Science
At Cherry Fold, our science teaching supports children to be curious and knowledgeable through an engaging curriculum. We aim for all our children to learn more and remember more.
In science, our children develop their knowledge through a perspective of ‘wonder and what if…’as they experience the world around them. Our science curriculum is designed to ensure pupils build upon prior learning, supporting all learners in making connections in knowledge, underpinned by scientific vocabulary and secure language development.
Teaching encourages children to explore concepts and develop the necessary substantive and disciplinary knowledge to break down ideas, promoting resilience in finding solutions and recording learning showing their understanding.
Science investigations are designed to capture enthusiasm and support knowledge acquisition. Working scientifically through the five lines of enquiry: observation overtime; pattern seeking; identifying, classifying and grouping; comparative and fair testing and research using secondary sources is taught alongside subject learning.
Our pupils are guided and encouraged to be motivated to work together and independently to continually question, discuss, engage and reflect throughout knowledge and enquiry learning.
In Early Years, our children are encouraged to explore science through different resources using a variety of natural materials found in school and at home, fostering a sticky knowledge approach. This time is used to develop a broad scientific vocabulary introducing experiences of phenomena our children will learn about throughout their primary school science journey.
The links we develop between school and home aim to guide families in how they can support children with their learning. Staff use demonstration, practical work, explanation and assessment opportunities at the start, throughout and the end of each science learning sequence to address misconceptions, support the transfer of learning from one context to another and provide our children with constructive feedback to support their working memory for next steps in learning.
Science capital at Cherry Fold is based around real-life experiences and supports curriculum learning retention. We utilise the school environment and local community to promote aspirational views of science in the world of work. Science at Cherry Fold encourages our children to have the confidence to apply their scientific knowledge to other subjects and to know that science plays an important role in the world we live in.
Explore our science page to find out what we do at Cherry Fold to enthuse and motivate our children to become scientists who ask questions and enquire about the world around them.
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.
How do we organise our curriculum?
Our Science Curriculum
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.
Click below to read our full science curriculum progression map.
Download the document below to read the National Curriculum science guidance.
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| primary_national_curriculum_-_science.pdf | Download |
Click below to see our science long term plan
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.
Below are examples of how we have used the activities with our children.
Science in Action......
Science working walls.........
Year 6 Evolution and Inheritance - discovering how living things have changed over time using secondary sources and the skeletal remains of a modern horse.
Year 4 Working Scientifically - The children in 4B and 4D conducted an investigation using eggshell to discover how different liquids affect tooth enamel.
They have also investigated the digestive system using a chocolate and banana sandwich and a pair of tights to track the journey made by the sandwich through the body system!
EYFS Curriculum
In Early Years, the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Curriculum and Development Matters document are used for planning and assessment. In the Foundation Stage, pupils experience a wide range of activities linked to 'Understanding the World'.
'Understanding the World' involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology and the environment. Activities are planned for children to play, explore, actively learn and develop their thinking skills in science through focused, continuous and enhanced provision.
Children find out about objects, materials and living things, using all of their senses, looking at similarities, differences, patterns and change. We seek to develop curiosity and encourage children to ask questions about why things happen and how things work while exploring their environment. Through continuous provision and focused tasks children are able to explore the outdoors to make seasonal observations, explore plants, changes in state and the behaviour of mini-beasts in their habitats.
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Please see our science plan below
Key Stage 1 and 2 Curriculum
In Key Stage 1 and 2, in line with the National Curriculum, lessons are planned and taught to ensure coverage provides the foundations for understanding the world through the specific disciplines of - biology, chemistry and physics. Our children will develop scientific knowledge and understanding of concepts, answering scientific questions about the world around them through different types of enquiries.
Click below to see planning by year group.
Click below to see a quick view of curriculum coverage
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.
Science Policy...
Metacognition
Effective metacognition is a cycle of planning, monitoring and evaluating.
- Planning is picking the correct cognitive strategy when approaching a problem or task.
- Monitoring is checking your progress as you proceed through the task
- Evaluating is looking back on your process and assessing success
Metacognition in science asupports our learning in the way we produce and record information. It supports strategies to reflect on and evaluate our own thinking and the way in which we take on problem solving.
Click below for information on the metacognitive strategies we use to learn in science.
These strategies are ways to help children to learn about learning and learn about knowledge.
How can I help my child at home
Below you can find a variety of links that will direct you to websites where parents can find interactive games, activities and ways that you can support your children with science that will support their learning both inside and outside the classroom.
https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/nasa-kids-club/
https://ed.ted.com/earth-school?fbclid=IwAR3uGsDH6XEhL_bnrSLt2AxAdTsqj9FEaKt__nwURuH4FYEXjTT6E85Y5Jk
https://learningcircuits.co.uk/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/z6svr82 (KS1 science)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/z2pfb9q (KS2 science)
https://explorify.wellcome.ac.uk/en/activities
Explorify is a website that is free to use and has a range of activities to support children with their science learning.
https://www.topmarks.co.uk/Search.aspx?q=science+games+ks2&p=4
INVESTIGATION
If you are looking for a hands on approach to science enquiries for home, try some of these investigations.
https://www.sciencefun.org/kidszone/experiments/
https://www.sciencekids.co.nz/experiments.html
DAYS OUT
Why not try a day trip to a science museum, to engage your child in the world of science and technology along with having some fun as a family?
NORTH WEST
YORKSHIRE
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attractions-g1526974-Activities-c49-t35-Yorkshire_England.htm
Science Festivals
Check local media sources for upcoming local science festivals.
Burnley UCLAN and Preston hold a Lancashire science festival annually.
Science and SEND
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.
How do we use assessment?
Alongside regular informal assessments, staff record pupils’ progress against year group specific science knowledge. The key purpose of these informal assessments is to identify misconceptions, track progress and to inform future planning. Assessment may be carried our through marking, chats with the children, specific tasks or just observations in class. Assessment tells the teacher what the children don't know as much as what they do know. Effective, specific and clear feedback is used in every lesson.
By the end of each key stage, pupils are expected to know, apply and understand the matters, skills and processes specified in the science programme of study. Assessment is undertaken through questioning, reporting on findings through presentations or investigations.
In the Early Years, assessment is an ongoing process. Regular observation and questioning supports judgements of children’s progress, which is clearly tracked using the school's assessment system. This identifies gaps in the children's learning and supports planning for next steps.
Across school, staff communicate regularly with parents and each other. We hold termly Parents Evenings where parents are invited into school to discuss progress and next steps. We also produce annual written reports for parents.
Regular pupil progress meetings are held between relevant staff in school to ensure that progress for all is monitored and that transition between year groups and key stages is carefully considered.