SCIENCE

Our Gamston curriculum for Science

The scientific area of learning is concerned with increasing pupils’ knowledge and understanding of our world, and with developing skills associated with Science as a process of enquiry.

An effective science education provides the basis for understanding the world through biology, chemistry and physics. Through building up a solid foundation of knowledge and concepts, our pupils are encouraged to recognise the power of reasoned explanation and develop a sense of excitement and curiosity about natural phenomena. They should be encouraged to use science to explain what is occurring, predict how things will behave, and analyse causes.

The National Curriculum for science aims to ensure that all pupils:

• develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics.

• develop 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.

• are equipped with the scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of science, today and for the future.

Intent

At Gamston Primary School, we recognise the importance of science in every aspect of daily life. As one of the core subjects taught in Primary Schools, we give the teaching and learning of science the priority it requires. We aim to inspire our children by: giving them the opportunities to pursue their natural curiosity; promoting the experience of exploring and investigating scientific phenomena, in a range of contexts, and to ensure a continually evolving knowledge and understanding of the world around them.

Our intent is for pupils to be fully immersed in every aspect of Science and for them to recognise the importance of science in daily life.  We will develop the natural curiosity of the child, encourage respect for living organisms and the physical environment and provide opportunities for critical evaluation of evidence.

Our intent is to build a science curriculum, which develops learning and results in the acquisition of knowledge and skills which enables children to access the wider curriculum and to prepare children to be a global citizen now and in their future roles within a global community.  Areas of study, from Early Years to year 6, build on one another progressively with appropriate subject knowledge, skills and understanding to fulfil the duties of the National Curriculum, whereby schools must provide a ‘balanced and broadly based curriculum which promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils and prepares them for the opportunities and responsibilities and experiences for later life. Consequently, children will know more, remember more and understand more.

Our children are encouraged to ask questions, experiment, reflect and make (and learn from) mistakes in a safe environment to deepen their understanding. Through this they will acquire and apply core skills which will equip them for life in an increasingly scientific and technological world, today and in the future.

We use Inspiring Science as our programme of study which enhances our quality first teaching.

Implementation

The National Curriculum focuses on two dimensions for teaching science:

Developing scientific knowledge

Developing scientific skills

At Gamston Primary School, science is taught as a discrete subject and focuses on developing pupils’ competence in both dimensions. Our scientific teaching is concerned with increasing pupils’ knowledge and understanding of our world, and with developing skills associated with science as a process of enquiry.

Science lessons are taught in a variety of ways ensuring that all children can access and participate in lessons. Interactive, practical activities encourage the children to discuss their ideas and extend their understanding of difficult concepts and challenging questions. Where possible, children will learn science outside the classroom, using the wonderful outdoor spaces available at Gamston School. The use of knowledge organisers and subject specific vocabulary displays in classrooms focus on key vocabulary and skills, ensuring that children can engage with new concepts and skills. Knowledge organisers help to make learning ‘sticky knowledge’. These are also sent home to share key learning with parents.

The medium term planning and progression mapping of Science lessons will reflect exactly what content, knowledge and skills are critical for pupils to progress through the curriculum in each year. There is a clearly mapped progression document that shows how these topics progress across the years including EYFS. This aids planning and teaching.

Working scientifically processes and methods should be embedded in lessons so that children learn to use a variety of skills to answer scientific questions / investigations. These are: observing over time, pattern seeking, identifying and classifying, comparative and fair testing and researching secondary resources.

Wider Curriculum science will be reinforced through cultural activities and events such as National Science Week, visitors in school talking about science in the wider world and exploring science within the world around us that’s pertinent to the children’s life experiences (living on or near farms).

Science in the curriculum

We plan using the National Curriculum. Key Learning and Progression in Skills grids are used to develop long term planning. Teachers use the long term planning which has been created on a two-year cycle, to plan units of work and deliver individual lessons.

Science teaching ensures that:

All pupils are given the opportunity to develop scientific knowledge and acquire scientific skills in a science lesson.

Topics are blocked to allow children to focus on developing their knowledge and skills, studying each topic in depth.

Each topic is built on in a spiral curriculum, allowing children to learn more and remember more as they progress as scientists through school

Children are given opportunities to explore, question, predict, research, plan, carry out investigations and observations as well as conclude their findings.

Children present their findings and learning using science specific language, observations, diagrams, graphs and charts to enable our children to become effective communicators of scientific ideas, facts and data.

Teachers use key learning documents to monitor what the children should already know at the start of an area of study and plan accordingly to the needs of the children.

Impact

By the time children leave Gamston Primary School, they will have acquired age related knowledge and skills linked to the science curriculum. Children will know more, remember more and understand more about science capital. Children will recognise and apply key scientific vocabulary both verbally and through written work. They will pursue their natural curiosity in a safe environment, developing an understanding of the nature, processes and methods of science through scientific enquiries and can answer scientific questions about the world around them. Through a range of experiences such as well-delivered science lessons, workshops and visitors in school children have the understanding that science has changed our lives and are aware of the possibilities for careers in science. They are equipped with the scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of science, today and for the future.

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