Science
Intent
At Christ Church C of E Primary School, it is our intention to give every child a high quality science education, which enables them to confidently explore, discover and develop a deep understanding of the world around them. Children will be immersed in scientific vocabulary, which will aid their understanding and knowledge of the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics. It is our aim to provide a coherently planned and sequenced curriculum for our children to acquire specific skills and knowledge to help them think scientifically, to gain an understanding of scientific processes and to understand the uses and implications of science today and in the future. Teaching and learning experiences, will allow children to explore their outdoor environment and locality.
We want our children to love science and be SCIENTISTS!
Our chosen scheme of work is inclusive and meaningful, so all pupils may experience the joy of science and make associations between their science learning and their lives outside the classroom. Studying science allows children to appreciate how new knowledge and skills can be fundamental to solving arising global challenges.
Our curriculum aims to encourage critical thinking and empower pupils to question the hows and whys of the world around them. It encourages:
● A strong focus on developing knowledge alongside scientific skills across Biology, Chemistry and Physics.
● Curiosity and excitement about familiar and unknown observations.
● Challenging misconceptions and demystifying truths.
● Continuous progression by building on practical and investigative skills across all units.
● Critical thinking, with the ability to ask perceptive questions and explain and analyse evidence.
● Development of scientific literacy using wide-ranging, specialist vocabulary.
It enables pupils to meet the end of key stage attainment targets in the National Curriculum and the aims also align with those set out in the National Curriculum.
Implementation
In order to meet the aims of the National curriculum for Science and in response to the Ofsted Research review into Science, our scheme identifies the following key strands:
● Scientific knowledge and understanding of:
○ Biology - living organisms and vital processes.
○ Chemistry - matter and its properties.
○ Physics - how the world we live in ‘works’.
● Working scientifically - processes and methods of science to answer questions about the world around us.
● Science in action - uses and implications of science in the past, present and for the future.
Our Science scheme is a spiral curriculum, with essential knowledge and skills revisited with increasing complexity, allowing pupils to revise and build on their previous learning. A range of engaging recall activities promote frequent pupil reflection on prior learning, ensuring new learning is approached with confidence. The Science in action strand is interwoven throughout the scheme to make the concepts and skills relevant to pupils and inspiring for future application.
Cross-curricular links are included throughout each unit, allowing children to make connections and apply their Science skills to other areas
of learning.
Each unit is based upon one of the key science disciplines; Biology, Chemistry and Physics and to show progression throughout the school we have grouped the National curriculum content into six key areas of
science:
Plants
Animals, including humans
Living things and habitats
Materials
Energy
Forces, Earth and Space
Click here to see our whole school Science Long term Plan overview for Cycles A & B.
Click here to see the document on Scientific knowledge and understanding
Pupils explore knowledge and conceptual understanding through engaging activities and an introduction to relevant specialist vocabulary. As suggested in Ofsted’s Science research review (April 2021), the
‘working scientifically’ skills are integrated with conceptual understanding rather than taught discretely. This provides frequent, but relevant, opportunities for developing scientific enquiry skills. The scheme
utilises practical activities that aid in the progression of individual skills and also provides opportunities for full investigations.
Learning can be adapted in each lesson to ensure that all pupils can access learning and opportunities to stretch pupils’ learning are available when required.
Knowledge organisers for each unit help to identify prior and future curriculum links to make the scheme as meaningful as possible and reinforce key technical terms.
Impact
Formative assessment strategies are used to monitor progress and inform subsequent teaching and learning in science, ensuring any misconceptions and gaps are addressed more immediately than building on insecure scientific foundations. As part of these strategies, we employ skilled questioning by the teacher, observation and self and peer assessment throughout lessons. Children are encouraged to regularly reflect on their learning of ‘sticky knowledge’ and new subject specific vocabulary. Opportunities for children to communicate using scientific vocabulary will also form part of the assessment process in each unit. Furthermore, each unit has a quiz and a knowledge and skills catcher to provide a summative assessment.
The expected impact is that children will:
● Develop a body of foundational knowledge for the Biology topics in the National curriculum: Plants; Animals, Including Humans; Living Things and Their Habitats; Evolution and Inheritance.
● Develop a body of foundational knowledge for the Chemistry topics in the National curriculum: Everyday Materials; Uses of Everyday Materials; Properties and Changes of Materials; States of Matter; Rocks.
● Develop a body of foundational knowledge for the Physics topics in the National curriculum: Seasonal Changes; Forces and Magnets; Sound; Light; Electricity; Earth and Space.
● Be able to evaluate and identify the methods that ‘real world’ scientists use to develop and answer scientific questions.
● Identify and use equipment effectively to accurately gather, measure and record data.
● Be able to display and convey data in a variety of ways, including graphs.
● Analyse data in order to identify, classify, group, and find patterns.
● Use evidence to formulate explanations and conclusions.
● Demonstrate scientific literacy through presenting concepts and communicating ideas using scientific vocabulary.
● Understand the importance of resilience and a growth mindset, particularly in reference to scientific enquiry.
● Meet the end of key stage expectations outlined in the National curriculum for Science
