Subject Leaders: Mr M Braddish and Mrs A McDonnell

 “A scientist is not a person who gives the right answers;

it is one who asks the right questions”.

Claude Levi-Strauss

Science comes from the Latin word “scire”, which means to know.

What is Science?

Our definition for EYFS and KS1 – Science is asking questions and exploring the natural world through our senses.

Our definition for KS2 – Science is the study of the natural and man-made world through questioning, observation and experimentation.

The study of science is the acquisition of knowledge about the world based on facts learned though experimentation and observation. To achieve this, as the great physicist Carl Sagan once said, “science is a way of thinking, more than it is a body of knowledge.” By developing a healthy curiosity about the world and their place in it, our children at North Somercotes CE Primary School will shine a light on its many wonders and truly understand the world around us. To look at the world with scientific eyes is to see it with a sense of awe and wonder, to ask questions, to be forever curious, and to strive to build on the knowledge we have.

Concepts

The National Curriculum for Science explains that it aims for all children to develop “scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics.”

Intention

“Science is the poetry of reality,”

Richard Dawkins

Through our implementation of the National Curriculum we aim:

• To develop and promote a curiosity about the world and their place within it.
• To give children the space and confidence to ask questions and provide them with the necessary tools and skills to find the answers.
• To develop an understanding of the uses of science both in the past, the present, and even what it could do for us in the future.
• To help the children understand biology, chemistry and physics through the wonder of scientific enquiry.
• To have the knowledge to understand the natural, man-made and physical world and to have the skills to find out the answers to the questions they don’t yet know the answers to.
• To Shine a Light on inspirational scientists for our children to aspire to.

Implementation

Here at North Somercotes CE Primary School, we aim to achieve these objectives through the delivery of a broad and ambitious Science Curriculum, rich in skills and understanding. Our Science subject leaders have created a bespoke curriculum to meet the needs of our children. This includes a clear Yearly Overview of scientific concepts, skills, knowledge and vocabulary and an extensive Planning and Progression document – all closely matched with National Curriculum requirements. From this custom made Unit Plans have been created for each year group in the most part linked to our whole school theme for each term. We aim to shine a light on the wonders of science and create scientists of the future. As each class explores their inspirational person for the term our children will become aware of many more inspirational scientific figures. Where appropriate, children will be exposed to a variety of resources such as factual posters, diagrams, vocabulary, and photographs. There should be purposeful displays including key facts they have learnt throughout the topic. Scientific vocabulary related to the topic and pertinent to their age range should be displayed and referred to consistently.

Organisation and Planning

How do we teach Science?

Throughout our school, we believe that science should be taught through enquiry.  We are passionate about children discovering science facts rather than just being presented with them.  Time is allowed for groups and individuals to play with and explore the resources and then, through a range of different types of enquiry, the children ask questions and consider what they have observed.  Well organised enquiries and careful questioning allow children to build up their own knowledge based on what they already know and their experiences. The skills of scientific enquiry are built up over time and are matched to suit the enquiry. The children know that science is a practical part of the curriculum in which they get to explore and develop an understanding of the world around them. We structure our curriculum using whole school subjects in blocks over a number of weeks. This enables us to go deeper into subjects and to make meaningful connections with other subjects.

Science is structured so that the children can work through 3 key concepts: physics, biology and chemistry. Running through this is the concept of Scientific Enquiry where the children will learn to use the 5 different types of enquiry:

• Comparative and fair testing
• Pattern seeking
• Identifying, classifying and grouping
• Observing over time
• Research using secondary  

Physics – Physics is the science of forces and the behaviour of the material universe.

Biology – Biology is the science of living organisms and their interactions with each other and the environment.

Chemistry – Chemistry is the science of the structure, properties and reactions of materials. 

The programmes of study describe a sequence of knowledge and concepts. While it is important that pupils make progress, it is also vitally important that they develop a secure understanding of each key block of knowledge and concepts in order to progress to the next stage. Insecure understanding will not allow genuine progression; pupils may struggle at key points of transition, build up serious misconceptions, and/or have significant difficulties in understanding higher-order content.

EYFS

• To know about similarities and differences in relation to places, objects, materials and living things.
• To talk about the features of their own immediate environment and how environments might vary.
• To make observations of animals and plants and explain why some things occur, and talk about changes.

Key Stage 1

• Physics - seasonal changes
• Biology - plants; animals (including humans)
• Chemistry - everyday materials

Lower Key Stage 2

• Physics – light; electricity; forces and magnets; sound
• Biology – plants; animals (including humans)      
• Chemistry – rocks; states of matter

Upper Key Stage 2

• Physics – light; electricity; forces; Earth & space
• Biology – animals (including humans); living things and their habitats; evolution and inheritance
• Chemistry – properties and changes of materials

Impact

“Scientists have become the bearers of the torch of discovery in

our quest for knowledge.”  Stephen Hawking

We are immensely proud of the science at North Somercotes CE Primary School.  The children value the subject and have a good knowledge of physics, biology and chemistry.  Our children are given the opportunity to develop a curiosity of the natural and man-made world and through lessons they are able to make sense of what they observe and experience.  Through a carefully structured curriculum and well considered enquiries they are able to organise their thinking, make links between new and existing knowledge and in turn gain a deeper understanding of themselves and their world.  Having a strong sense of themselves and the world is crucial to helping them grow and develop a caring attitude towards our planet and other living things. They will leave our school with a rich scientific knowledge and understanding not only of the concepts within science but they will also have shone a light on many inspirational scientific figures they can aspire to be.