Our Science Subject Leader is Mrs McCrea.
The national curriculum for science aims to ensure that all pupils:
- develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics
- develop an understanding of the nature, processes and methods of science through different types of science enquiries that help them to answer scientific questions about the world around them
- are equipped with the scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of science, today and for the future
Curriculum Intent
At Gilnow Primary School, we have a coherently planned and sequenced curriculum which has been carefully designed and developed with the need of every child at the centre of what we do. We strive to provide every child with a high quality science education that will help the children to recognise the importance of science in everyday life and the world we live in; enabling them to discover and explore what is around them. We want our children to love science and provide them with the tools to develop genuine curiosity.
Our curriculum is broad and balanced to enable the children to become enquiry based learners, collaborating through researching, investigating and evaluating experiences. It will encourage respect for living organisms and for the physical environment. Our science curriculum reflects the equality and diversity policies and practice in school.
We want our children to be ambitious and to remember their science lessons in our school and embrace the scientific opportunities they are presented with. Our children will be encouraged to understand how science can be used to explain what is occurring, predict how things will behave and provide opportunities for the critical evaluation of evidence. Our aim is that these stimulating and challenging experiences help every child secure and extend their scientific knowledge and vocabulary, as well as promoting a love and thirst for learning.
Curriculum Implementation
At Gilnow Primary School, teachers create a positive attitude to science learning within their classrooms and reinforce an expectation that all children are capable of achieving high standards in science. Our strategy is to enable all children to be catered for through adapted planning suited to their abilities.
At Gilnow we ensure a consistent approach to teaching science in every year group by following these expectations:
- 1 lesson to be taught per week.
- The first part of the first lesson is used to discuss familiar and unfamiliar vocabulary.
- Key vocabulary is displayed on walls.
- One investigation per half term minimum.
- We allow time for experiments and investigations.
- 5 types of enquiry are used.
- Half termly summative science assessments.
- Children are encouraged to ask their own questions and be given opportunities to use their scientific skills and research to discover the answers.
- Planning involves teachers creating practical, engaging lessons with opportunities for precise questioning in class to test conceptual knowledge and skills, and assess children regularly to identify those children with gaps in learning.
- Our curriculum is progressive. We build upon the learning and skill development of the previous years, which is tested through our ‘pre-learning tasks’ where teachers can identify misconceptions that need addressing. Every year group will build upon the learning from prior year groups, therefore, developing depth of understanding and progression of skills.
- Working Scientifically skills are embedded into lessons to ensure these skills are being developed throughout the children’s school career, and new vocabulary and challenging concepts are introduced through direct teaching.
- Through enrichment days, such as ‘science week’, we promote the profile of Science and allow time for the children to freely explore with their families and at school.
- Children are given opportunities to explore, question, predict, plan, and carry out investigations and observations as well as conclude their findings.
- Children present their findings and learning using science specific language, observations and diagrams which make links to other areas of the curriculum.
- Effective use of education visits and visitors are planned, such as ‘Science and Industry Museum’ in KS2 to farm visits in EYFS to enrich and enhance the pupil’s learning experiences.
- Teachers use highly effective assessments for learning in each lesson to ensure misconceptions are highlighted and addressed. These are shared with the next year groups’ class teacher and subject leader to ensure progression throughout our school.
- At the end of each half term children complete science assessments.
- Effective modelling by teachers ensures that children are able to achieve their learning outcome, with misconceptions addressed within it.
- Pupils are regularly given the opportunity for self or peer assessment, which will then be used to inform planning, preparation, differentiation and address misconceptions within that lesson, or for the next lesson.
Curriculum Impact
The successful approach to the teaching of science at Gilnow Primary School 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.
Children at Gilnow Primary School will:
- Demonstrate a love of science work and an interest in further study and work in this field
- Retain knowledge that is pertinent to Science with a real life context.
- Be resilient learners.
- Be able to question ideas, reflect on knowledge and enhance our learning opportunities.
- Be able to articulate their understanding of scientific concepts and be able to reason scientifically using rich language linked to science.
- Demonstrate a high love of mathematical skills through their work, organising, recording and interpreting results.
- Work collaboratively and practically to investigate and experiment.
- Achieve age related expectations in Science at the end of their cohort year.
In addition, we measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods: - Half termly assessments
- Formative assessments during lessons
- Tracking of knowledge using formal assessment method
- Pupil discussions about their learning
- Pre learning tasks
- Regular quality assurance actions such as subject leader book monitoring
