How We Learn Science

How we Learn Science at Earith Primary School: Intent, Implementation & Impact Intent: At Earith Primary School, we understand how important Science is in everyday life and we are committed to increasing pupils’ knowledge and understanding of our world. We want our children to develop their scientific skills as they progress through the school, and we strongly encourage and nurture their natural curiosity through the use of questioning and exploration. Teachers create a positive attitude to science learning within their classroom environments and reinforce an expectation that all children are capable of achieving high standards in Science.

Our Science teaching offers opportunities for children to:        

Develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding.

Use different types of science enquiry that help them to answer scientific questions about the world around them in different ways and deepen their knowledge.

Be equipped with the scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of Science, today and for the future.

Use a range of cross-curricular methods to communicate their scientific findings.

To use resources carefully with a clear aim of their purpose.

Develop an enthusiasm and enjoyment of scientific learning and discovery.

Question what is around them and have opportunities to answer their own questions.

Raise scientific aspirations to highlight different scientific careers.

Implementation: Planning:     

Planning is mapped out in our curriculum cycles and progression of skills is tracked by teachers using the Chris Quigley Curriculum Milestones and used to inform medium term plans which support differentiation in mixed age classes.

Science is taught in planned topic blocks by the class teacher with a clear idea of the scientific skill/s being taught. This will ensure that there is clear progression from one year group to the other.

Through our planning, we involve problem solving opportunities and time to ask questions that allow children to find out for themselves.

Children are encouraged to carry out their own experiments and are often given the opportunity to repeat an experiment based upon previous findings.

Planning involves teachers creating engaging lessons, often involving high-quality resources.

Lessons: At Earith Primary School children have weekly lessons in Science throughout Key Stage 1 and 2. In Early years, Science is taught through the children learning about the world around them through continuous provision and play. Additional opportunities to experience learning scientifically are gained through Science days, STEM week and Science trips (e.g. The Leicester Space Centre, The Science Museum- London).  

Teachers use precise questioning in class to test conceptual knowledge and skills.

We build upon the learning and skill development of the previous years. As the children’s knowledge and understanding increases, and they become more proficient in selecting, using scientific equipment, collating and interpreting results, they become increasingly confident in their growing ability to come to conclusions based on real evidence.

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Working Scientifically skills are embedded into lessons to ensure these skills are being developed throughout the children’s school career and new vocabulary and challenging concepts are introduced through direct teaching.

For EYFS, following children’s interests and fascinations is key. While teachers plan to ensure coverage of the curriculum, if the opportunity arose, e.g. someone came in with a bird’s nest/egg that they found on the way to school, noticed worms on the playground after rain, identified changes in the weather, these would be used as opportunities for teaching and learning.

Children in EYFS, have regular opportunities to use the school grounds in order to promote an understanding of the world, in particular, children are able to observe and comment on patterns and changes over time.

Working Scientifically: ‘Working scientifically’ specifies the understanding of the nature, processes and methods of science for each year group and is taught and developed through practical elements in lessons. Scientific enquiry includes: observing over time; pattern seeking; identifying, classifying and grouping; comparative and fair testing (controlled investigations); and researching using secondary sources. Pupils should seek answers to questions through collecting, analysing and presenting data.

Key Stage 1: The principal focus of science teaching in key stage 1 is to enable pupils to experience and observe phenomena, looking more closely at the natural and humanly-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, including observing changes over a period of time, noticing patterns, grouping and classifying things, carrying out simple comparative tests, and finding things out using secondary sources of information. 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 variety of ways. Most of the learning about science should be done through the use of first-hand practical experiences, but there should also be some use of appropriate secondary sources, such as books, photographs and videos.

