Science

Why is science important to us as a school?

Children are naturally curious. Science at our school should nurture this curiosity and allow them to ask questions and develop the skills they need to answer those questions. 
Science at a primary level helps pupils to:
•    investigate problems 
•    learn how science works
•    discover why science matters in the world.

Teaching science offers our students the opportunity to increase their overall understanding of how and why things work. Science teaches them about the world around them. From the human body to methods of transportation, science can explain the mechanics and reasons behind complex systems. This knowledge can be used to understand new concepts, make informed decisions and pursue new interests. Additionally, because science can provide tactile or visible proof of many facts we see on tv and in books, our children can increase their understanding and retain information better.

Children can develop a healthy dose of scepticism from studying science. Science also instils a sense of intrigue that allows students to understand and form questions based on the knowledge they gained. Many students find science inspiring and interesting and, thus, pursue new scientific interests. Science can give our children the belief that they can help solve the world’s problems, which is a great thing. Science instils the ability to think logically and solve problems. Almost everything you see is because individuals had a question and used their knowledge of science to solve it.

Science teaches the basics of how certain devices work. This helps children develop ideas of their own and possibly invent new technology in the future. Knowing how magnifying glasses in KS1 and microscopes in KS2 work, can help you examine objects and determine the differences. This basic knowledge of technology also assists in fixing minor problems in electronic objects at home.

Science explains how the earth functions and how to make use of natural resources. Science also teaches about the lack of these resources, how it affects living things, and how to conserve them. Information about wildlife and how environmental changes and changes in resources affect them is also learned. Awareness of how to conserve natural resources and affect wildlife can be used for our children’s whole life.

What are the aims of science?
We aim to develop:
•    Scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of Biology, Chemistry and Physics;
•    Understanding of the nature, processes and methods of Science through different types of science enquiries that help them to answer scientific questions about the world around them;
•    Scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of Science, today and for the future.
•    The essential scientific enquiry skills to deepen their scientific knowledge.
•    The use of a range of methods to communicate their scientific information and present it in a systematic, scientific manner, including I.C.T., diagrams, graphs and charts.
•    A respect for the materials and equipment they handle with regard to their own, and other children’s safety.
•    An enthusiasm and enjoyment of scientific learning and discovery.

How is Science structured? 
Science is taught as a discrete lesson once a week as part of a knowledge engaged curriculum as we see that skills and scientific enquiry are equally as important as knowledge based. Years 1, 3, 4, 5 & 6 teach 5 topics of science over 5 half terms.  When possible, the learning in science will be enhanced by enrichment activities such as trips to museums, zoos, beaches, farms and space themed places or from visits to the school from commercial educational enterprises such as the Mad Science Show.

How do we ensure quality teaching and learning?
The curriculum for Science has been set out by the National Curriculum objectives, this has then been further developed through our schools progression document. The progression document makes links and builds on knowledge and skills from year group to year group. We want our children to be knowledge engaged as we see that skills and scientific enquiry are equally as important as knowledge based.

Across both key stages, topics are best planned to link in with history/geography/English topics, however this is not always possible.
For each topic, objectives are set, which allow for clear progression of knowledge, skills and scientific enquiry by giving opportunities to recap and build on prior learning. Teachers are given the flexibility to plan their own activities to fulfil these objectives, as they best know the learning needs of the children in their class so no specific scheme is followed, however the Twinkl Plan It and Plan Bee schemes have been widely used across the school to support teaching.

What do we hope children will get from science? 
Children should be encouraged to be curious and ask questions about what they notice. They should be helped to develop their understanding of scientific ideas by using different types of scientific enquiry to answer their own questions, including observing changes over a period of time, noticing patterns, grouping and classifying things, carrying out simple comparative tests, and finding things out using secondary sources of information. They should begin to use simple scientific language to talk about prediction, what they have found out and communicate their ideas to a range of audiences in a variety of ways.
As a school we also hope children will find a love of science and one day put their knowledge and skills to their future careers.

What we teach across the school in this subject: