Science

"Science makes people reach selflessly for truth and objectivity; it teaches people to accept reality, with wonder and admiration"

- Lise Meitner

Intent

At Bedgrove Junior School we want to inspire children to develop their knowledge and understanding of the scientific world around them. We recognise how important science and scientific processes are in their everyday lives. We aim to provide them with the opportunity to increase their knowledge and understanding of our world, and to develop the skills associated with science as a process of enquiry. It is our intention to develop the natural curiosity of each child, to encourage respect for living organisms and the physical environment and provide opportunities for critical evaluation of evidence. Through the use of rich scientific language, we encourage the children to develop a scientific vocabulary that is robust, useful and that will build throughout their time with us. These skills should enable children to succeed in all key areas of the Key Stage 2 curriculum, as well as providing them with the necessary foundations upon which to build in Key Stage 3. We also aim to challenge our pupils by providing opportunities to develop life skills within science lessons, e.g. resilience, working collaboratively and reflecting critically on their learning.

Implementation

• Closely follow expectations set in the National Curriculum for Science which is taught once a week for two hours and fits in the wider curriculum.

• Whole school skills and knowledge progression document used when planning to ensure correct coverage.

• Topics covered are distributed between the year groups to avoid repetition in consecutive years.

• Links are made between science and other areas of the curriculum to enable children to practise skills and apply knowledge in a variety of contexts.

• Children assess their own knowledge at the beginning and end of units, using a range of strategies such as mind maps and quizzes to demonstrate their knowledge.

• ‘WOW days’ or ‘Science days’ take place in order to inspire and enthuse the children about the subject.

• Opportunities for a trip or visit are welcomed to enable children the opportunity to experience science from another source

Impact

Our children enjoy science lessons and staff are highly engaged in the subject, with the support from the wider curriculum team. We have children who leave at the end of Year 6 with not only the required knowledge and skills for moving onto secondary school, but also a deeper need to explore the world for themselves and a curiosity and passion for the subject.