Science

Intent

Using the 2014 National Curriculum and its aims as a foundation, Seer Green CE Combined School has a vision of inspiring enquiring minds for the future. We aim to provide an environment which promotes the progressional acquisition and embedding of scientific knowledge, concepts and skills, whilst also encouraging positive attitudes to learning. We aim to provide a broad, scientific curriculum which develops scientific vocabulary and empowers children to ask questions, make predictions and careful observations before arriving at reasonable conclusions. We aim to provide science lessons with a practical, skills-based focus to stimulate curiosity, discussion and hands-on investigation, which will also encourage children to apply their knowledge when using equipment, conducting experiments, building arguments and explaining concepts. In addition, we aim to provide children with various, memorable experiences, both within school and outside, to broaden their knowledge and relate their learning to the wider world around them. We will ensure the learning of science is accessible to all children in the school regardless of their ability or background.

Implementation

Our teachers create a positive attitude to science within their classrooms and reinforce the expectation that all pupils are capable of learning and achieving well in science topics. Our whole school approach to the teaching and learning of science involves the following:

Sixty minute science lessons taught weekly in each year group.
A structured scheme of work is followed to ensure fill coverage and ensure that prior learning is embedded and built upon.

Differentiation and adaption of all science lessons, to ensure all groups of learners can access the curriculum and make progress in each lesson.
Planning builds upon the knowledge and skills developed in previous years, so that when topics are revisited another layer of knowledge and skills are added.
An expectation that all recorded science work should be presented to a high standard, but not to the detriment of science investigations or the teaching and learning aspect of the lesson. The balance of practical activity and length of recording tasks is carefully planned to maintain a scientific emphasis.

Clearly visible learning objectives, success criteria and key vocabulary discussed in each lesson.

‘Working scientifically’ skills embedded into lessons and new vocabulary and challenging concepts introduced through direct teaching.

Baseline (cold) activities are used to inform planning for a topic as well as assessment.

Well formulated lessons which involve instruction, demonstration, explanation, questioning, discussion, consolidation, evaluation and finally summarisation to enable pupils to focus on the next steps.

Use of precise questioning in lessons to test conceptual knowledge and skills.

Lessons providing problem solving opportunities that allow children to apply their knowledge and find out answers for themselves. Children are encouraged to ask their own questions and are given opportunities to use their scientific skills and research to discover the answers. This curiosity is celebrated within the classroom.

Teacher demonstrations which model how to use scientific equipment and the various ‘working scientifically’ skills in order for the children to embed their scientific understanding.

A range of trips and visitors to complement and broaden the curriculum (see below under enrichment).

Maintaining curriculum links with other subjects, wherever possible. For example, children enhance their mathematics skills by developing their ability to problem solve, measure, and represent and analyse information. Children use ICT whenever appropriate in science lessons.

Availability of a wide range of science resources in a central store area in the school.

Impact

Seer Green CE pupils will:

look forward to science lessons
be committed to their learning and performance
be curious and confident enough to questioning ideas/theories and make their own predictions
work collaboratively and practically to investigate and experiment
understand and apply subject specific vocabulary
retain and build on knowledge that is pertinent to science with a real-life context
be able to explain the process they have taken and be able to reason scientifically