Science
Purpose of study
A high-quality science education 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 essential aspects of the 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.
Aims
The national curriculum for science aims to ensure that all pupils:
- develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the 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 to 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.
The Science Curriculum at Cuddington
Cuddington Community will “Bring out the Best” in our pupils by providing a language rich and diverse experience both within and beyond the classroom. Our flexible approach enables everyone to thrive personally and academically, overcome challenges and prepare them for lifelong learning.
This is reflected in our curriculum approach to learning Science, using the aims set out in Development Matters (2021) and the National Curriculum (2014) as frameworks for how we map content, ensure progression in knowledge and sequence our units of work.
Cuddington Whole School Science Overview
Intent
It is our goal at Cuddington Community Primary School to deliver a high-quality science education that gives children the foundations they need to understand the value of science in all aspects of life. We place great emphasis on the appropriate knowledge, skills and subject-specific vocabulary to be successful and ready for the next stage of their education.
Children will be able to become inquiry-based learners who collaborate by exploring, investigating, and analysing experiences as part of our curriculum. It will instil a sense of reverence for living things and the natural world.
Teachers will guarantee that all students receive high-quality instruction and learning opportunities. These will pique the children's interest, allowing them to acquire a sense of wonder and awe for natural phenomenon. They will be encouraged to ask questions about the world around them and to work scientifically to improve their conceptual and scientific knowledge.
Children will be taught how science can be used to explain what is happening, forecast how things will behave, and investigate causes. It will allow students to evaluate evidence critically and rationally explain scientific phenomena, as well as apply their mathematical skills to their understanding of science, including data collection, presentation, and analysis. Children will be exposed to key scientific terminology, which will aid in the development of scientific knowledge and comprehension.
Implementation
Cuddington Community Primary School use high quality resources from SNAP science in KS1 and KS2 in lessons for science and have developed a comprehensive curriculum. It provides the right balance between working scientifically and learning scientific facts, which supports teaching, learning and assessment.
The curriculum we provide links directly to scientific knowledge, skills and understanding to ensure that learning is progressive and continuous.
Our curriculum is based on the idea that students should be more involved in their work. It necessitates in-depth thinking and encourages students to work from a question as a starting point, evaluating various research options. They do this through investigating, discussing, testing, and creating ideas about everyday events and the interconnections between living things and their surroundings, as well as beginning to develop their understanding of functions, relationships, and interactions. They formulate their own questions about what they see and decide which types of scientific inquiry are most likely to provide the best answers, such as observing changes over time, noticing patterns, grouping and classifying objects, conducting simple comparative and fair tests, and obtaining information from secondary sources. They develop simple inferences and communicate and write about their findings using scientific terminology.
Children will be able to build on prior knowledge and link ideas together, enabling them to question and become enquiry-based learners. Children are also asked to review their learning at the end of each topic. These ‘reflection’ tasks provide children with an opportunity to share their learning more widely with other children and parents through a variety of means e.g. learning presentations, talks, report writing etc.
Memorable knowledge and skills have been identified for each of the units to provide progressive acquisition of knowledge. This is supported using vocabulary which is displayed on science working walls and subject specific knowledge mats. Teachers regularly refer to this knowledge and key vocabulary. This enables children to readily apply knowledge and vocabulary to their written, mathematical and verbal communication of skills.
Our implementation ensures that children ‘know more, remember more, and do more’ building on and connecting what they have learned across lessons, between units within a subject and then across the curriculum between subjects.
Impact
The successful approach to the teaching of science at Cuddington Community Primary School will result in a fun, engaging, high quality science education, that provides children with the foundations for understanding the world that they can take with them once they complete their primary education.
Assessment at Cuddington Community Primary School is teacher based and formed using formal strategies and are assessed. Formative assessment is used as the main tool for assessing the impact of science at Cuddington Community Primary School as it allows for misconceptions and gaps to be addressed immediately rather than building on insecure scientific foundations.
The children at Cuddington Community Primary School will:
- show a passion for science work and a desire to learn more and work in this profession
- retain science-related knowledge in a real-world environment
- be able to challenge ideas and reflect on what they've learned.
- be able to express their comprehension of scientific concepts and reason scientifically using rich science-related language.
- show a strong interest in mathematics via their work, which includes organising, recording, and interpreting outcomes.
- investigate and experiment in a collaborative and practical manner.
- at the end of their cohort year, they will have met their age-related science expectations.
- know more, remember more, and do more: connecting what they have learned across lessons, between units within a subject and then across the curriculum between subjects. This will be evident in contributions made by children in lessons, conversations with children and work produced by children.