in this area is consistently high - meeting or exceeding expected standards - and often incorporates meaningful cross-curricular links. This has had a positive impact on pupils, helping them to develop a stronger understanding of the planning process and increasing their engagement in creating products. As a result, learners are becoming more independent and confident within this area.

In Progression Step 1, pupils have had a physical products focus, such as designing and making Holi-inspired tie-dye T-shirts, as well as manufacturing a piñata to enhance their festival topic.

Within Progression Step 2, testing of materials has been undertaken with a view to making a Roman shield, as well as plans to design, make and test a rocket. 

Progression Step 3, pupils have explored mainly making digital products, with designs of WWII bomb shelters, the Hafod Copperworks as well as Egyptian tombs designed on platforms such as Tinkercad and Minecraft: Education. In addition, there have been prototypes of rockets created in order to discover what makes the 'best' rocket launch.

Questions covered regarding Science & Technology:

Progression Step 2

• Could mindfulness help us stay fit and healthy?
• How does a healthy diet help you stay fit and healthy?
• Which foods should be included in a healthy lunchbox?
• Can you find out more about light and dark as astronauts are plunged into darkness?
• Can you sort living things into groups?
• Can you design and make an animal feeder to withstand the 4 seasons?
• What made the Dillwyn Llewelyn such pioneering inventors?
• Can you classify the different plants and animals found in the woods? How can we keep them healthy?
• Can you research different food chains found in woodland habitats? How have animals adapted to these environments?
• Can you research who was more technologically advanced: Romans or Celts?
• Can you decide what materials to use to defend against battle attacks?
• Can you create a prototype to build a range of new beach huts to attract visitors to Swansea Bay?
• How can you support a study of wildlife around Swansea's coastline?
• How have Norsemen influenced technology and life today?
• Can you research why Swansea Market has had to be rebuilt? What materials and designs have been used? What would your redesign look like?
• How can you demonstrate and represent the changes made to Swansea Market over the years?

Progression Step 3

• Can you investigate the water levels of the Lliw Reservoir and how water gets there?
• How many types of animal species are found on the course of the Illston River? How can these findings be recorded?
• Can you investigate the cause of Henry VIII's ship, the Mary Rose, sinking in 1545? 
• Why was black powder so important to Parliamentarians and the Royalists?
• Are all organs of the human body useful?
• How do sports performance scientists help athletes compete against the best athletes in the world?
• What impact did the Copperworks have on the local environment?
• How could knowing about material properties improve production and pollution issues?
• Can you plan and make a scaled model of the HMCW site for their foyer?
• Investigate and blog about the work of Dr Kenneth Griffin, the curator at the Swansea Egypt Centre.
• How might you use your technological skills to recreate the Valley of the Kings to allow children to walk through time?
• Can you investigate why and how salt played a role in mummification?
• How could you use your rocket science skills to create the best design for a 'Roced Cymraeg' prototype?
• How could you create a simulation to demonstrate how your rocket will land?
• How do different materials behave in zero gravity? On other planets? What beneficial new materials have been created due to space exploration?
• How did British engineers develop technologies that aided the war effort?
• Can you design and resource an Air Raid Shelter for your family?
• How did Air Raid Precautions benefit Swansea and other major cities? What made ARPs successful?
• How do biodiversity and biomes help shape evolution through natural selection? 
• How has human activity impacted ecosystems both positively and negatively?
• What might the side effects of artificial selection be?
• How can Swansea's industrial heritage play a role in our future?
• How have Welsh inventors played an influential role in the modern world?
• Can you write code for your own Micro:bit or Scratch creation?

Evidence of coverage:

Please click the links to view examples of Science and Technology skills developed this year:

Progression Step 1: Reception (Autumn, Spring)

Progression Step 2: Year 1 (Autumn, Spring, Summer) | Year 2 (Summer) | Year 3 (Summer)

Progression Step 3: Year 4 (Summer) | Year 5 (Autumn, Spring, Summer) | Year 6 (Autumn, Spring, Summer)

 

Next Steps

• To monitor Online Safety activities across the Progression Steps and how to evidence this.
• To refine the quality of learner responses and experiences of scientific enquiry within learner projects.