The Grove Primary School

Science Curriculum Statement

Intent:

At The Grove Primary school, we aim to fulfil the requirements of the National Curriculum for Science by: providing a broad, balanced and differentiated curriculum; ensuring the progressive development of knowledge, skills and vocabulary and for the children to develop a love of Science. Furthermore, we aim to inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination about the natural and man-made world and a respect for the environment that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. This includes the lessons they receive in the classroom but also the other experiences they are offered, such as educational visits, residentials and enrichment days. In recent years, we have provided children with the opportunity to participate in nationwide competitions including 88 Pianists and Farmvention.

The aims of teaching Science in our school are to:

• Equip children to use themselves as starting points for learning about Science, and to build on their enthusiasm and natural sense of wonder about the world
• Develop through practical work the skills of observation, prediction, investigation, interpretation, communication, questioning and hypothesizing, and increased use of precise measurement skills and ICT
• Gain enjoyment from their scientific work
• Enable children to develop their skills of co-operation through working with others, and to encourage where possible, ways for children to explore Science in forms which are relevant and meaningful to them
• Teach scientific enquiry through contexts taken from the National Curriculum for science
• Encourage children to collect relevant evidence and to question outcome and to build resilience to persevere as it is likely they will need to repeat results or will encounter unexpected results that do not support their hypothesis
• Encourage children to treat the living and non-living environment with respect and sensitivity
• Stress the need for personal and group safety by the correct usage and storage of resources
• To question the world around them
• To enable children to appreciate that we do not always know the answers when carrying out scientific enquiry as the world around them is continually changing and developing
• Equip children with the language to be able to discuss their learning and confidently explain their scientific understanding in small groups

   

Special Educational Needs Disability (SEND) / Pupil Premium / Higher Attainers

All children will have Quality First Teaching. Any children with identified SEND or in receipt of pupil premium funding may have work additional to and different from their peers in order to access the curriculum dependent upon their needs. As well as this, our school offers a demanding and varied curriculum, providing children with a range of opportunities in order for them to reach their full potential and consistently achieve highly from their starting points. Our participation in national competitions involving S.T.E.M provide opportunities for Higher Attainers to transfer their knowledge.

Implementation:

To ensure high standards of teaching and learning in Science, we implement a curriculum that is progressive throughout the whole school. We ensure that teachers have the same expectations during Science lessons that they would have when teaching English or Mathematics and that any mathematical task (such as measuring or drawing graphs) is pitched at an age-appropriate level to ensure sufficient challenge. It is vital that any mathematical or English barriers should not impede a child’s scientific learning, thus meaning dialogic learning is a central part to our Science teaching. Where appropriate, Science is taught as both a discrete and cross curricula subject.

The Science curriculum at The Grove Primary School is based upon the 2014 Primary National Curriculum in England, which provides a broad framework and outlines the knowledge and skills taught in each Key Stage. Teachers plan lessons for their class using our progression of knowledge and skills document, which incorporates working scientifically.  When teaching Science, teachers should follow the children’s interests to ensure their learning is engaging, broad and balanced. Before planning a unit of work, teachers should assess children’s prior knowledge and understanding to ensure work is pitched at the correct level. A variety of teaching approaches are used based on the teacher’s judgement. Teaching key subject specific vocabulary is also a key part out Science curriculum. The vocabulary children will need for that unit are identified on the school’s progression document and this builds upon the vocabulary they have learnt in earlier years. The key vocabulary will be identified in the vocabulary dozen on the children’s knowledge organisers.

Science assessment is based on teacher’s assessment of children. This is then reported on the school’s assessment document and the percentage of children working at, above and below the expected standard are identified. This can be viewed by the next class teacher as a record of the child’s progress throughout the year.

At The Grove Primary School, we provide a variety of opportunities for Science learning inside and outside the classroom. Learning outside of the classroom, especially in our woodland area, is an essential part to learning in Science. It is essential children observe and immerse themselves in their local environment to apply their learning practically to real-life situations. Staff are provided with resources from the PSTT resource ‘Let’s go! Science Trails’ to support teaching Science outside the classroom.

CPD will be offered to staff where needed, this may be a course to attend, an online CPD programme to take part in or the subject leader delivering training to the rest of the staff.

Impact:

We have been recognised for our achievements in Science through the 88 pianist unbreakable world record breaker! Where one of our student’s designs was chosen as part of the mechanism.  Our Science curriculum is high quality, well thought out and is planned to demonstrate progression. We focus on progression of knowledge and skills and discreet vocabulary progression also form part of the units of work.

We measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:

• Marking of written work in books
• Summative assessment of pupil discussions about their learning
• Images and videos of the children’s practical learning.
• Interviewing the pupils about their learning (pupil voice)
• Moderation staff meetings where pupil’s books are scrutinised and there is the opportunity for a dialogue between teachers to understand their class’s work
• Formal reporting of standards at the end of each Key Stage
• Annual reporting of standards across the curriculum to parents