Lower Key Stage 2: The principal focus of science teaching in lower key stage 2 is to enable pupils to broaden their scientific view of the world around them. They should do 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, including observing changes over time, noticing patterns, grouping and classifying things, carrying out simple comparative and fair tests and finding things out using secondary sources of information. 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: The principal focus of science teaching in upper key stage 2 is to enable pupils to develop a deeper understanding of a wide range of scientific ideas. At upper key stage 2, they should encounter more abstract ideas and begin to recognise how these ideas help them to understand and predict how the world operates. They should also begin to recognise that scientific ideas change and develop over time. They should select the most appropriate ways to answer science questions using different types of scientific enquiry, including observing changes over different periods of time, noticing patterns, grouping and classifying things, carrying out comparative and fair tests and finding things out using a wide range of secondary sources of information. 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.

EYFS: We teach science in Reception classes as an integral part of the topic work covered during the year. We relate the scientific aspects of the children’s work to the objectives set out in the Early Learning Goals (ELGs), which underpin the curriculum planning for children aged three to five. Science makes a significant contribution to developing a child’s knowledge and understanding of the world as well as their communication and language skills.

The World: children know about similarities and differences in relation to places, objects, materials and living things. They talk about the features of their own immediate environment and how environments might vary from one another. They make observations of animals and plants and explain why some things occur, and talk about changes.

Communication and Language: Listening and attention: children listen attentively in a range of situations. They listen to stories, accurately anticipating key events and respond to what they hear with relevant comments, questions or actions. They give their attention to what others say and respond appropriately, while engaged in another activity. Understanding: children follow

instructions involving several ideas or actions. They answer ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions about their experiences and in response to stories or events. Speaking: children express themselves effectively, showing awareness of listeners’ needs. They use past, present and future forms accurately when talking about events that have happened or are to happen in the future. They develop their own narratives and explanations by connecting ideas or events.

Assessment:     

The progression of skills is tracked by teachers using the Chris Quigley Curriculum Milestones.

Live feedback – verbal and/or written – is used wherever possible to support and challenge children’s understanding and development in science.

Demonstration of the Earith Core Values is acknowledged and celebrated.

Target Tracker is used to teacher assess attainment in this subject At the end of a science unit, teachers use PIXL mini quizzes and PIXL Big question Cards to create further discussions and embed children’s learning from the unit. This also informs teacher assessment at the end of the half-term.

Parents: Parents are made aware of what children are learning/how to support them through information on the website, newsletters, parents evening and informal/formal conversations.

Impact: At Earith Primary School, we hope to develop children into scientists, who see the value of a future career in science. Children will also use the skills learnt in science to make progress in other areas of the curriculum, for example: problem solving, team-work, identifying patterns, asking questions. Through science, children will become deeply curious learners. We will achieve this through fun, well-resourced and engaging lessons. Science has a ‘high-profile’ in our school so children can appreciate the value of the subject and how science affects all that is around them. We are focused on listening to the children’s opinions of science in our school and are always working with them to find ways to improve this.

Impact of the science curriculum is measured in several ways: 

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Formative assessment: teachers respond to the day-to-day emergent needs of pupils in whichever lesson they are teaching, providing support and feedback during the lesson and in informing the next steps for subsequent lessons in order to proactively respond to these gaps in learning or provide further challenge.

Summative assessment: teacher assessment is made termly on Target Tracker Using the school’s knowledge assessment cycle, pupils take part in cyclical quizzes at multiple points throughout the year in order to provide an opportunity to recall what they have learnt currently and previously as this process promotes memory retention and provides a link to current learning.

In EYFS, TT is updated termly, using additional documentation, such as Development Matters, to support.

Subject leadership: The science subject leader monitors progress and achievement in science across the school as well as ensuring there is appropriate coverage of skills and knowledge.

The science leader organises and signposts additional resources as well as engages with a range of external sources to ensure the science curriculum provides the best offer possible for the children.

The science leader engages with, leads and deploys science CPD and ensures that they and all staff have the subject knowledge necessary to deliver the science curriculum.

The science leader monitors the science curriculum in a variety of ways including lesson visits/typicality walks, planning scrutiny and pupil learning conversations, as well as monitoring enrichment experiences/visitors/visits. These sources form the basis of evaluating the impact of the curriculum, strengths and emerging priorities.

The science leader both challenges and supports the teaching and learning of science in school.

The science leader reports to the Earith governing body regarding the quality of education in science.