At St Mary’s, we recognise the natural curiosity of our pupils and encourage them to develop this curiosity throughout their time at school and beyond. We know that a high-quality science education provides a foundation for children to understand the world through the acquisition of knowledge, concepts, skills and positive attitudes, and believe that every pupil should have access to this in order to be prepared for life in the 21st century. By providing a rigorous and engaging science education, we aim to help our pupils to aspire to take advantage of opportunities, responsibilities and experiences in later life, while promoting a healthy respect for the universe and all living things within it.

Implementation

Following the framework of the National Curriculum, St Mary’s science covers a variety of scientific topics each half-term, which aim to develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics. While developing our pupils’ knowledge, we also hope to enhance their understanding of the nature, processes and methods of science, equipping them with the skills they need to apply what they have learnt in a scientific way. Therefore, we ensure that each lesson has a skill-based focus, built on a foundation of supporting knowledge and a secure understanding of technical vocabulary. Children are given regular opportunities to answer scientific questions through the five main strands of scientific enquiry:

• Observing over time
• Looking for patterns in their observations and results
• Identifying classifying and grouping
• Carrying out controlled investigations using comparative and fair testing
• Researching using secondary sources

As well as learning how to work scientifically, children at St Mary’s are taught to apply their mathematical knowledge by collecting, presenting and analysing data in their science lessons. This is done in a range of ways, including through the use of ICT to share their findings in diagrams, graphs and charts. For example, in KS2, children are taught to measure their pulse rate to find out how hard their heart is working and then collect and analyse the data to evidence what happens to their heart when they exercise. This data is then presented in a variety of graphical formats.

Reception through to Year 6 follow the progression outlined in the PLAN resources. This ensures teachers are staying within the boundaries of their topics and not encroaching on other year groups’ topics. All children are taught Science by Working Scientifically.

Each class will have one taught science lesson per week (an afternoon per week). This ensures progression between year groups and guarantees topics are covered and revisited.  Teachers are expected to adapt and modify the model plans to suit their children’s interests, current events, their own teaching style, the use of any support staff and the resources available.

Assessment

Assessment for learning is continuous throughout the planning, teaching and learning cycle. While children in Reception are assessed through their day-to-day activities using Tapestry, a variety of assessment methods are used in KS1 and KS2, which include:

• Assessment of prior knowledge at the beginning of a unit, for example: KWL grids or ‘Odd One Out’ tasks
• Observing children at work, individually, in pairs and in groups
• Questioning and talking to children about their work
• Low-stakes quizzes on concepts/skills that have already been taught
• Regular book scrutinises which monitor pupils’ learning
• End of unit assessment tasks