Science

Implementation

Science teaching at Whitmore Park Primary School is taught as discrete units.  Teachers adapt and extend planning to match all pupils’ needs, their interests, current events, their own teaching style, the use of any support staff and the resources available.

Our school aspires to promote children’s independence and for all children to take responsibility for their own learning, therefore we encourage children in each class to devise at least one independent investigation per half-term; where possible, linked to the Big Question.

Our children begin their science experience in Early Years Foundation Stage, with informal investigation within the setting. Teachers facilitate children’s curiosity with open ended questions and clearly thought-out learning experiences which are both child and adult lead. In KS1 and KS2, children continue to build on their science knowledge and skills with more formal weekly science lessons for one hour per week.

Our approach to science takes account of the school’s context, where possible we ensure access to people with specialist expertise and places of scientific interest. When appropriate, we use our school grounds to enhance the teaching of science.

As we want our children to have a love of science and aspiration to be a scientist or life-long learner of science, we research and learn about scientists or inventors linked to the unit we are studying.

Foundation Stage/Key Stage 1

The principal focus of science teaching in Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 is to enable pupils to experience and observe phenomena, looking more closely at the natural and humanly constructed world around them. They should be encouraged to be curious and ask questions about what they notice. They should be helped to develop their understanding of scientific ideas by using different types of scientific enquiry to answer their own questions, including observing changes over time, noticing patterns, grouping and classifying things, carrying out simple comparative tests, and finding things out using secondary sources of information. They should begin to use simple scientific language to talk about what they have found out and communicate their ideas to a range of audiences in a variety of ways.

Most of the learning about science should be done using first-hand practical experiences, but there should also be some use of appropriate secondary sources, such as books, photographs and videos. “Working scientifically” must also be taught through and clearly related to the teaching of substantive science content in the LTP.

Pupils should read and spell scientific vocabulary at a level consistent with the increasing word reading and spelling knowledge at Key Stage 1.

Years 3 – 4

The principal focus of science teaching in Years 3 and 4 is to enable pupils to broaden their Scientific view of the world around them. They should do this through exploring, talking about, testing and developing ideas about everyday phenomena and the relationships between living things and familiar environments, and by beginning to develop their ideas about functions, relationships and interactions.

They should ask their own questions about what they observe and make some decisions about which types of scientific enquiry are likely to be the best ways to answer them, including observing changes over time, noticing patterns, grouping and classifying things, carrying out simple comparative and fair tests and finding things out using secondary sources of information. They should draw simple conclusions and use some scientific language, first, to talk about and, later, to write about what they have found out. “Working scientifically” must also be taught through and clearly related to the teaching of substantive science content in the LTP.

Pupils should read and spell scientific vocabulary correctly and with confidence.

Years 5-6

The principal focus of science teaching in Years 5 and 6  is to enable pupils to develop a deeper understanding of a wide range of scientific ideas. They should do this through exploring and talking about their ideas; asking their own questions about scientific phenomena; and analysing functions, relationships and interactions more systematically.

In years 5 and 6, they should encounter more abstract ideas and begin to recognise how these ideas help them to understand and predict how the world operates. They should also begin to recognise that scientific ideas change and develop over time. They should select the most appropriate ways to answer science questions using different types of scientific enquiry, including changes over different periods of time, noticing patterns, grouping and classifying things, carrying out comparative and fair tests and finding things out using a wide range of secondary sources of information. Pupils should draw conclusions based on their data and observations, use evidence to justify their ideas, and use their scientific knowledge and understanding to explain their findings. “Working scientifically” must also be taught through and clearly related to the teaching of substantive science content in the LTP.

Pupils should read, spell and pronounce scientific vocabulary correctly.