Science
Intent
In Science, the intent of our curriculum is to foster children’s understanding of the wider world they live in. This is linked closely to some of our Christian values of compassion for others, justice for all and persevering in the face of problems, ‘letting their light shine.’ We want our children to think like scientists developing skills of prediction, communicating thinking, creating theories, summarising findings and analysing results
The aims of the Science Curriculum follow that of the National Curriculum, ensuring children have secure understanding of not only substantive knowledge but also disciplinary knowledge. High expectations are set for all learners regardless of their background or attainment level.
Implementation
The Science Curriculum is designed so that taught knowledge and skills are built upon each week, term and year, with strong links to our local community such as animals and plant life. This helps our children to know more, remember more and do more. To aid children’s retention of knowledge and skills we use knowledge organisers, low stakes retrieval quizzes as well as ongoing formative assessment and feedback. Our children are proactive in each Science lesson, identifying how their previous learning supports the understanding of new concepts and children have the opportunity to regularly identify which of the 5 lines of enquiry they are developing and which working scientifically skills they are using. Concepts are further strengthened and developed through the use of relevant high quality texts, the teaching of subject specific vocabulary to help children explain their understanding. Furthermore, the children’s science capital is nurtured through building their understanding of significant scientists and how the science they are learning links to current sustainable world goals. Children participate in enrichment activities to further enhance their scientific learning such as Science Week and CREST awards, or becoming Science Ambassadors.
Impact
Children are an active part of assessing their own learning, through regular feedback in lessons and through post learning quizzes. At the end of each unit, teachers assess children’s progress against the objectives of the National Curriculum for core knowledge and working scientifically skills. These assessments build an accurate picture of each child’s overall scientific progress as they move from year group to year group, to ensure they are ready for the next stage of their learning. Children will apply their learning to solve real world problems such as the sustainable development goals, enabling them to become scientists and innovators of the future.
If you would like any further information about our curriculum, please contact the school office.