Our Vision for Science
By providing a wide range of opportunities for science at our school, pupils will develop enthusiasm, curiosity, a sense of how science fits into the wider world and how they can play their part in this.
•Pupils will understand that ‘big questions’ must be explored, discussed and conclusions drawn.
•Collaboration will be at the heart of our science lessons.
•Teaching and learning will take place in and out of the classroom.
•A range of experiences through cross curricular work, visits, visitors and science days will give the opportunity for a greater breadth of learning in science.
Implementation
Teachers create a positive attitude to science learning within their classrooms and reinforce an expectation that all children are capable of achieving high standards in science. Our whole school approach to the teaching and learning of science involves the following;
- Science will be taught in planned and arranged topic blocks by the class teacher. This is a strategy to enable the achievement of a greater depth of knowledge.
- Through our planning, we involve problem solving opportunities that allow children to find out for themselves. Children are encouraged to ask their own questions and be given opportunities to use their scientific skills and research to discover the answers. This curiosity is celebrated within the classroom. Planning involves teachers creating engaging lessons, often involving high-quality resources to aid understanding of conceptual knowledge. Teachers use precise questioning in class to test conceptual knowledge and skills, and assess children regularly to identify those children with gaps in learning, so that all children keep up.
- We build upon the learning and skill development of the previous years. As the children’s knowledge and understanding increases, and they become more proficient in selecting, 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 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, Forest School and workshops with experts.
Impact
Our Science curriculum will give children the confidence and motivation to continue to further develop their Our pupils will experience a fun, high-quality science education, that provides children with the foundations and knowledge for understanding the world. Our engagement with the local environment ensures that children learn through varied and first hand experiences of the world around them. Frequent, continuous and progressive learning outside the classroom is embedded throughout the science curriculum. Our Science curriculum will give children the confidence and motivation to continue to further develop their skills into the next stage of their education and life experiences.
