WELCOME TO OUR SCIENCE PAGE!
Intent – what are we trying to achieve?
Our school science vision:
The intent of our curriculum and vision for science at Freezywater St. George’s is to provide our children with opportunities which enable them to explore, discover and understand the world they live in - encouraging them to be curious, life-long science learners. We are passionate in the belief that all children have the absolute right to high quality teaching and learning with opportunities to ask questions, use and extend their scientific knowledge and vocabulary. We will enable them to seek the answers through practical experiences, exploration and investigation.
Our Science curriculum is shaped by the National Curriculum for Science, our school curriculum, our school’s vision and values and the ethos ‘Believe & Achieve’. Our science curriculum aims to ensure that all children:
- develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics
- develop 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 skills required to understand the uses and implications of science, today and for the future.
Implementation – how do we translate our vision into practice?
At Freezywater St. Georges’ teachers foster a positive attitude to science learning within their classrooms and reinforce an expectation that all children can achieve high standards in science. Across the school, continuous progression is at the heart of our curriculum design. We use SNAP Science which provides a clear and comprehensive scheme of work in line with the National Curriculum, with progression in teaching and learning across all key stages. As well as the curriculum map and flowchart of progression, there is also a science curriculum overview which shows what topics are being taught and when with relevant cross-curricular links. Wherever possible, science lessons are planned to be a cross curricular part of the concept-based enquiry questions. Children are given the opportunity to use a variety of data, such as statistics, pictures and photographs. ICT, reading, writing, speaking and listening are strongly developed through science. Where meaningful links are not possible science is taught as a standalone subject to ensure the quality and integrity of the core subject can be upheld.
Science Overview Summary
Year 1:
- Seasonal Changes
- Animals including Humans (Identify, name, describe and compare common animals and basic parts of the human body).
- Everyday Materials
- Plants (Common plants and basic structure).
Year 2:
- Living things and their habitats
- Animals including humans (Offspring, needs for survival, exercise, food and hygiene)
- Use of everyday materials
- Plants (Seeds and bulbs, how plants need water and light to grow).
Year 3:
- Animals including humans (Nutrition, skeletons and muscles)
- Light (Reflection and shadows)
- Forces and Magnets
- Rocks (Fossils and soil)
- Plants (life cycle of a flower, how water is transported in plants)
Year 4:
- Animals including humans (Digestive system, teeth, food chains)
- States of matter (solid, liquids, gases, evaporation and condensation)
- Sound (Vibration, pitch and volume)
- Electricity (Common appliances, simple circuits, series, switches, conductors and insulators)
- Living things and their habitats (classification keys, human impact on environments)
Year 5:
- Forces (gravity, air resistance, water resistance and friction, force and motion)
- Living things and their habitats (life cycles and reproduction)
- Earth and space
- Animals including humans (human development from birth to old age)
- Properties and changes of materials (hardness, solubility, transparency, conductivity, response to magnets)
Year 6:
- Living things and their habitats (classification, characteristics and why we classify plants and animals)
- Animals including humans (circulatory system, diet, exercise, lifestyle)
- Light (how light behaves)
- Electricity (voltage, simple circuit diagrams)
- Evolution and inheritance
Impact – what is the impact of our science curriculum on our students?
Assessment for learning in science is continuous throughout the planning, teaching and learning cycle. We measure and assess the impact that our science curriculum is having through: conducting learning walks, talking to pupils, observing lessons and half-termly monitoring of looking at children’s book which indicates that science is being delivered meaningfully and the children are gaining a range of practical experiences which is embedded in planning, questioning and carrying out investigations. Children’s learning is assessed against the age-related expectations for science. Below is an outline of the impact we are looking for in our pupils in the curriculum area of science:
- Children are knowledgeable about the scientific content of each unit of learning
- Children can set up an investigation based around scientific thinking.
- Children are engaged in science lessons; asking scientific questions and being curious.
- Children’s work shows a range of topics and evidence of the curriculum coverage for all science topics.
- There is clear progression of children’s work and teachers’ expectations in our school.
- Children are becoming increasingly independent in science, selecting their own tools and materials, completing pupil lead investigations and choosing their own methods for recording.
- Children can use scientific vocabulary to communicate their understanding
- Children can present science learning using where appropriate maths and literacy skills.
- Children can make meaningful cross-curricular and wider world links.
- Verbal and written feedback from teachers has impact on our pupils learning, often with next step questions to move learning on.
Please also refer to the Science policy for more information
SCIENCE QUALITY MARK (PSQM)
In 2019 we submitted our documentation to receive an accreditation in the form of the Science Quality Mark and were very proud to be awarded it. Below is some of the evidence we compiled and submitted which shows how the Science curriculum is implemented in our school and its impact (The PDF shows the document in full with sample pages below).
SAMPLE DOCUMENTATION PSQM
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Please click on the Teaching & Learning Science file below to see the documentation in full.