Science

At Cledford Primary School, we aim to deliver a high quality science education which enables learners to:

• develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding
• develop an understanding of nature, processes and methods of science through different types of scientific enquiries that help them to answer scientific questions about the world around them
• be equipped with the scientific skills required to understand the uses and implications of science today and in the future

Intent

We want children to be inspired and encouraged to be inquisitive about the world. We want to provide them with skills that are useful across their learning and life. Science is for everyone. Giving them an understanding of science allows children to make judgements about technologies, health and other important factors of the world.

We want all children to have a positive experience of science giving it clear purpose and meaning in the world today, so that it excites and engages all learners and teachers.

Deleloping the children’s vocabulary is paramount. As science is a discipline that relies heavily on the ability to understand new terms and concepts, our strong focus on vocabulary helps our students to reduce the barriers they have to learning and communicate using the appropriate terminology. 

Implementation

Our curriculum is designed to ignite the imagination of our pupils. Planning for science is a process in which all teachers are involved to ensure that the school gives full coverage of the National Curriculum programmes of study for Science 2014 and ‘Understanding of the World’ in the Early Years Foundation Stage. 

Science teaching involves adapting and extending the curriculum to match all pupils’ needs and making it bespoke for our pupils and the community.

Science at Cledford Primary School is sequential, allowing children to develop their skills and knowledge over time, deepening learning to provide the foundations so they know more, remember more and are able to do more in different contexts. Scientific knowledge is embedded throughout the primary curriculum. For example: plants is taught in KS1 and again in KS2 in order to build on their prior knowledge, embedding their knowledge into long term memory and further develops their skills.  

Teachers create yearly long-term plans with the support of subject leaders, identifying the curriculum end points. Medium term plans are developed collaboratively with subject leaders and class teachers. Lessons are sequential and use a variety of scientific enquiries throughout each topic. In giving the children a variety of skills, our children can develop and reach their individual potential and succeed in life. These different scientific enquiry skills (observing over time, pattern seeking, research, comparative and fair testing and identifying, classifying and grouping) are embedded into lessons throughout each topic. These scientific enquiry skills are displayed in the classroom on science working walls and identified each lesson.

Scientific Enquiry Expectations:

• KS1 – with the support of the teacher, the children will be able to identify the scientific enquiry they have used
• LKS2 – As the children are carrying out a specific type of scientific enquiry, they will be able to identify which one they are using
• UKS2 – Children will be able to identify which type of scientific enquiry would be appropriate to use

This is done so that the children will become more independent in their problem solving, to discover answers to their questions and to become 'true scientists'. 

Each science unit begins with a pre-assessment task, where children develop (or are given in KS1) a bank of vocabulary to support their learning. At the end of each unit, children are assessed through a variety of processes: talk like an expert, low stakes quizzes and formal assessment where appropriate. Each lesson includes a recap of prior ‘sticky’ knowledge (this could be from a previous lesson in the sequence or a prior learning from previous year groups where necessary) to support children in knowing more and remembering more. Scientific ‘sticky’ knowledge is stuck into the children’s books at the beginning of a topic and uses as a focus for assessment.

Impact 

The successful approach to the teaching of science at Cledford 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 is teacher based and formed using formal strategies (e.g. end of topic assessment tasks, quizzes) and informal strategies (verbal/written outcomes, talk like an expert).

Formative assessment is used as the main tool for assessing the impact of science at Cledford Primary School as it allows teachers to identify misconceptions and the gaps to be addressed more immediately rather than building on insecure scientific foundations.