SCIENCE

Intent

At Coppermill we will inspire all learners to be critical thinkers, questioning the world around them. Pupils will be provided with a range of opportunities to thrive as successful learners and develop a natural curiosity to test their ideas through practical and investigative learning.  

We recognise the importance of science in every aspect of daily life. As one of the core subjects taught in primary schools, we give the teaching and learning of science the prominence it requires. Our aim is to equip our children with the key working scientifically skills, knowledge and vocabulary motivated by our core skills of active learning, basic skills and creative thinking.

 

Our Science curriculum is shaped by the National Curriculum for Science, our school curriculum, our school values and the ethos at Coppermill.  Our science curriculum aims to ensure that all children:

 

·         develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics

·         develop understanding of the nature, processes and methods of science through different types of science enquiries that help them to answer scientific questions about the world around them

·         are equipped with the scientific skills required to understand the uses and implications of science, today and for the future.

·         To inspire pupils’ curiosity and interest in science, encouraging them to ask questions, make predictions and further explore the world around them.

 

Providing a comprehensive and well-balanced science curriculum that covers fundamental scientific concepts and processes ensures a clear year by year progression and cross-curricular links with other subjects such as, Mathamatics, Literacy, Geography and Design and Technology to encourage interdisciplinary learning. We will encourage children to see the connections across their learning, in their different subjects and how connected we are as a world; to become global learners. Actively promoting a diverse range of scientists encourages our pupils to see themselves represented by scientific role models.

 

Our intent is to deliver a science curriculum which is accessible to all and that will maximise the outcomes for every child. We will inspire and develop children’s natural curiosity so that they develop an enthusiasm and enjoyment of scientific learning and discovery. We endeavour to ensure that the science curriculum we provide, will give children at Coppermill the confidence and motivation to continue to further their skills into the next stage of education and beyond.

 

 

Implementation

At Coppermill, teachers foster a positive attitude to science learning within their classrooms and reinforce an expectation that all children can achieve high standards in science. Our whole school approach to the teaching and learning of science is clearly mapped out through our curriculum design to provide teachers with the necessary tools to carefully plan, use effective teaching strategies, and carry out ongoing assessment to ensure maximum progress and engagement of all pupils.  Across the school science is planned using an ‘explore, reflect and review’ approach.

The science curriculum is designed to provide a progression of knowledge and skills, ensuring that pupils revisit and build upon prior learning. Typically, pupils’ at Coppermill are taught science every Friday morning.

There is a strong focus on working scientifically and providing children with opportunities to apply their knowledge. Children are encouraged to ask their own questions and be given opportunities to use their scientific skills and research to discover the answers. Staff are required to have a science display in classrooms and this will be changed for each new topic; we also have a science display in the main corridor.

Each unit of work begins with a pre-assessment topic sheet where children have key vocabulary, scientific and enquiry skills symbols to refer to during lessons as well as a pre-assessment question; ‘what do I already know about this topic?’

Every lesson starts with an enquiry question to spark children’s curiosity about a scientific phenomenon and provide a focus for their questions and investigations. The Explore activity is also designed as a rich formative assessment opportunity for children to reflect on what they already know and identify what they need to learn next. Each topic provides a cycle of lessons which carefully plan for progression and depth. Teachers provide opportunities to promote science capital and develop children’s understanding of their surroundings by accessing outdoor learning, workshops with experts and external visits, thus enhancing the learning experience.

 

Impact

The impact of our science curriculum is evident through the enthusiasm in children’s engagement measured throughout the planning, teaching and learning cycle and teacher assessment of pupil’s progress in each topic.

Children’s learning is assessed against the age-related expectations for science. Below is an outline of the impact we are looking for in our pupils in the curriculum area of science: