Science

"We should not teach children the Scientists, but give them a taste for them." - Jean Jacques Rosseau

Intent

At St Mary’s, we recognise how science impacts every aspect of daily life, and without science humankind would not have made progress throughout history. As one of the core subjects taught at primary level, we give the teaching and learning of science the prominence it deserves.

Learning science is concerned with increasing pupils’ knowledge of our world, and with developing skills associated with science as a process of enquiry. Our science curriculum develops the natural curiosity of each child no matter their demographic, encourages them to have respect for living organisms, and instil in pupils the importance of caring for the natural environment.

Using the requirements of the Science National Curriculum as our guide, our Science lessons offer opportunities for children to:

Develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding of the disciplines of Physics, Chemistry and Biology.
Formulate their own questions about the natural world.
Foster the confidence to ‘be wrong’ when it comes to making predictions and suggest their own theories.
Promote an awareness of the importance of teamwork in scientific experimentation.
Practically investigate their questions using various methods of enquiry.
Gain competence in the science skills of planning scientific investigations, gathering and analysing data and critical evaluation of investigations across the disciplines.
Use a range of methods to gather data from investigations and secondary sources including I.C.T., drawings, diagrams, videos and photographs.
Present data in a variety of methods including tables, bar charts, line graphs, pictograms and pie charts.
Produce comprehensive science reports that demonstrate their proficiency in the scientific method.
Have care for the safety of all individuals in lessons by developing knowledge of the hazards of the materials and equipment they handle, along with mitigating these hazards.
Develop an enthusiasm and enjoyment of scientific learning and discovery.

At St Mary’s, we encourage children to be inquisitive throughout their time at the school and beyond. The science curriculum fosters a healthy curiosity in children about our universe and promotes respect for the living and non-living. We believe science encompasses the acquisition of knowledge, concepts, skills and positive attitudes. Throughout the programmes of study, the children will acquire and develop the key knowledge that has been identified within each unit and across each year group, as well as the application of scientific skills. We ensure that the Working Scientifically skills are built-on and developed throughout children’s time at the school so that they can apply their knowledge of science when using equipment, conducting experiments, building arguments and explaining concepts confidently and continue to ask questions and be curious about their surroundings. All children are encouraged to develop and use a range of skills including observations, planning and investigations, as well as being encouraged to question the world around them and become independent learners in exploring possible answers for their scientific based questions.

Implementation

Teachers create a positive attitude to science learning within their classrooms and reinforce an expectation that all children can achieve high standards in science. We endeavour to ensure that the Science curriculum we provide will give children the confidence and motivation to continue to further develop their skills into the next stage of their education and life experiences. We do this through the following:

Science will be taught as set out by the year group requirements of the National Curriculum. This is a strategy to enable the accumulation of knowledge and allows progress in repeated topics through the years.
Through our planning, we involve problem solving opportunities, allowing children to find out for themselves how to answer questions in a variety of practical means. Children are encouraged to ask their own questions and be given appropriate equipment to use their scientific skills to discover the answers.
Engaging lessons are created with each lesson having both practical and knowledge elements. Teachers use questioning in class to test conceptual knowledge and skills and children are regularly assessed to identify those children with gaps in learning.
We build upon the learning and skill development of previous years. As the children’s knowledge and understanding increases, and they become more proficient in selecting and using scientific equipment, collating and interpreting results, they become increasingly confident in their growing ability to come to conclusions based on real evidence.
Working Scientifically skills are explicit in lessons to ensure these skills are being developed throughout the children’s school career and new vocabulary and challenging concepts are introduced through direct teaching. This is developed through the years, in-keeping with the theme of the lesson.
Teachers demonstrate how to use scientific equipment, and the various Working Scientifically skills in order to embed scientific understanding. Teachers find opportunities to develop children’s understanding of their surroundings by accessing outdoor learning and workshops with experts.
Children are offered a wide range of extra-curricular activities, visits, trips and visitors to complement and broaden the curriculum. These are purposeful and link with the knowledge being taught in class.
Regular events, such as Science Week, allow all pupils to come off-timetable, to provide broader provision and the acquisition and application of knowledge and skills. These events often involve families and the wider community.
Throughout the year we have visits from experts who will enhance the learning experience of our children. We also have a science week annually, where children are encouraged to embed their knowledge of key Scientists, embracing how these inquisitive minds have helped to change the world as we know it.

Impact

Our Science Curriculum is high quality, well thought out and is planned to demonstrate progression. If children are keeping up with the curriculum, they are deemed to be making good or better progress. In addition, we measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:

Book looks
Pupil voice
Regular feedback each lesson

The successful approach at St Mary’s results in a fun, engaging, high-quality science education, that provides children with the foundations for understanding the natural world. Our engagement with the local environment ensures that children learn through varied and first-hand experiences. Frequent, continuous and progressive learning outside the classroom is embedded throughout the science curriculum. Children learn the possibilities for careers in science as a result of our community links and connection with national agencies such as the STEM association. Pupil voice is used to further develop the Science curriculum, through questioning of pupil’s views and attitudes to Science to support the children’s enjoyment of science and to motivate learners.

Please find below some photos of Science Week at St Mary’s:

We are extremely lucky to have our amazing Edible Playground situated in the Key Stage two playground. Each class will have the opportunity to use the Edible Playground throughout the school year. The children are involved in using the Edible Playground to learn about how to plant and look after fruit and vegetable crops. As they do this, they learn a lot about gardening and ways to keep the soil as well as the plants and produce healthy foods. Please find below some photos of different classes using the Edible Playground:

Science Overview

Progression of Skills and Knowledge

Curriculum Map

Please find below our curriculum map for this academic year showing the coverage of science across the year groups.

Term	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4	Year 5	Year 6
Autumn 1	Animals, including Humans	Living Things and their Habitats	Plants	Living Things and their Habitats	Earth and Space	Electricity
Autumn 2	Seasonal Changes	Animals, including Humans	Light	Electricity	Forces	Animals, including Humans
Spring 1	Plants	Uses of Everyday Materials	Forces and Magnets	Animals, including Humans	Properties of Materials	Evolution and Inheritance
Spring 2	Seasonal Changes	The Environment	Rocks	States of Matter	Scientists and Inventors	Light
Summer 1	Everyday Materials	Plants	Animals, including Humans	Sound	Living Things and Their Habitats	Living Things and Their Habitats
Summer 2	Seasonal Changes	Seasonal changes	Each topic is extended by a week to ensure all units are covered.	Scientists and Inventors	Animals Including Humans	Scientists and Inventors