Science

Intent

Science teaching at Warley Primary School aims to provide all children with a strong understanding of the world around them and encourage them to consider the implications of science on their life today and for the future. They will acquire specific skills and knowledge to help them think scientifically and gain an understanding of scientific processes.

Staff wish to provide opportunities for pupils to develop their scientific enquiry skills within each topic which can then be applied to many aspects of their wider life. Science teaching at Warley allows children to build upon their prior knowledge and increases their enthusiasm for the topics whilst embedding this procedural knowledge into the long-term memory.

Given the context of our pupils at Warley, we aim to provide them with opportunities and experiences that they may not have access to outside of the school environment.

We would like our science teaching to provide children with the opportunity to develop independence, resilience and curiosity and we achieve this through a mixture of practical and theory based lessons. 

Teachers encourage pupils to question the world around them, engage in scientific dialogue with peers and adults, and begin to identify their own strengths and interests within the science curriculum. Particularly in upper Key Stage 2, we strive to help children recognise more specific areas of interest within science to support their choices as they move to secondary school. Children will leave Warley with an awareness of how science is interlaced in so many aspects of life in modern Britain.  

Implementation

Throughout their time at Warley, children study a range of topics which are revisited and developed over the years. Topics, such as Plants, are taught in Key Stage One and studied again in further detail throughout Key Stage Two.

Lessons are taught weekly for one hour from years 1-6 covering five different topics per year.

At Warley Primary School, each topic is taught through a variety of practical and theory based lessons where all pupils are provided with opportunities to observe, plan and investigate. Practical investigations teach pupils to develop their skills working collaboratively as well as independently, whilst problem solving and taking responsibility for their learning.

Specialist vocabulary for each topic is taught and progresses through the key stages allowing pupils to communicate their ideas and questions effectively.

At Warley Primary School, we recognise that many of our children enter EYFS below age related expectations, often having limited wider world experiences. Therefore, children at Warley are encouraged to develop their exploration skills and understanding of the world through practical, play based experiences where they can investigate, experiment and ask questions. We aim to provide pupils with the opportunity to experiment with resources that they may not have had access to before, to develop their scientific vocabulary and support them to begin working scientifically.

Teachers are provided with a carefully chosen scheme of work that provides an in depth curriculum coverage tailored to our pupils interests. We have selected particular topics that will engage all pupils, including those with additional needs as we recognise that they often flourish in curriculum subjects. This supports the teaching of science whilst allowing teachers to adapt plans to suit the needs of the pupils at Warley Primary School.

When planning science, teachers consider the following:

• Specific vocabulary to be taught for each topic
• How to adapt plans so that all pupils are challenged and supported enough to be successful
• Resourcing lessons appropriately
• Planning trips and visits from experts who will enhance and embed learning and enrich children’s lives. E.g. Fire and ambulance visit, visits to local feeder schools.
• Half termly assessments to identify strengths and areas for development in each topic taught
• Whole school Science Day where children focus on themed activities for the whole day

Impact

Our Science Curriculum is high quality, well thought out and is planned to demonstrate progression and in-depth curriculum coverage. If children are keeping up with the curriculum, they are deemed to be making good or better progress. In addition, we measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:

•  Half termly science assessments where gaps in learning are identified
• Twice yearly data drops to monitor progression and attainment
• Monitoring of books and lesson observations
• Pupil and staff perception surveys
• Learners are independent and resilient
• Children can work collaboratively and independently with success
• Children can self-select equipment and apparatus needed for a practical task
• Children have strong investigative skills and can apply these in other areas of the curriculum