Science
Rationale
Our curriculum is designed to develop knowledge and skills that are progressive, enabling children to deepen their understanding of the world. At Cherry Fold we intend to empower our children to believe they are scientists who are capable of making change and have no limit to their ambitions. We want our children to look forward to and remember their Science lessons in our school and embrace the scientific and other STEM opportunities they are presented with. We intend for all our children to learn more and remember more when developing scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding. This will be achieved by our children being involved in exciting, practical 'hands on' experiences that encourage curiosity and questioning.
‘Working Scientifically’ specifies the understanding of the processes and methods of science for each year group. It is embedded within the content of biology, chemistry and physics, focusing on the key features of scientific enquiry, so that pupils learn to use a variety of approaches to answer relevant scientific questions. These types of scientific enquiry include observing over time, pattern-seeking, identifying, classifying, grouping, testing and using research from secondary sources. Pupils should seek answers to questions through collecting, analysing and presenting data.
Early Years Foundation Stage
Beginning in the Early Years Foundation Stage, children use their senses to explore and investigate the world around them to develop their knowledge using cause and effect. The EYFS curriculum is designed to develop the characteristics of effective learning. Children are encouraged to create and think critically. Children are also encouraged to be active learners and develop their own ideas. They demonstrate resilience by continuing to try if they encounter difficulties. Finally, children are encouraged to play and explore. They investigate and experience things, and ‘have a go.’
Key Stage 1
The principal focus of science in Key Stage 1 is to enable pupils to experience and observe phenomena, looking more closely at the natural and human-constructed world around them. They should be encouraged to be curious and ask questions about what they notice. They should be helped to develop their understanding of scientific ideas by using different types of scientific enquiry to answer their own questions. They should begin to use simple scientific language to talk about what they have found out and communicate their ideas to a range of audiences in a range of ways. Most of the learning about science should be done with first-hand practical experiences.
Lower Key Stage 2
The Lower Key Stage 2 curriculum enables pupils to broaden their scientific view of the world around them. Our curriculum enables this through exploring, talking about, testing and developing ideas about everyday phenomena and the relationships between living things and familiar environments, and by beginning to develop their ideas about functions, relationships and interactions. They should ask their own questions about what they observe and make some decisions about which types of scientific enquiry are likely to be the best ways of answering them. They should draw simple conclusions and use some scientific language, first, to talk about and, later, to write about what they have found out.
Upper Key Stage 2
In Upper Key Stage 2, the principal focus of our science teaching is to enable pupils to develop a deeper understanding of a wide range of scientific ideas. Our curriculum enables this through exploring and talking about their ideas; asking their own questions about scientific phenomena; and analysing functions, relationships and interactions more systematically. Pupils should encounter more abstract ideas and begin to recognise how these ideas help them to understand and predict how the world operates. Our curriculum supports pupils’ ability to recognise that scientific ideas change and develop over time. They should select the most appropriate ways to answer scientific questions using different types of scientific enquiry. Pupils should draw conclusions based on their data and observations, use evidence to justify their ideas and use their scientific knowledge and understanding to explain their findings.
Spoken Language
The National Curriculum for Science reflects the importance of spoken language in pupils’ development across the whole curriculum – cognitively, socially and linguistically. The quality and variety of language that pupils hear and speak are key factors in developing their scientific vocabulary and articulating scientific concepts clearly and precisely. They must be assisted in making their thinking clear, both to themselves and others, and teachers should ensure that pupils build secure foundations by using discussion to address misconceptions. Our curriculum ensures that key vocabulary is at the forefront of lessons.
Approach
Our curriculum carefully sequences the progression of learning for Biology, Chemistry and Physics units (substantive knowledge), with close links to working scientifically (disciplinary knowledge), fostering an enquiry led curriculum enriched with key science knowledge and vocabulary that is built upon each year.
We aim to ensure that all children make progress across all areas of the curriculum:
- To develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding - substantive.
- To 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 - disciplinary.
- To be equipped with the scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implication of science, today and for the future.
SEND
Adapting the curriculum for pupils with SEND in science
What are we aiming for children with SEND to achieve in science?
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Children should have the confidence to develop their own curiosity and ask questions in science.
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All children are given the same opportunity to achieve in science.
What amendments are made to the subject in order to help children with SEN to achieve?
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All science lessons are approached using an adaptive teaching approach with scaffolded resources as required to support and provide challenge for all learners and the needs of individual pupils. Where appropriate, the Early Years’ Curriculum and the National Curriculum 2014 will be used to identify suitable objectives to be incorporated into Intervention Plans and/or TLPs.
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Science working walls are used throughout lessons and are adapted, modified and changed as appropriate to ensure they are purposeful, relevant and support current learning. The learning walls include key scientific vocabulary, relevant diagrams, materials, key questions and statements.
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Children work in mixed ability groupings during investigative lessons, with teachers and support staff offering support when needed.
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During investigations, children will have a role to fulfil such as resource collector and record keeper/scribe, to ensure each member of the group has a role to play in the investigation and is fully immersed in the enquiry.
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Word banks supported by visuals
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Recapping learning from last time they covered the topic before introducing new learning to consolidate knowledge and correct misconceptions. Pre teaching vocabulary
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Where possible, we strive to use our fantastic environment to help bring science learning to life. Our forest school and local parks are frequently used to aid the learning of our pupils.
A whole school vision to reflect our science voice and vision
The children, staff, governors, parents and school advisor worked collaboratively to create a whole school vision for science.
Our school family all shared what they thought science teaching and learning should look like in our school. Representatives from all classes then met to discuss and create a poster of our vision that represent what the teaching and learning of science is like at our school.
Our science learning road map helps all our children with knowing where their learning fits, building upon previous knowledge and preparing them for their next steps. The map supports our children to recognise how their prior learning facilitates their next step in learning and to build upon their knowledge and vocabulary for the unit of work.
Working Scientifically - Disciplinary Knowledege
'Working scientifically' specifies the understanding of the nature, processes and methods of science for each year group. We believe and embed substantive and disciplinary knowledge through working scientifically within the content of biology, chemistry and physics, focusing on the key features of scientific enquiry, so that pupils learn to use a variety of approaches to answer relevant scientific questions. These types of scientific enquiry include: observing over time; pattern seeking; identifying, classifying and grouping; comparative and fair testing (controlled investigations) and researching using secondary sources. Class working walls support children to use the five lines of enquiry.
Scientific enquiry
There are five types of scientific enquiry that children will experience when taking part in science learning at Cherry Fold.
How to think scientifically...
Explorify is a platform we use with our children to support the development of scientific thinking. The activities:
- Inspire curiosity
- Develop thinking & reasoning
- Support enquiry
Explorify engages children's curiosity and encourages them to think, wonder and reason. It follows our curriculum for science and enhances how children are thinking in a scientific way.
Our children will be developing their thinking skills and other skills essential to scientific enquiry: observing; noticing similarities, differences and changes; measuring and quantifying; reasoning and explaining; problem solving and testing hypotheses; applying their understanding of phenomena.
What is the importance of science vocabulary?
Science vocabulary is important as it is central to science learning and knowledge building. It helps our children to understand and communicate using appropriate terminology enabling them to describe objects, ideas and phenomena. It forms part of our progression of science learning across the school. Each teacher develops the use of vocabulary for their year group, building upon prior vocabulary. The grid below is our vocabulary progression map outlining the specific language children will learn each year.