Science

The Intent of our Science Curriculum

The National Curriculum (2015) states that ‘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’.

It aims to:

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.
Equip pupils with the knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of science, today and for the future.

At Royal Cross, we want our children to have an interest in science and how it impacts our daily lives. We want them to constantly be asking questions, both ‘big’ and ‘small’, as they seek to better understand the world they live in and the fundamental scientific laws that govern it, from gravity to evolution to the way light travels. Moreover, we want to ensure that they understand the role that science and scientists (in particular deaf scientists) have played in our past and how science will continue to play a vital role in our future, especially in the areas of healthcare and the environment. By the time they leave Royal Cross, we want our children to have become informed, curious, and scientifically literate, and our science curriculum is designed to build the broad foundations of that goal.

It is key that knowledge content and practical skills are taught hand-in-hand, with children developing and building on their factual knowledge as they journey through the school, making links between topics applying skills and understanding from previous learning to new areas as they are met. As part of this it is also vital that they are exposed to and specifically taught the essential scientific vocabulary and signs related to each topic in order to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding effectively.

At Royal Cross, we aim to ensure that our pupils develop an awareness of the influence of science in everyday life, demonstrate a caring attitude towards living things and the environment and show appreciation and wonder for the world around them.

The implementation of our Science curriculum

Planning

In Key stages 1 and 2, lessons are planned in accordance with the long term and medium term plans. Our pupils have communication difficulties arising from deafness and/or speech and language impairments hence we are aware of the need to use appropriate communication strategies and differentiated materials in order to access information and introduce concepts at appropriate linguistic levels.

Teaching and Delivery

EYFS

We teach science in the Foundation stage as an integral part of the topic work covered during the year. It comes under ‘Understanding the World’ in the EYFS and encompasses topics such as ‘All About Me’, ‘Animal Environments’, ‘Growth and ‘Change’, ’Space’, ‘Seasons and the Weather’, ‘Light and Dark’, ‘Down on the Farm’, ‘In the Garden’ and ‘Our Bodies’. Our children are supported in developing the knowledge, skills and understanding that help them to make sense of the world. Their learning must be supported through offering opportunities for them to use a range of tools safely; encounter creatures, people, plants, and objects in their natural environments and in real-life situations; undertake practical ‘experiments’; and work with a range of materials. In the Foundation Stage, children are taught science through the key area of learning set out within the EYFS Statutory Framework and, through a broad range of teacher-led, child initiated and continuous learning opportunities, which enable our children to:

Use their senses to investigate a range of objects and materials.
Find out about, identify and observe the different features of living things.
Look closely at similarities, differences, patterns and change.
Ask questions about why things happen and why things work.
Develop their communication and cooperation skills.
Talk about their findings.

Key Stages 1 and 2

In Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 science is taught by the Class Teachers for an hour each week in order to ensure consistency of staff, with additional activities such as visitors, workshops and trips to zoos, farms etc. scheduled throughout the year. Pupils also have Forest School sessions for one hour every week when they are able to explore the natural world around them and use simple tools to perform tasks and create items from natural sources. The environment lends itself to exploring seasonal change and using and discovering properties of materials, plants, habitats, animals and birds. It also provides a real-world context in which to investigate and develop working scientifically.

Vocabulary

Assessment

At Royal Cross we have robust target setting, assessment and analysis procedures which are very effective in meeting learning needs and ensuring pupils are making progress.

Assessment in science is an ongoing process. Teachers make informal judgements about a pupil’s progress and attainment via observation, listening, discussion and book content and, on completion of a piece of work, use this assessment to plan for future learning. Assessment of knowledge is also obtained through pre and post learning quizzes.

In Early Years, the Development Matters document is used to monitor and track progress throughout the EYFS and the children are assessed on a termly basis using the document. In Science the Early Years children are assessed in the area of ’Understanding the World’.

Throughout the rest of school, B Squared is used to monitor and track progress in science within the different areas of the subject. B Squared data is added by class teachers and analysed by the subject lead on a termly basis.

Resources

At Royal Cross we have a wide range of resources available to support each topic area, each member of staff having a detailed inventory of the resources available to them. Equipment which causes any cause for concern is immediately withdrawn and the lead for the science curriculum regularly checks equipment and replenishes anything which need replacing.

The Impact of our Science curriculum

At Royal Cross school, we have a successful science curriculum which enables pupils to have access to a wide range of activities both in and out of the classroom and have positive, successful experiences which provide them with a sense of awe and wonder for the world with which they interact.

The approach to science that we take at Royal Cross results in a fun, engaging, high quality education that provides pupils with the foundations and knowledge they need to succeed and fosters a love of science as a subject and respect for the world around them.

Children retain prior learning and make explicit connections between what they have learnt previously and what they are currently learning.

All children have:

Meaningful, memorable learning experiences
A wider variety of skills linked to both scientific knowledge and understanding and scientific enquiry/investigative skills.
A richer vocabulary which will enable them to articulate their understanding of taught concepts.
An awareness of and pride in the role which deaf scientists have played in the world of science.
Greater confidence and a love of learning for all things science.