Science

Intent

At Woodloes Primary School, the intent of our science curriculum is to prepare our children for their future with a practical “hands –on”, inquiry-based science curriculum that enables them to confidently explore and discover the world around them. Core scientific vocabulary, knowledge, and skills are taught through direct teaching, experimentation and exploration, with the children having regular opportunities to produce cross-curricular work and real-life writing. Alongside our children, we develop a sense of excitement and nurture a culture of curiosity, and with that, an understanding and appreciation of the place of science in society.

Our intentions in science are to:

•          Prepare our children for life in an increasingly scientific and technological world.
•          Stimulate a child’s curiosity in finding out why things happen in the way that they do.
•          Teach methods of enquiry and investigation to stimulate creative thought.
•          Appreciate the way in which science will affect the future on a personal, national and global level.
•          Enable children to ask and answer scientific questions.
•          To observe, explain, hypothesize, predict, investigate, fair-test, and communicate ideas.

Implementation

Our aim is to provide a science curriculum which enables children to build up a body of key knowledge and an understanding of key scientific concepts through investigation. The curriculum we deliver enables children to apply their scientific understanding to rationalise and explain new phenomena while developing a sense of excitement and curiosity.

The Kapow Primary Scheme is used to plan and teach science sessions; ensuring full coverage of  content of the National Curriculum.  Each session identifies clearly the skills and knowledge to be taught which enables progression, both throughout the year, as well as throughout the school.

Each year group has an exploratory ‘Making connections’ unit that delves beyond the essential curriculum, assimilating prior knowledge and skills to evoke excitement and to provide an additional method of assessing scientific attainment. Lessons incorporate various teaching strategies from independent tasks to paired and group work, including practical, creative, computer-based and collaborative tasks. This variety means that lessons are engaging and appeal to those with different learning styles.

Our whole school science assessment model allows us to identify the content delivered to the children and track the progress that they make along their journey through the school. This also enables a successful introduction of new skills and challenges, using appropriate subject specific vocabulary with a thorough understanding of the child's prior learning.

Impact

The impact of the curriculum, or subject areas, is the outcomes for the pupils. It includes what the pupils say and do, their attitude towards their learning in the different curriculum areas, and how they use and apply the knowledge and skills they acquire.

Assessments linked to science take place throughout the academic year, and children are assessed against age related expectations by their class teacher. The results of these assessments are recorded in our whole school science-tracker and are used to inform judgements linked to attainment and progress, and assessments linked to age related expectations are shared with parents/carers in the end of year report.

The impact of the science curriculum at Woodloes Primary School is assessed through subject specific monitoring and participation in the deep dive process. Accompanying evidence is provided through pupil interviews, lesson visits, teachers questionnaires, work trawls, learning walks and the analysis of data.