Science

SCIENCE PROGRESSION OF SKILLS

SCIENCE EYFS

SCIENCE ROAD MAP

INTENT IMPLEMENTATION AND IMPACT

 

 

This year at St. Mary’s, we will continue to follow the New Curriculum objectives in science. Our focus will be on using our scientific facts to be able to conduct scientific enquiries and justify our results using scientific vocabulary. We use a number of different resources to help us make our lessons as engaging and hands on as possible. Children will have a range of equipment to help aid them in their studies which will be available in lessons including a class set of IPads to help with researching scientific facts and theories. We also have our Snap Science and Kapow scheme which gives us the opportunity to develop children’s learning further by conducting independent research tasks which can also be set for homework.

We will continue to be part of the Science Ninja Reward scheme where different scientific enquiry areas are covered within lessons and children will be rewarded when using them successfully. We have been very lucky to be one of a select group of schools to be asked to continue the project this year and we know we can definitely see a real benefit to using the scheme in our lessons.

We were very fortunate in the last academic year to be able to offer the children throughout the school the opportunities to see how science plays a role in our daily lives. Some of the Infant classes were studying the life cycle of a butterfly by having some caterpillars in their class which they were able to see change into a cocoon and then finally, into a butterfly. The rest of the school were able to take part in VR habitats workshops where they used the VR headsets to explore different animal environments and leant how animals have had to adapt to live in specific places.

 

 

Knowledge and Understanding

Children should:

  • be curious about the things they observe, experiencing and exploring the world around them with all their senses;
  • use this experience to develop their understanding of key scientific ideas and make links between different phenomena and experiences;
  • begin to think about models to represent things they cannot directly experience;
  • try to make sense of phenomena, seeking explanations and thinking critically about claims and ideas.                    

Processes and Skills

Children should:

  • acquire and refine practical skills needed to investigate questions safely;
  • develop skills of predicting, asking questions, hypothesising, planning, fair testing, observing, measuring, recording, evaluating results based on evidence and understanding, drawing conclusions and using these skills in investigative work;
  • practise mathematical skills in real life contexts;
  • learn why numerical skills and mathematical skills are useful and helpful in understanding.

 

Language and Communication

Children should:

  • think creatively about science and enjoy trying to make sense of phenomena;
  • develop language skills through talking about their work and presenting their own ideas using sustained and systematic writing of different kinds;
  • use scientific and mathematical language including technical vocabulary and conventions, and draw diagrams and charts to communicate scientific ideas;
  • read non-fiction and extract information from sources such as reference books or information from the internet.

 

Values and Attitudes

Children should:

 

  • work with others, listening to their ideas and treating these with respect;
  • develop respect for evidence and evaluate critically ideas which may or may not fit evidence available;
  • develop the ability to work in an increasingly independent way;
  • develop a respect for the environment and living things and for their own health and safety.

 

Curriculum

In order to achieve the aims outlined previously, the teaching of science is implemented in the following ways.

 

Scheme of Work

The statutory requirements for science in the National Curriculum Programme of Study for Science, and the Enfield guidance are followed.   This provides a long term teaching framework, with units of work planned for years 1 – 6, to provide both subject knowledge and opportunities for scientific inquiry.

 

Science Ninja Scheme

We will continue as a school, to be part of the Science Ninja reward scheme. This is where children will be rewarded stickers for demonstrating some key scientific enquiry skills for using equipment, measuring, recording and observing. There will also be a certificate rewarded to children for doing some science linked activities at home.