Science

Curriculum Intent – Science

Science is the gathering of knowledge about the natural world and its phenomena. It involves research, observations and experimentation in order to gather evidence and gain an understanding of how things work. A high-quality science education covers the disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics and is vital to ensure that pupils are ready for secondary school and beyond.

Children naturally have lots of questions about the world around them. At St Mary’s, we aim to provide pupils with the necessary core scientific knowledge and investigative skills to answer these questions – encouraging all children to be curious and independent learners, and to see themselves as ‘scientists’.

The 10 ‘big ideas’ of science according to inspiring-science-education.net are:

1. All material in the Universe is made of very small particles.

2. Objects can affect other objects at a distance.

3. Changing the movement of an object requires a net force to be acting on it.

4. The total amount of energy in the Universe is always the same but energy can be transformed when things change or are made to happen.

5. The composition of the Earth and its atmosphere and the processes occurring within them shape the Earth's surface and its climate.

6. The solar system is a very small part of one of millions of galaxies in the Universe.

7. Organisms are organised on a cellular basis.

8. Organisms require a supply of energy and materials for which they are often dependent on or in competition with other organisms.

9. Genetic information is passed down from one generation of organisms to another.

10. The diversity of organisms, living and extinct, is the result of evolution.

During their time at St Mary’s, children develop an understanding of these concepts at primary level through our biology, chemistry and physics topic coverage. For example, Year 3 looks at big ideas 2 and 3 during their ‘Forces’ topic, Year 5 studies big idea number 6 during their ‘Space’ topic and Year 6 covers big ideas 9 and 10 during their ‘Evolution’ unit. Using their science knowledge, children also have opportunities to act as ‘engineers’, and to design and build structures as well as solve problems.

As well as developing their conceptual knowledge, children will be ‘working scientifically’ and making progress in the following disciplinary knowledge:

generating their own lines of enquiry

making predictions

analysing results

observing changes over time (both short periods of time and longer periods)

collecting results in a variety of ways

drawing conclusions from their observations

evaluating their own method and the reliability of their results.

Children will be actively participating in their own practical investigations and experiments, utilising the classroom, wider school grounds and the local environment and community. These diverse and creative learning opportunities excite and engage children and instil a love of science that we hope will remain with children for life.

As a Church School we undertake to support children to distinguish between factual science learning and their religious learning. Questions that may arise during R.E. and Science lessons where conflicting ideas could be taught are handled in a sensitive way with our Christian beliefs and values in mind.

How will we achieve our Curriculum Intent for Science?

The Science curriculum at St. Mary’s encompasses the National Curriculum as set out by the Dept. for Education published in September 2013. At St. Mary’s, we have decided that to ensure complete science coverage, science lessons are best taught discretely the majority of the time unless solid links with a particular topic can be made.

Certain topics, for example, Animals including Humans are revisited each year, building on previous learning. Other topics are covered twice during the pupils’ time at primary school e.g. Electricity. Where this is the case, class teachers will work closely together to ensure that any gaps are covered and children can progress with their learning in this area. We use the White Rose Science Scheme of Work.

Maths and English feature highly within science lessons. Children will have the opportunity to embed their maths skills and knowledge by using these in real life situations for example reading scales, analysing results and drawing graphs/ charts. Children will develop their speaking and listening skills, for example when making predictions and explaining their reasoning behind these – teaching children to think independently and know that everyone’s voice deserves to be heard. In addition, children learn key scientific vocabulary and have access to high-quality fiction and non-fiction texts relating to their science learning. Teachers demonstrate high expectations for both English and Maths skills within science lessons.

Pupils will also experience Science learning across the wider curriculum including Physical Education (PE), History and Geography.

Pupils will experience themed days, educational visits and visitors into school who work in and with the community. The children will have the opportunity to experience residential visits that support the Science curriculum e.g. the Year 5 Chichester trip. These elements further excite and engage our learners.

Year 5 Forensic Science day at Christ's Hospital

STEM/ Perseverance Pause Day

Classes 4, 5 and 6 were lucky enough to be visited by an engineer today who shared with us what it's like to have a career in engineering. He linked it to our value of Perseverance and gave examples of times famous engineers had had to persevere in order to succeed! All classes took part in an engineering project where they had to show perseverance as well as super engineering skills!

Science Week 2022

Today we enjoyed a fascinating 'Science Friction' assembly by Fizzpop Science! We thoroughly enjoyed watching all the experiments (some of us got to take part!) and we learnt facts about friction.