Science at Chesterton Primary School
Curriculum Intent
Science Branches
At Chesterton Primary School we pride ourselves on delivering a Science curriculum which has been designed to increase our pupils' knowledge and understanding of the world in order to equip pupils with skills for future careers. Our Science curriculum has been designed with the intent to meet the objectives guided by the National Curriculum for Science (2014) and the belief that should be delivered in creative, active ways which allow learners to follow their own leads of learning.
We have collaboratively created a top 5 key principles to good Science teaching which are at the heart of each Science lesson delivered.
- Children develop a solid understanding of scientific knowledge and vocabulary, recognise it's purpose and use this beyond the classroom.
- Children are curious learners and develop higher-level thinking in order to answer a variety of questions both in the classroom and in the world around them.
- Children are given the opportunity to plan and conduct their own investigations.
- Children are encouraged to work scientifically in order to conduct comparative and fair tests in a variety of scientific areas.
- Children can see the importance of Science and link it to the wider world and future careers.
- Children show a true enthusiasm for Science and are engaged in their learning.
To develop both knowledge and scientific enquiry skills, which will equip pupils for future careers. We believe Science should be delivered in creative, active ways which allow children to take ownership over their learning and provide wider links to other subjects within the curriculum. Where possible we enrich pupils learning through extra curricular activities and opportunities to experience science in action through trips and visitors.
Our Science curriculum provides a balanced focus on both knowledge and enquiry skills, which are delivered to developed our learners independence as well as encouraging the ethos of learning through high quality questions. We have worked to develop our Science icon Dr Iprof using an acronym to break down the Science enquiry skills to scaffold children's understanding.
Implementation:
Science is taught weekly and blocked into timetabled slots following a long term plan. The different topics of Science are spread across the year throughout year groups. Medium terms plans are used to home in on skills and knowledge and break these down into manageable chunks for our pupils. Teachers check on what children already know using retrieval techniques through all lessons so that children are able to make links to prior learning. Each Science lesson has a dual objective - a knowledge skill and a science enquiry skill allowing children to make links between what they know and investigating why, what and how?
Impact
The successful approach to the teaching of science at Chesterton 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 informal strategies such as verbal and written outcomes, retrieval tasks, quizzes and reflection tasks both half termly and in the moment AFL. The ongoing assessment of Science, allows for misconceptions and gaps to be addressed more immediately rather than building on insecure scientific foundations.
Children at Chesterton Primary School will:
- lead their own paths of investigating
- make links between their learning and real life context.
- question ideas and reflect on knowledge.
- understand scientific concepts and use the appropriate scientific vocabulary around this.
- use and explain the different scientific enquiry skills (fair and comparative tests, pattern seek , identify and classify, research and observe over time)
- Work collaboratively and practically to investigate and experiment.
Science Long Term Plan
Science Key Concepts
Science Progression Documents