Science

Intent

At St Peter’s Catholic Primary School, we recognise the importance of Science in every aspect of daily life. As one of the core subjects taught in Primary Schools, we give the teaching and learning of Science the prominence it requires. We have a coherently planned and sequenced curriculum which has been carefully designed and developed with the need of every child at the centre of what we do. We aim to stimulate and excite pupil’s curiosity about the world in which we live. We aim to develop positive attitudes to Science by engaging children in practical activities that develop their skills in enquiry, investigation, measurement and evaluation. We want our pupils to recognise the importance and impact that Science has on our everyday lives and also learn about Scientists and their key scientific discoveries. Through this, we hope to foster a love of Science and a desire to ask deeper questions about the world around them. Throughout the programmes of study, the children will acquire and develop the key knowledge and vocabulary that has been identified within each unit and across each year group, as well as the application of scientific skills. We ensure that the Working Scientifically skills are built-on and developed throughout children’s time at the school so that they can apply their knowledge of science when using equipment, conducting experiments, building arguments and explaining concepts confidently and continue to ask questions and be curious about their surroundings.

Implementation

At St Peter’s topics are taught within each year group in accordance with the National Curriculum. Science is taught each week and topics are blocked to allow children to focus on developing their knowledge and skills, studying each topic in depth. Every year group will build upon the learning from prior year groups therefore developing depth of understanding and progression of skills.

• Teachers promote enjoyment and foster interest of the scientific disciplines; Biology, Chemistry and Physics.
• Children explore, question, predict, plan, carry out investigations and observations as well as conclude their findings.
• Children present their findings and learning using science specific language, observations and diagrams.
• At the start of each topic children will review previous learning and will have the opportunity to share what they already know about a current topic.
• Children are given a knowledge organiser at the start of each topic which details some key Science Curriculum Statement information, dates and vocabulary. This is used to support children with their acquisition of knowledge and are used as a reference document.
• Within each lesson, there is a quiz to assess children’s understanding of the previous lessons and vocabulary. These also help to inform the teacher as to the children’s attainment.
• Teachers use effective assessment for learning in each lesson to ensure misconceptions are highlighted and addressed. At the end of a topic, there is a final quiz that is used for assessment purposes too.
• Effective CPD and standardisation opportunities are available to staff to ensure high levels of confidence and knowledge are maintained and staff have been guided to various free online training to support their delivery of the science curriculum.
• To support teaching, teachers access a range of resources and planning. We do not use a scheme but teachers use ASE, Plan and Explore.
• Effective use of education visits and visitors are planned, to enrich and enhance the pupil’s learning experiences within the Science curriculum.
• Effective modelling by teachers ensures that children are able to achieve their learning intention, with misconceptions addressed within it.
• Through using a range of assessment tools, differentiation is facilitated by teachers, to ensure that each pupil can access the Science curriculum.
• Cross-curricular links are planned for, with other subjects such as Maths, English and Computing.