science

Science has changed our lives and is vital to the world’s future prosperity. Through building up a body of key foundational knowledge and concepts, pupils should be encouraged to recognise the power of rational explanation and develop a sense of excitement and curiosity about natural phenomena.

Intent

At St Mark’s Primary School, it is our intention that every child should develop a positive and enthusiastic attitude to science in order to cultivate their enjoyment and interest in the subject, alongside their appreciation of the contribution that science makes in everyday life, today and in the future. Each child will become more aware of and able to use scientific approaches and methods, throughout and across the years within the school. Children will be given a wide range of opportunities to develop their scientific understanding of the world and their skills of investigation, including observation, measuring, predicting, hypothesising, experimenting, fair testing, communicating and interpreting.

We strongly believe the best way to learn about science is through hands-on investigation. We believe that these first-hand experiences allow children to develop their understanding of the nature, processes and methods of science; this range of scientific enquiries enables them to answer questions about the world around them.

Where possible we will encourage children to take an active lead in their learning, posing and finding ways of answering their own questions. Children are given the opportunity to develop a set of attitudes which will promote scientific ways of thinking, including open-endedness, perseverance, objectivity and recognition of the importance of teamwork. Children will gain an awareness of environmental issues to enable them to become responsible citizens who can make well informed life choices. 

Implementation

We believe the teaching of science encompasses the acquisition of knowledge, concepts, skills and positive attitudes. Throughout our science curriculum, the children will acquire and develop the necessary key knowledge within each unit and across each year group. The key knowledge identified for each year group is informed by the National Curriculum and builds towards identified phase ‘end points’ in accordance with NC expectations. Key skills are also mapped for each year group and are progressive throughout the school. These too ensure systematic progression to identified skills end points which are in accordance with the Working Scientifically skills expectations of the National Curriculum. Our curriculum is designed to ensure that children are able to acquire key scientific knowledge through practical experiences- using equipment, conducting experiments, building arguments and explaining concepts confidently.

The school’s approach to science takes into account the school’s own context, ensuring access to people with specialist expertise and places of scientific interest as part of the school’s commitment to learning outside the classroom. Cross curricular opportunities are also identified, mapped and planned to ensure contextual relevance. Children are encouraged to ask questions and be curious about their surroundings and a love of science is nurtured through a whole school ethos and a varied science curriculum.

Impact 

The successful approach at St Mark’s Primary School results in a fun, engaging, high-quality science education, that provides children with the foundations and knowledge for understanding the world. Our engagement with the local environment ensures that children learn through varied and first hand experiences about the world around them.

Through various workshops, trips and interactions, children gain the understanding that science has changed our lives and that it is vital to the world’s future prosperity. Children learn the possibilities for careers in science. Children at St Mark’s Primary School overwhelmingly enjoy science and this results in motivated learners with sound scientific understanding.

We use a range of strategies to assess the development of the children’s knowledge, skills and attitudes towards science:

• The class teacher’s ongoing formative assessments
• Class work scrutinies
• Lesson observations and feedback
• Pupil voice surveys
• Skills-based formative assessments
• Knowledge-based summative assessments

Click here for Science coverage map 

Click here for Science progression map

To further develop your child's knowledge and understanding in Science, encourage them to visit some of our recommended websites at home: