Intent

At Bishop Ridley C of E Primary School, we aim for pupils to develop a love of science and the world around them through an engaging and exciting curriculum.  We will ensure that pupils develop their scientific knowledge and understanding so they can appreciate how science has a significant and positive impact on their lives and wider society.  We will prepare them for future science learning and ensure they are prepared for a future career in science-based industries.

Our curriculum is structured so that pupils can see the interplay between substantive knowledge (knowledge of products of science) and disciplinary knowledge (knowledge of the practices of science).  Pupils will be taught to respond intelligently to scientific information in the real world and can explain the evidence behind science and use this knowledge to work scientifically. 

Pupils will have a clear understanding of the diverse methods that scientists use to generate knowledge.  We will do this by teaching pupils the techniques to use apparatus correctly and safely, how to carry out scientific procedures and research and how to take accurate measurements.  In addition, pupils will have opportunities to analyse data presented in a variety of tables and graphs.

Progression in scientific knowledge and understanding is clearly identified and structured in our curriculum and we ensure that new knowledge is introduced appropriately but that there is also sufficient time for existing knowledge to be practised and securely embedded into the long-term memory.  Wide-ranging and appropriate vocabulary will be introduced throughout the curriculum and this will provide the ‘seeds’ for developing scientific concepts that will be built on in their later years. 

Finally, our curriculum allows for misconceptions to be addressed and challenged and pupils will be encouraged to use their sound prior knowledge to understand how everyday experiences can conflict with scientific knowledge.

Implementation

The teaching and implementation of Science at Bishop Ridley is based on the National Curriculum and topics are carefully sequenced to build on previous knowledge, allow children to make links with other subjects and to be ready to move onto new learning.  Science is carefully planned and taught to ensure a spread of subject knowledge, scientific enquiry and opportunities to apply their knowledge are featured in every topic.

Where possible, the individual Science topics that are covered in each year group are linked to other subject topics so that meaningful links can be made which makes it easier for children to link Science learning to their knowledge to the wider world.  For example, in Year 6 the ‘Living Things’ topic is taught alongside the Frozen Kingdom geography topic so that links can be made between different animals and plants living in the polar regions. 

The acquisition of key scientific knowledge is an integral part of our science lessons and linked planning organisers (or matrices) are used in each year group.  These knowledge and planning organisers set out the key learning and vocabulary that needs to be taught in each topic.  There are also clear links to previous learning and what knowledge and skills the children will be learning in the future.  This allows the class teachers to have a deep understanding of the whole learning journey and how each topic and lesson fits into the children’s science knowledge.  The progression of skills for working scientifically are developed throughout the year groups and opportunities for this are featured in every science lesson.

Each lesson has a clear focus with lessons designed to build on previous knowledge as well as providing an opportunity to identify and rectify common misconceptions. A range of strategies for working scientifically are deployed and a good mix of hand-on learning as well as high quality research are used alongside opportunities to investigate and carry out experiments.  As children move through the school, our knowledge and planning organisers detail what working scientifically skills they should be learning at each stage and how they should be recording and presenting their learning.

At the end of each topic, end of unit tests allow teachers to assess the learning of each child and this is recorded on Target Tracker so that future teachers can see what topics have been covered and where there are gaps.

In the Early Years, children are encouraged to notice the world around them and will ask simple questions about what they can see.  For example, they will notice that a puddle on the playground will ‘disappear’ during the day.  Science is covered in the ‘Understanding the World’ area of the EYFS curriculum.  

Impact

At Bishop Ridley, Science progress is measured through a child’s ability to know more, remember more and explain more. This is measured in various ways across each unit through more formal assessment tests and teacher’s feedback and marking.  The knowledge recap part of the lesson allows pupils to consolidate their learning and allows teachers to pick up gaps in knowledge or misconceptions from a previous lesson.  Children now regularly look back through their books to find information to assist them when answering these questions and, as a result, science books are now becoming an essential learning tool rather than just a workbook. 

Each lesson in Science begins with an ‘Enquiry Question’ that sets a clear direction for the lesson.  At the end of the lesson, children answer the Enquiry Question which allows them to demonstrate the knowledge they have acquired throughout the lesson and allows the teacher to assess what they have learnt.  Children are able to discuss their enquiry question with confidence at the end of lessons and demonstrate how the learning during the lesson can be used to answer this question. 

At the start of each new topic, children are given a copy of a ‘Knowledge Organiser’ that contains key information and vocabulary about the topic.  This has meant children have been using vocabulary with confidence during the lesson.  The learning environment in each classroom is now more consistent and key vocabulary is displayed, spoken and used by all learners.  Children are excited about their Science learning and can discuss the relevance of what they learn in Science lessons to real-life situations and the importance of science in the real world.