Intent

At St Mary’s we aim to provide a high-quality science curriculum which provides the foundations for understanding the world through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics. Science has changed our lives and it is vital to the world’s future prosperity. All pupils should be taught essential scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding which can be demonstrated in written and verbal explanation, solving challenging problems and reporting scientific findings. We develop the ability for pupils to think independently and ask questions about working scientifically and the knowledge and skills it brings. Pupils will gain confidence and competence in the full range of practical skills, planning and carrying out scientific investigations. We endeavour to create a passion for science and its application in past, present and future technologies.

“Science and everyday life cannot and should not be separated.”

Rosalind Franklin

Implementation

Classes in KS1 and KS2 at St. Mary’s cover 5 or 6 Science units every year. All units of work are planned to build upon children’s prior learning. Children of all abilities are able to develop their knowledge and skill through careful planning of exciting and engaging activities by teachers. Children are challenged to apply the skills and knowledge they have gained more frequently as they move up through the school. Teachers carefully plan lessons to address common misconceptions and any gaps in understanding from previous topics or year groups.

Children at St. Mary’s can develop their ‘working scientifically’ skills as teachers plan activities that encourage children to ask and answer their own scientific questions, plan and prepare their own investigations, conduct and review their own fair tests, and draw conclusions from and evaluate these experiments. These practical skills serve to develop and build upon the key knowledge children gain from their rich and varied Science learning. Children can develop these key skills throughout their learning journey at St. Mary’s and these skills progress through the school, with children being challenged to

Children at St. Mary’s can develop and build on their key scientific knowledge. We believe there are key pieces of scientific knowledge and vocabulary that children must learn and remember. Children gain opportunities to do just this, as teachers regularly use and refer back to knowledge organisers in lessons. Teachers plan activities within a science lesson around the key knowledge or vocabulary in a particular topic. Teachers will also use assessment tasks towards the end of a topic, to ensure that children have learned these key pieces of information. This assessment informs future planning and is passed up to a child’s future teacher, to ensure that any gaps are addressed, even in a different year group.

Impact

Our approach to teaching Science will lead to children who are able to: remember key scientific knowledge; use challenging scientific vocabulary in their writing and when speaking about their learning; and can plan, prepare, conduct, draw conclusions from and evaluate a fair, scientific investigation. Children at St. Mary’s will demonstrate an interest in Science and the natural world and be able to ask and investigate their own questions about the world around them.

The impact of our curriculum can be demonstrated: through the quality lessons that teachers plan, prepare and teach; through speaking with our pupils about their Science learning; through the quality work and investigations that children have completed. Children’s learning in Science is assessed regularly and these assessments serve to inform future planning.

Threshold Concepts for Science:

Working Scientifically

Work scientifically

This concept involves learning the methodologies of the discipline of science.

Biology

Understand plants

This concept involves becoming familiar with different types of plants, their structure and reproduction.

Understand animals and humans

This concept involves becoming familiar with different types of animals, humans and the life processes they share.

Investigate living things

This concept involves becoming familiar with a wider range of living things, including insects and understanding life processes.

Understand evolution and inheritance

This concept involves understanding that organisms come into existence, adapt, change and evolve and become extinct.

 

Chemistry

Investigate materials

This concept involves becoming familiar with a range of materials, their properties, uses and how they may be altered or changed.

 

Physics

Understand movement, forces and magnets

This concept involves understanding what causes motion.

Understand the Earth’s movement in space

This concept involves understanding what causes seasonal changes, day and night.

Investigate light and seeing

This concept involves understanding how light and reflection affect sight.

Investigate sound and hearing

This concept involves understanding how sound is produced, how it travels and how it is heard.

Understand electrical circuits

This concept involves understanding circuits and their role in electrical applications.