Science

The Science lead is Miss Roy.

‘We learn science to inspire our children to be inquisitive learners who have a thirst for understanding the world around them’.

Intent

At Kirk Smeaton CE Primary school, it is our intention to provide a high-quality Science that provides children with a lifelong curiosity and interest in the world that God created and the Scientific innovations that help to explain our world. It is our intention to provide children with the foundations to recognise the importance of Science in every aspect of daily life.

We encourage children to understand how science can be used to predict, carry out a variety of systematic investigations, explain what is occurring, evaluate and analyse and to ask and answer scientific questions about the world around them and to care for each other and the environment around them, as Jesus taught us.

Our curriculum enables children to become enquiry-based learners who collaborate through researching, investigating and evaluating experiences. As children move through school, they build on their working scientifically skills, as well as their scientific knowledge by developing greater independence in planning and carrying out fair and comparative tests to answer a range of scientific questions. Children are immersed in key scientific vocabulary, which is easily accessible on each child's science knowledge organiser, supporting in the acquisition of scientific knowledge and understanding.

Throughout our immersive Science curriculum, we also endeavour to use outdoor learning wherever possible in order for our children to work in ‘real’ situations, using the world around them as a basis for enquiry, discussion and evaluation. We encourage being outdoors wherever possible and believe that this also serves as an opportunity to develop children’s emotional and spiritual wellbeing. All children will be provided with a broad and balanced science curriculum that provides the opportunity for progression across the full breadth of the science national curriculum for EYFS, KS1 and KS2.

Implementation

Kirk Smeaton CE Primary does not adhere to the use of one specific scheme for our teaching of Science, using an eclectic and autonomous approach which is not overly prescriptive, but provides a wide range of teaching and learning opportunities for our children. We use a variety of resources in order to ensure the full coverage of the National Curriculum and follow the programme of study for each year group carefully. We are confident that we provide the right balance between working scientifically and the learning of scientific facts.

Our Science lessons are a mixture of written, oral, practical and experimental to ensure all children are immersed into each topic. We also provide guest speakers and interactive talks that like with our science topics.

We use the ‘Natural Curriculum’ to draw on links between Science, Maths, English and other topic areas to provide further cross-curricular reading and writing opportunities linked to the context of current scientific topics. The use of texts and secondary sources engages children to create links and make comparisons to their learning in Science. This varied approach to our teaching ensures that children are equipped and immersed in secure scientific subject knowledge.

Impact

The successful approach to the teaching of science at Kirk Smeaton results 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.

Progress at Kirk Smeaton is measured through end of unit quizzes at the end of each topic, flashcards in the classroom to refer back to the topic completed all year round and weekly BBQ (Big Box of Questions) quizzes which include asking the children the 'sticky' knowledge from each topic, building this up all year round.

We also regularly complete book looks, pupil voice, action plans and Science ambassador check ins to identify the children's opinions and progress throughout this topic. Books are marked weekly to ensure any misconceptions are addressed instantly to then inform data spread sheets which are completed half-termly to identify the children who have met the objectives.

Please see the Vocabulary Progression

Please see the Science Whole School Long Term Plan

Please see the Science Policy

Links to Useful Websites

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize

https://www.ducksters.com/science/

https://www.nasa.gov/kidsclub/index.html

https://wowscience.co.uk/

https://www.schoolscience.co.uk/home

https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/

Topics covered: (Click on the subjects to open a new window)