Curriculum Statement: Science

We are a member of the East Lancashire Ogden Trust Partnership.

Intent

At Gisburn Primary School, we aim to prepare our children for their future with a “hands –on”, inquiry-based science curriculum that enables them to confidently explore and discover the world around them. We will motivate and actively engage our children, to nurture and grow their curiosity. Core scientific knowledge and skills are taught through direct teaching, experimentation and exploration. Our intent is for all our children to be life- long learners who are: inquisitive, independent thinkers, confident to ask ‘Big Questions and Challenge their Findings’ and who are well prepared for their future in the ever changing world.

We want our children to be inquisitive, investigative and innovative scientists who are fully involved in the scientific world we now live in, where amazing findings are made every day. We want our pupils to embrace their learning in Science and make discoveries of their own. 

Implementation

At Gisburn Primary school, we provide an immersive science curriculum that stimulates children’s excitement and curiosity about the world around them. Our children enjoy learning through practical exploration and investigation and are empowered to ask and answer their own questions using a range of enquiry types. Through our curriculum, we aim to inspire children and enable them to recognise the relevance and importance of science to their own lives.

Our whole curriculum is shaped by our school vision, which aims to enable all children, regardless of background, ability, additional needs, to flourish to become the very best version of themselves they can possibly be.

We teach the National Curriculum, supported by a clear skills and knowledge progression. This ensures that skills and knowledge are built on year-by-year and sequenced appropriately to maximise learning for all children.

We use a range of resources to plan from including Lancashire’s Inspiring Science and Ogden Trust resources. As well as through planned mini projects and enhancements, such as. The Travelling Science Show. At Gisburn Primary School, specific Science units are taught on a two yearly rolling programme, building on from previously taught units and skill coverage.

From the foundations in Early Years, where children learn about the natural world through exploration, observation and problem-solving, our curriculum is purposefully sequenced to ensure that children develop an extensive and connected knowledge base that builds both substantive and disciplinary knowledge. Teachers use a range of high-quality teaching and learning strategies which challenge and support the learning needs of all children. This ensures that every learner can fulfil their potential no matter what their starting point, ability or needs. We have the ethos of every child a learner and provide equal learning opportunities in Science for children to therefore ‘keep up not catch up’. Lessons are purposeful and contextualise pupils’ learning within the real world. Children are immersed in scientific vocabulary which develops their understanding of the topic and of the world around them.

• The relevant vocabulary is visible in every child’s knowledge organiser and is referred to during each science lesson. We also provide a range of enrichment activities to deepen and extend children’s learning and enhance their ‘Science Capital’.
• High quality teaching and learning is embedded within every lesson. We begin each lesson with a short review of previous learning to ensure that pupils remember the content that has been taught to them over the long term. Key vocabulary is introduced and consolidated.
• Scaffolds are provided to ensure every child is a successful learner. A lesson typically ends with a structured reflection to assess children’s understanding whilst also enabling pupils to evaluate their learning.

We use a range of strategies and processes to assess children’s subject knowledge and working scientifically skills. Staff use focused assessments to assess children’s working scientifically skills as well as their key understanding of the topic.  Children also complete an informal assessment quiz linked to the Knowledge Organiser at the end of each unit which questions them on the key knowledge for that topic, Pupil Interviews also take place. Teachers use this data to inform future planning, targeting any gaps in knowledge or skills to ensure that our pupils have every opportunity to develop as investigative scientists. At the end of each unit, teachers make a summative judgement relating to the children’s knowledge and understanding. This is recorded on the school’s assessment tracker and outlines whether children are on track or working towards the standard.

Evidence includes:

• Images and videos of the children’s practical learning.
• Interviewing the pupils about their learning.
• Marking of written work in books.

Early Years Foundation Stage

In EYFS, ‘science’ forms part of Understanding the World, Physical Development and Expressive Arts and Design.  The principal focus of science teaching in the Early Years Foundation Stage is to build upon children’s natural fascination with the world in which they live and their desire to find out more about the phenomena occurring around them. This fascination is developed both indoors and outdoors, through first hand exploration, which fosters curiosity, critical reflection, co-operation, problem solving, observation, independent learning, and perseverance and open mindedness. Children are exposed to the early elements of the five main branches of science in their play; they observe seasonal change, learn about themselves, how to care for the environment, as well as growing plants and observe material changes and movements.

Our science teaching leads to an appreciation of science as a fundamental part of everyday life and allows children to develop confidently within a scientific society.

Key Stage 1

At Key Stage 1, pupils are exploring and making sense of the world around them; naming things and understanding how they fit in their environment. ‘Inspiring Science’ applies the National Curriculum programmes of study by helping children to identify living things and their habitats, animals and humans, materials and their uses, plants and seasonal change. There is a clear progression pathway and children are encouraged to work scientifically, investigating, observing, recording and sharing, using simple equipment increasing their curiosity for their surroundings.

Lower Key Stage 2

Having established the foundational scientific concepts, we now add depth to their understanding of the areas from KS1 and broaden the range of topics and concepts studied; rocks, plant functions and growth, skeletons and movements, teeth and digestion and eventually, states of matter, sound, and electricity. Children are immersed and progressively build on their foundational scientific knowledge and vocabulary. We continue to encourage children to be inquisitive through real life experiences.

Upper Key Stage 2

We ensure topics are visited at each key stage progressively, adhering to the National Curriculum. By Year 5 and Year 6, pupils are becoming confident and independent young scientists. Following the same scientific strands, these children study areas such as Life Cycles linking to Evolution and Inheritance, Forces, Earth and Space as well as investigating properties and changes in materials. Through their explorations, they raise questions, make simple hypotheses that they test, collect data for, then subject to analysis and report their findings.

Impact

Our science curriculum is high quality, well thought out and planned to ensure progression. The impact of this is that our children know more, remember more and can do more. They can apply their knowledge, skills and understanding to real-life situations. They have the vocabulary to confidently articulate their understanding of taught concepts. They appreciate the awe and wonder of science and develop enquiring and reflective minds. When children leave our school, they have a clear understanding of why science is important in their life and have the skills to support them in a future career which will undoubtedly involve scientific processes.