Science

Intent

The intent of Brodetsky Primary School’s Science curriculum is to ensure that all children are taught age appropriate science subject knowledge, as laid out by the National Curriculum, in a meaningful way. We want to encourage children to be inquisitive about the world, nurturing their innate curiosity and making science meaningful by demonstrating how science impacts their lives and the world around them. We want them to understand how major scientific ideas and specific scientists in the past have contributed toward the world in which we all live. By working scientifically, through investigations involving planning, testing, recording and analysing results, children will come to understand what it means to be a scientist. We must also enable them to develop a range of transferable skills that are useful across the whole curriculum and beyond, including explanation, observation, prediction, discussion and working as a team. Clear communication is vital so we value the importance of developing spoken language during science lessons. We want the children to be immersed in subject specific language to enable development and confidence in using scientific vocabulary to articulate concepts clearly. We will look for opportunities for cross-curricular links to help embed and add meaning to the children’s learning.

 

Implementation

Long Term Curriculum Plan & Science Subject Map

The Long Term Curriculum Plan and Science Subject Map will reflect exactly what content, knowledge and skills are critical for pupils to progress through the curriculum in each year. Curriculum coverage for each year group and how these topics progress across the years is shown in these documents.

 

Topic Blocks

Science is taught in topic blocks with cross curricular links where possible to enable the achievement of greater depth of knowledge.

 

Curriculum Knowledge Organisers

Teachers will have access to curriculum knowledge organisers for each science topic which contain key facts, vocabulary, prior learning, key concepts and other information. This will aid planning and teaching and help ensure that all key content is taught in each block.

 

Working Scientifically

These processes and methods should be embedded in lessons and explicitly referred to 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.

 

Subject specific vocabulary

Subject specific vocabulary will be identified through knowledge organisers and displays, and highlighted to the children at the beginning of lessons.

 

Books

Children will have access to a wide variety of subject specific fiction and non-fiction Science books, available in classrooms from the LCC Topic boxes, and from the school library.

 

Scientific Writing

Scientific writing using high quality scientific language is to be encouraged in all science work. Children will be encouraged to demonstrate high quality writing across the whole curriculum.

 

Use of scientific resources

Where possible, children will have access to scientific equipment to explore and investigate. Children will get a first-hand learning experience by performing various experiments.

 

Science Displays

Science displays provide a way to introduce new material and showcase students’ work. The five enquiry types (Observation over time, Pattern seeking, Identifying, classifying and grouping, Comparative and Fair Testing, Research using secondary sources) will also be displayed in every classroom with examples from the children’s own investigations.

 

Outdoor learning

Children learn in a variety of ways, and so where appropriate, we will find opportunities for children to learn science outside the classroom. On the school campus, we have access to our upper and lower playgrounds, large forest area, copse of trees and extensive school fields.

 

Impact

 

  • Most of our learners will achieve age related expectations in science at the end of each year.
  • Learners will retain their previous learning and build upon it in the future.
  • Learner will feel confident to ask questions, suggest answers to questions and use scientific vocabulary when talking about their learning.
  • Learners will feel confident to talk about their learning in science.

 

Website Links

BBC Bitesize Science

What you need to know about primary Science

Science Fun at Home

Primary Science Topics