Science

Equipped with his five senses, man explores the universe around him and calls the adventure Science. – Edwin Powell Hubble

INTENT

At St. Francis our vision is to give children a Science curriculum which enables them to explore and discover the world around them, so that they have a deeper understanding of the world we live in. To achieve this it involves exciting, practical hands on experiences that encourage curiosity and questioning. Our aim is that these stimulating and challenging experiences help children secure and extend their scientific knowledge and vocabulary. We believe that these opportunities will ensure that our children are confident, life- long learners who will explore the world around them. Opportunities need to extend to all pupils in order to nurture a love of discovery through rich experiences both inside and outside of school.

IMPLEMENTATION

At St Francis we teach the National Curriculum for Science, ensuring clear progression of scientific skills and knowledge across the three disciplines of Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Our teaching is a balance of the abstract and the practical, with links made wherever possible between different areas of Science, and also with other subjects, such as Maths and Computing. Children have abundant opportunities to investigate, in order to develop their 'working scientifically' skills and to apply theoretical knowledge to practical situations.
In EYFS, Science is embedded in both continuous and enhanced provision as part of their learning on the specific area of Understand the World. Children have a wealth of opportunities to develop and enrich their scientific understanding, through play and exploration of themed learning units.
From Year 1 upwards, children receive a discrete Science lesson each week, based on their half-termly or termly unit. These units are planned sequentially to develop key knowledge and investigation skills. As the children’s knowledge and understanding increases, they become more proficient in selecting, using scientific equipment, collating and interpreting results and they become increasingly confident in their growing ability to come to conclusions based on real evidence. Children also participate in our new Climate Change and Sustainability Curriculum for one week each term, accounting for 21 weeks of their scientific learning during their time at primary school. Children are given a particular focus for each of these weeks and are taught the scientific theory and significance behind key aspects of climate change, such as plastic pollution, meat-free eating and the emergence of clean energy. Scientific development at St Francis also involves the use of a wide and increasingly scientific vocabulary. Pupils are taught to use the correct scientific language to describe ideas, objects and phenomena.

Impact

Children build on prior knowledge and link ideas together, enabling them to question and every lesson starts with a flashback in which they review their learning. This helps children to retrieve what they have learnt in the earlier sequence of the programme of study, and ensures that new knowledge is taught in the context of previous learning to promote a shift in long term memory. Then at the end of each topic they have a low stakes retrieval quiz, where key knowledge is reviewed by the children and rigorously checked by the teacher and consolidated as necessary.

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