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Science

Intent

‘Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known’ (Carl Sagan).  Our Science North Star is to develop young people with active and creative minds; who are able to lead happy, healthy and fulfilling lives. We want our children to understand why and how they are learning; and we have planned the curriculum content to inspire them. Our curriculum is based around thinking skills and developing children’s aptitude for learning.  We believe that an interesting, stimulating curriculum is fundamental to effective learning.   We want to create Scientists who have an insatiable hunger for knowledge and understanding of the world around them. We believe that through Science, our children will learn to ask questions about why things happen. Through this they should develop positive values and attitudes towards the world in which we live. It must be an exciting learning experience for children, where they develop their understanding of everyday phenomena and feed their curiosity through practical activities and discussion.  Science lessons will provide children with the chance to collaborate and recognise the importance of teamwork. Here they will also understand the importance of life skills such as resilience, patience and perseverance.

Implementation

At Ashfield, Science is taught as a discreet subject and lessons are planned with a clear progression across each year group. This will also be a progression from our feeder infant school. Each year group has been allocated different topics which match with the National Curriculum. Topics are blocked to allow children to focus on developing their knowledge and skills, studying each topic in depth. Working scientifically will always be taught through and clearly related to substantive science content. Every year group will build upon the learning from prior year groups therefore developing depth of understanding and progression of skills.

Teachers will promote enjoyment and foster interest of the scientific disciplines; Biology, Chemistry and Physics. In order to support children in their ability to ‘know more and remember more’ there are regular opportunities to review the learning taken place in previous topics as well as previous lessons. At the start of each topic children will review previous learning and will have the opportunity to share what they already know about a current topic. Children will be given a knowledge organiser at the start of each topic to support them with their acquisition of knowledge and are used as a reference document throughout the topic.

Year 3 will learn about plants, animals including humans, rocks, light and forces and magnets. Year 4 will cover living things and their habitats, states of matter, sound, electricity and build on from their previous knowledge of animals, including humans. Year 5 building on from previous knowledge with living things and their habitats, animals including humans, properties and changes of materials, Earth and space and forces. Year 6 will also cover living things and their habitats, animals including humans, evolution and inheritance, light and electricity.

Our Science lessons will include:

  • A progression of scientific knowledge
  • A clear sequence of learning for each topic
  • Specific knowledge organisers for topics and year groups
  • Opportunities to explore, question, predict, plan, carry out investigations and observations as well as conclude their findings.
  • Opportunities to present their findings and learning using science specific language, observations and diagrams
  • Effective use of education visits and visitors are planned, to enrich and enhance the pupil’s learning experiences within the Science curriculum
  • Make clear links with other subjects in the curriculum
  • Differentiated activities or support (e.g. word mats, widgets, iPad) for children with SEND
  • Working Scientifically skills are embedded into 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 topics
  • 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
  • Through enrichment days, such as ‘science week’, we promote the profile of Science and allow time for the children to freely explore scientific topics

Impact

  • Children express their passion for Science by talking enthusiastically about their learning and sharing their knowledge and understanding
  • Children explain and demonstrate how they worked collaboratively with peers during investigations and seek help from them when it is required.
  • Children discuss how they have shown resilience during lessons and turned their mistakes in to successes.
  • Children using a wide variety of scientific vocabulary and be able to use it to describe ideas, objects, and phenomena.
  • Children showing curiosity by asking relevant questions and finding out the answers
  • Children showing resilience by looking for solutions to problems they encounter
  • Children demonstrating their understanding of working scientifically and articulate what skills they are using in the lesson.
  • Children using and applying scientific vocabulary accurately in discussions and recorded Science activities.

Our children will be successful and engaged in lessons because:

  • Teachers use assessment for learning to inform planning to address misconceptions and gaps in learning
  • Teachers build on a progression of skills and knowledge from the previous year
  • Teachers make links and connections with prior learning in Science and in other curriculum subjects
  • Teachers scaffold activities, model scientific vocabulary and follow a sequence of learning so that all children can make progress