Intent - What are we trying to achieve?

The primary aim of our science is to deliver a high-quality education which provides the foundations for understanding the world through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics.  Science has changed our lives and is vital to the world’s future prosperity, and all pupils should be taught the essential aspects of knowledge, methods, processes and uses of science. Through building up a body of key foundational knowledge and concepts, pupils should be encouraged to recognise the power of rational explanation and develop a sense of excitement and curiosity about natural phenomena.  They should be encouraged to understand how science can be used to explain what is occurring, predict how things will behave and analyse causes.  We ensure that Working Scientifically skills are the heartbeat of each lesson, where the skills are built on and developed throughout the child’s school journey.  Children learn about different scientist (including multi-cultural) throughout history and the impact they have had on people’s lives.  We encourage community involvement and ensure children are involved in various enrichment activities both in and outside of the school day. Our curriculum is coherently designed so skills and knowledge build up throughout the year to ensure children can do more and know more. 

Implementation - How will we achieve this?

We follow the national curriculum for science as the basis for all lessons.  The national curriculum for science ensure that all pupils:

-develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through 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 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.

• science is taught weekly and arranged in blocks in a medium-term plan.  We teach using a mastery approach where all children are aiming to achieve the same outcome and are supported accordingly and challenged to foster a greater depth understanding of concepts and given opportunities to apply their learning
• through our lesson design, children are encouraged to ask their own questions and explore different scientific enquiries.  High quality resources are used to enhance conceptual knowledge and develop children’s working scientifically skills.  Curiosity and hands on learning is encouraged to ensure children learn through exploration and problem solving. Teachers use children’s prior knowledge to build their learning and ensure children retain information through a range of retrieval practice techniques. 
• teachers model lessons to aid children to work independently, this allows teachers to question children, assess understanding and challenge misconceptions.  Gaps in knowledge are identified and planned for to ensure all children catch up and keep up
• working scientifically skills are the heart of each lesson and are developed across the year and built on throughout the child’s school journey. New science specific vocabulary is introduced through direct teaching and reinforced in lessons.  Children develop their oracy skills through talking about their learning, using STEM sentences, and clearly articulating their learning
• teachers use the local environment and the school ground to enhance learning opportunities and learn through the natural environment.  Science capital and community is promoted through learning about scientists, being part of enrichment weeks, school competitions and involving the families into science learning
• children use knowledge organisers to ensure learning is embedded into the long-term memory and can use to recap previous learning
• specialist visitors deliver high quality workshops to facilitate and support science learning by building on the children’s prior knowledge and aspire them to think of their futures and their prospective career paths

Attainment targets

By the end of each key stage, pupils are expected to know, apply and understand the matters, skills and processes specified in the relevant programme of study.

Key stage 1

The principal focus of science teaching in key stage 1 is to enable pupils to experience and observe phenomena, looking more closely at the natural and humanly constructed world around them. They should be encouraged to be curious and ask questions about what they notice. They should be helped to develop their understanding of scientific ideas by using different types of scientific enquiry to answer their own questions, including observing changes over a period of time, noticing patterns, grouping and classifying things, carrying out simple comparative tests, and finding things out using secondary sources of information. They should begin to use simple scientific language to talk about what they have found out and communicate their ideas to a range of audiences in a variety of ways. Most of the learning about science should be done through the use of first-hand practical experiences, but there should also be some use of appropriate secondary sources, such as books, photographs and videos.

‘Working scientifically’ is described separately in the programme of study, but must always be taught through and clearly related to the teaching of substantive science content in the programme of study. Throughout the notes and guidance, examples show how scientific methods and skills might be linked to specific elements of the content.

Pupils should read and spell scientific vocabulary at a level consistent with their increasing word-reading and spelling knowledge at key stage 1.

Key stage 2

Lower key stage 2 – years 3 and 4

The principal focus of science teaching in lower key stage 2 is to enable pupils to broaden their scientific view of the world around them. They should do this through exploring, talking about, testing and developing ideas about everyday phenomena and the relationships between living things and familiar environments, and by beginning to develop their ideas about functions, relationships and interactions. They should ask their own questions about what they observe and make some decisions about which types of scientific enquiry are likely to be the best ways of answering them, including observing changes over time, noticing patterns, grouping and classifying things, carrying out simple comparative and fair tests and finding things out using secondary sources of information. They should draw simple conclusions and use some scientific language, first, to talk about and, later, to write about what they have found out.

‘Working scientifically’ is described separately at the beginning of the programme of study, but must always be taught through and clearly related to substantive science content in the programme of study. Throughout the notes and guidance, examples show how scientific methods and skills might be linked to specific elements of the content.

Pupils should read and spell scientific vocabulary correctly and with confidence, using their growing word-reading and spelling knowledge.

Upper key stage 2 – years 5 and 6

The principal focus of science teaching in upper key stage 2 is to enable pupils to develop a deeper understanding of a wide range of scientific ideas. They should do this through exploring and talking about their ideas; asking their own questions about scientific phenomena; and analysing functions, relationships and interactions more systematically. At upper key stage 2, they should encounter more abstract ideas and begin to recognise how these ideas help them to understand and predict how the world operates. They should also begin to recognise that scientific ideas change and develop over time. They should select the most appropriate ways to answer science questions using different types of scientific enquiry, including observing changes over different periods of time, noticing patterns, grouping and classifying things, carrying out comparative and fair tests and finding things out using a wide range of secondary sources of information. Pupils should draw conclusions based on their data and observations, use evidence to justify their ideas, and use their scientific knowledge and understanding to explain their findings.

‘Working and thinking scientifically’ is described separately at the beginning of the programme of study, but must always be taught through and clearly related to substantive science content in the programme of study. Throughout the notes and guidance, examples show how scientific methods and skills might be linked to specific elements of the content. Pupils should read, spell and pronounce scientific vocabulary correctly.

Impact - What difference will it make? 

At YFPS, children:

• are able to carry out investigations using different enquiry approaches, e.g. comparative/fair testing, resources, observation, pattern-seeking, identifying and grouping
• are able to explain the processes they have chosen and are able to reason scientifically
• are exposed to a diverse range of scientists from the past and present as role models and to inspire them to succeed in science
• are able to use their learning in science to influence their life choices
• understand how their body changes as they get older, helping to raise their self-esteem and confidence when they go through these changes
• can link their science learning to other areas of the curriculum, making connections that aid retention and application
• can use a range of retrieval practice to support retention of information into the long-term memory
• can use the local environment to learn through first-hand experiences of the world around them
• Through various workshops, trips and interactions with experts and local companies, children have the understanding that science has changed our lives and that it is vital to the worlds future prosperity
• Children learn the possibilities for careers in science as a result of our community links and connections with national agencies and parents

Children at Yealmpstone Farm show a real passion and enjoyment for science, and this results in motivated and driven learners.