Science

Science in Our School

Intent

The Science Principles are the basis for Science. We hope that by following these principles our students will understand that there is a real value in Science and we really hope that some of our students will go on to have careers in scientific areas. 

1.     We are engaged and interested in our learning.

2.     We are leading our own investigations.

3.     We work scientifically.

4.     We are challenged in Science.

5.     We have fun in Science!

Broadening horizons – we invite as many outreach/visitor opportunities into school as possible. We need children to see that there is a real life point to Science. We are problem solvers and we are hoping to create STEM ambassadors for the future

Children in our school see the point of Science and the reason that we do it; as lessons are based around real life problems and working scientifically skills are embedded in every lesson.

We want our children to be naturally curious about the world around them. We want our children to have a broad vocabulary. Scientific language is to be taught and built upon as topics are revisited in different year groups and across key stages. We intend to provide all children regardless of ethnic origin, gender, class, aptitude or disability with a broad and balanced science curriculum.

Implementation

Each unit should start off with a display in the classroom featuring key words that should be added to like a Maths or English working wall

Each Science unit should also start off with a KWL grid or similar assessment to gage prior understanding of topic. This makes it simple to help children with less/lower prior knowledge of subject and challenge ‘experts’.

Units should also be started off with some kind of WOW launch which could be something like an Explorify video or a visitor – ask an expert – or a visit to a place related to the topic. It should also be introduced alongside a famous Scientist who was or is famous within the field of study that the children will be looking at within their topic. The aim is to relate the current topic to its real life context. We want to try and steer our pupils away from the idea of the 'crazy Scientist' and heelp them understand that Scientists are everyday people like us. 

Lessons should have an Learning Objective linked to the key learning found in the Lancashire planning documents and these documents together with the Inspiring Science documents should be used to aid planning. Each lesson should also have a WS link which should be discussed with students at the beginning of the lesson for example, ‘We are working like Scientists today because…’ Learning should be taught through scientific skills.

Lessons should, wherever possible, also start off with a real life context so pupils can understand the reasoning behind what we do. For example, ‘My friend said that fruit juice is good for your teeth because it has fruit in it, are they correct? Such contexts invite investigation and debate.

Lessons should be as hands on and equipment based as possible. When conducting investigations children should be given the opportunity to ask and investigate their own questions. Children should be predicting, recording results in tables and creating conclusions from results.

Impact

Children should be assessed against the Learning Objectives and WS skills ladder throughout the half term and assessment should be done at the end of a unit which will show the teacher who needs a little more support to reach expected standard. An assessment sheet should be filled in stating where each child is working with work attached as evidence.

Homework should be Science based at points throughout a half term and projects should be set to encourage Science talk at home.

Take a look at some of the amazing knowledge mats that our pupils use to aid their learning. They are in the files below. 

Please also see the yearly overview for Science that also has ideas for some of the famous Scientists that we could look to for inspiration at the beginning of a half term.

Science Week 2024

We had another fun packed week for 'Science Week' this year. All of our classes had a visit from the incredible Zoolab team. The ranger introdiced us to lots of different animals and made sure all of our questions were answered. 

The Travelling Science Man Adrian Bowden also performed two amazing shows for us and we were wowed by the spectacles that he created!

We all took part in a little bit more Science than usual and made sure that our activities followed the theme of 'time'. Some of us looked at the passing of time and how this shows in the seasons; whereas some of us created investigations into time and how we can measure it. 

Here are some examples of our lovely displays

Files to Download