Science

Intent

At St Bede’s Primary School it is our vision to instill a lifelong love of science within our pupils and we want pupils to understand the the exciting world in which they live.  Science has changed our lives and is vital to the world’s future prosperity. We work hard to provide a rich and varied curriculum to challenge and meet the needs of our children. We believe all pupils should be taught essential aspects of the knowledge, methods, processes and uses of science. From EYFS up to KS2 our pupils will build up a body of key foundational knowledge and concepts; pupils are encouraged to recognise the power of rational explanation and develop a sense of excitement and curiosity about natural phenomena. Science brings wonder and wow!

At St Bede’s Primary School, scientific enquiry skills are embedded in each topic the children study and these topics are revisited and developed throughout their time at school. Topics, such as plants are taught at Key Stage One and studied again in further detail throughout Key Stage Two. This allows children to build upon their prior knowledge and increases their enthusiasm for the topics whilst embedding this procedural knowledge into the long-term memory.

All children are encouraged to develop and use a range of skills including observations, planning and investigations, as well as being encouraged to question the world around them and become independent learners in exploring possible answers for their scientific based questions. Specialist vocabulary is taught and built up, and effective questioning to communicate ideas is encouraged. Concepts taught should be reinforced by focusing on the key features of scientific enquiry, so that pupils learn to use a variety of approaches to answer relevant scientific questions.

Implementation

Teachers create a positive attitude to science learning within their classrooms and reinforce an expectation that all pupils are capable of achieving high standards in science.

Our whole school approach to the teaching and learning of science involves the following;

  • Existing knowledge is checked at the beginning of each topic using a concept map. These are used as a whole class and teacher led in KS1 and developed to be used by individual children in KS2. These allow children to record their thoughts, ideas and knowledge about each science topic.  Children will then add to these concept maps as they move through the topic, using different colours to show their 'new knowledge.' 
  • We use the Plymouth Science scheme of work to ensure careful sequencing and delivery of a full knowledge-based content of the Primary National Curriculum from EYFS to Year 6.   Every lesson does not only include a knowledge learning objective, but also objectives for 'Working Scientifically' and for 'Scientific Enquiry.' This ensures our children are developing these scientific skills throughout their learning. 
  • The 'Scientific Enquiry' skills we are developing are:- comparative fair testing,  research, observations over time, pattern seeking and identifying and classifying.
  • Our 'Working Scientifically' skills are:- questioning, prediction, setting up tests, observation and measurement, recording, interpreting results and evaluating. 
  • 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 pupils regularly to identify those children with gaps in learning, so that all pupils keep up. Tasks are selected and designed to provide appropriate challenge to all learners, in line with the school’s commitment to inclusion. 
  • We build upon the knowledge and skill development of the previous years. As the children’s knowledge and understanding increases, 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. 
  • 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. 
  • We try to offer children a wide range of extra-curricular activities, visits, trips and visitors to complement and broaden the curriculum. These are purposeful and link with the knowledge being taught in class.
  • At the end of each topic, key knowledge is reviewed by the children and rigorously checked by the teacher and consolidated as necessary.  Teachers assess against Key Indicators from the Plymouth Science Scheme for the topic they have taught and build up a picture of the child over the year.
  • Each child has a class Science book to record any group or class work; this book is displayed in class. 
  • Work is recorded regularly on Seesaw by class teachers which is shared with parents.  The science page on the school website is updated regularly to show the children across all age groups working in their science lessons in school and out on field trips.

Our Science curriculum is high quality, well thought out and is planned to demonstrate progression. Children enjoy and are enthusiastic about science in our school; their work shows a range of topics and evidence of curriculum coverage for all science topics. Standards in science at the end of the key stages are good and issues arising are addressed effectively in school. Our SLT and governors are kept up to date with developments in the way science is run in our school with action plans and review meetings.

Downloads