Science

Intent

• To be curious about Science and inspired by the scientific world.
• Develop the essential scientific enquiry skills to deepen their scientific knowledge.
• To be determined and creative when investigating.

At Carr, we want every child to develop an enthusiasm and enjoyment of scientific learning and discovery. We value Science as a core subject and it is taught following the objectives laid out in the National Curriculum. We want our children to be curious about Science, understand the importance of Science in today’s world and inspire them to develop aspirational goals for possible future careers in the subject. Through a range of Scientific enquiries, we encourage children to be determined and creative, seeking all possible outcomes to extend their scientific knowledge and thinking. Regardless of ability, we encourage children to be resilient and have self belief, to achieve their absolute full potential by having high expectations of their learning.

Implementation

To ensure that we deliver our intention and cover all objectives set out in the National Curriculum, we have a document that sets out the key objectives that need to be covered in each topic for each year group, this includes Scientific enquiry. The National Curriculum provides a structure and skill development for the Science curriculum being taught. The Science lead regularly analyses how Science is being taught across the school and feeds back to staff any knowledge and expertise that needs to be implemented. 

We implement our Science approach through:

• Science is taught in weekly lessons or blocks through exciting and engaging lessons.
• Books are high quality and show a range of evidence. Teachers have the highest expectations and children are proud of their work.
• A range of experiments are planned into each topic, encouraging curiosity in the children.
• A creative and innovative approach using a range of high quality resources and teaching methods.
• Excellent teacher subject knowledge and high order questioning. 
• Excellent nurture and relationships between teacher and children, allowing them to take risks in their learning.
• All children are given the opportunity to aim high, through questioning and reasoning activities.
• Children are given a Bloom’s question each lesson,  this allows teachers to assess their understanding of the learning and address any misconceptions.
• At the start of each topic, children’s previous knowledge to be assessed through the use of Prior Learning Links.
• A Science assessment is given at the end of each topic through POP Tasks – Big Questions (disciplinary knowledge) and What I know (Substantive knowledge), this allows teachers to assess their understanding of the learning and address any misconceptions.
• In every topic, children learn about a key scientist who has discovered or invented something significant, promoting inspiration and aspiration in the subject.
• Scientific Enquiry skills are embedded into every lesson to ensure these skills are being developed throughout not only each year but throughout school.
• Knowledge organisers are used to present sticky knowledge for the Science topic, which is shared at the start of every lesson and sent home to encourage discussions with parents and carers. 
• Scientific Vocabulary is taught in each lesson, through a word of the week and through the use of topic specific language.
• Science capital is discussed during each topic, where relevant, to allow the children to see how Science applies to the real world.

Impact

The impact of our Science approach is that all children enjoy Science and are inspired to demonstrate their scientific knowledge and skills. They are curious to find out how and why and challenge each other’s knowledge and opinions in a safe environment. We want all children to achieve their full potential and strive to be the best that they can be. Impact is recorded through outcomes. After each topic is taught, teachers assess the children against the objectives and record these to track progress. At the end of the year, these outcomes are combined with the scientific enquiry assessment, to assess the children against age related expectations, to give an overall result. Every half term, we are constantly checking the impact and looking for gaps through evaluating impact, lesson drop ins, learning walks, book and planning  scrutinies and pupil and staff voice.

Documents

Science Long-term Plan

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Year 6