Intent - What do we intend children to learn through Science?

In Science, we expect all children to learn new scientific concepts that build upon prior knowledge to enable them to know more and remember more. The Science curriculum is carefully sequenced so that there is a clear progression of scientific knowledge and skills from Reception to Year 6, matching the expectations of the National Curriculum. Our Science curriculum is designed to promote a curiosity, awe and wonder of the world we live in. Through enquiry and practical experiences, we aim to enhance children’s scientific knowledge. We expect children to understand the relevance and implications of science today and in the future on a local and broader scale. As with History and Geography, Science will be based around our RPS values and we expect children to explore themes around Respect, Pride and Success as they progress through our school. Children will be immersed in the Science curriculum when it is the driving subject in the summer term STEM based topic. 

Implementation - How do we teach Science at Repton Primary School?

Teachers from EYFS to Year 6 use the Progression of Skills document to help inform their planning in Science. Lessons are sequenced carefully by teachers to ensure progression and guarantee the coverage of the knowledge and skills children are expected to acquire within their year group.

All teaching of Science should cover the substantive knowledge (understanding concepts), as well as the disciplinary knowledge (being able to work scientifically). While these skills may present differently across each Key Stage (E.g. EYFS may ask simple questions and use their senses to explore, whereas Year 6 pupils may plan their own scientific enquiries, use carefully selected tools and methods to record, and present data in a variety of written ways), all year groups should provide opportunities for exploration and enquiry.

At Repton Primary School, Science lessons across all key stages follow a similar structure. Each lesson begins with a ‘flashback’ starter, where children reflect on learning from the previous year, previous unit of work, and previous lesson. This allows the pupils to know more, remember more, and make links to other areas of their learning. The learning outcomes for the day will be shared with the pupils, and teachers should use their own professional judgements to provide activities which cover the core knowledge and skills appropriate for this lesson objective. Science should be taught using a variety of activities, including written tasks, research tasks, verbal discussions, and practical, hands-on exploration and investigation. When planning a scientific investigation, teachers should work with the pupils in the class to reach a suitable enquiry. In KS2 for example, a scientific enquiry may look as follows: enquiry question, equipment list, method, variables (controlled, dependent, independent), predictions, recordings/findings, conclusion). Before conducting a scientific experiment, teachers should again work with pupils to identify and manage risks to secure a safe learning environment. At the end of a unit of work, teachers should provide pupils with an end-of-unit assessment, which is appropriate for their age group. Teachers should use this, alongside their own judgements, to track pupil progress and identify any gaps in learning. Assessment data in science is inputted onto our whole school tracking system.

As part of the Science curriculum in school, pupils will learn about key scientists, past and present, considering their contributions to the world of science. At Repton Primary School, we value science as a core subject and therefore work incredibly hard to increase pupils’ science capital, which refers to their engagement, ideas and attitudes towards science. We aim to raise the profile of science by: celebrating national and worldwide events (such as British Science Week and Science Day), encouraging staff to organise day trips or visits relating to their year group’s science objectives, and providing multiple representations in science to promote equality and overcome gender stereotyping in the STEM field.

At Repton Primary school, the Science curriculum is heavily focused on during the summer term as it is taught alongside our DT curriculum, offering pupils STEM based learning opportunities. Many year groups, however, will teach science all year round to ensure coverage of all the National Curriculum objectives. We continually strive to give pupils the most enriching learning opportunities and therefore hope to work with local STEM based companies as often as possible to enhance the curriculum and provide our children with practical, real life STEM experiences.

Evidence of teaching and learning in Science can be found in Science books, on displays in the classroom and on our school website.