Science

Science

Intent

At Barwic Parade, we understand and recognise the importance of science in all aspects of daily life. We aim to encourage all children to develop a curiosity for the world around them, asking their own questions and seeking their own answers. The influence of science is far-reaching, and we aim to prepare our children for this by opening their minds to all areas that can be explored. We believe that learning about different scientific knowledge, processes and uses will provide a strong foundation for understanding the changing world we live in.

Throughout their time at Barwic Parade, we want children to deepen their learning, maximising all opportunities for discussion, discovery and investigation about different topics. We want to promote collaboration, working scientifically and, ultimately, develop the problem-solvers of the future. Because we understand the importance of science and its status as a core subject, our curriculum gives it the prominence it deserves. Weekly science lessons provide children with opportunities to develop their knowledge and practical skills on different topics organised under the following headings: biology, chemistry and physics.

Characteristics of a scientist:

To independently think of and answer questions involving scientific knowledge or working scientifically processes.
To display excellent scientific knowledge and understanding, demonstrated through verbal and written explanations, practical work and reporting of findings.
Having the confidence to work scientifically using different equipment, planning and carrying out scientific investigations.
To speak clearly and informatively about science topics, using the appropriate vocabulary.
Having the ability to collaborate with others to solve problems and work on STEM challenges, showing innovation and imagination.
To be passionate about science, showing curiosity and enthusiasm for learning.

Implementation

Science is taught twice a week across the school in hour-long sessions and is done as part of our mixed-age curriculum. Our curriculum is based upon our reflections of the National Curriculum content and the concepts put forth in Chris Quigley's Essential Curriculum. Under the key headings of biology, chemistry and physics, our learning can be broken down further into the following topics:

Biology:

Understand plants.
Understand animals and humans.
Investigate living things.
Understand evolution and inheritance.

Chemistry:

Investigate materials.

Physics:

Understand movement, forces and magnets.
Understand the Earth's movement in space.
Investigate light and seeing.
Investigate sound and hearing.
Understand electrical circuits.

Our curriculum is structured in such a way that, each week, children across the school learn about a new topic. They then revisit these topics throughout the year at calculated intervals to refresh their knowledge and deepen their understanding. This is done in response to up to date, relevant research on how children learn and, mostly importantly, how children can best retain the information they process. Through this approach, children are able to make links between different aspects of science and build schema on a continuous basis which then transfers their skills from week to week. Progression is mapped throughout the school from reception to year 6, including the progression of knowledge, of skills taught and of scientific vocabulary. Each year, children have access to the above topics and continue to build upon and deepen their understanding and experiences of each one.

Working scientifically is also covered within the curriculum and is an ongoing area of learning. It is incorporated into the different topic areas of science as well as STEM activities or themed days/ weeks. Children are taught the different enquiry types through scientific characters found in every classroom. In addition, we annually celebrate World Space Week and British Science Week, promoting an enthusiasm for science and a desire to learn, explore and problem-solve. We are also proud to be a partnership school with Drax Power Station and work closely with engineers from Drax to enrich our curriculum.

Below is a snippet of some of our curriculum planning (start of the Autumn term planning). This is taken from each phase to show you how we structure our teaching expectations:

Impact

Our successful approach to the teaching and learning of science results in students having the following characteristics at Barwic Parade:

To independently think of and answer questions involving scientific knowledge or their skills at working scientifically.
To display excellent scientific knowledge and understanding, demonstrated through verbal and written explanations, practical work and reporting of findings.
Having the confidence to work scientifically using different equipment, planning and carrying out scientific investigations.
To speak clearly and informatively about science topics, using the appropriate vocabulary.
Having the ability to collaborate with others to solve problems and work on STEM challenges, showing innovation and imagination.
To be passionate about science, showing curiosity and enthusiasm for learning.

Assessment

Assessment and reflections are something which are planned into our curriculum in order to inform teaching and support pupils. Metacognition skills are applied within science to allow children to reflect and evaluate. These reflections are useful for both the pupil and teacher and can be used to identify which strategies within the classroom have the greatest positive impact on pupils' learning. Formative and summative assessment strategies are to be used within classrooms, with summative data to be submitted half termly.