Science

Science Statement:

The National Curriculum demands that primary aged children must: receive a high-quality science education [that] provides the foundations for understanding the world through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics...that all pupils should be taught essential aspects of the knowledge, methods, processes and uses of science. Through building up a body of key foundational knowledge and concepts, pupils should be encouraged to recognise the power of rational explanation and develop a sense of excitement and curiosity about natural phenomena. They should be encouraged to understand how science can be used to explain what is occurring, predict how things will behave, and analyse causes.

At Robert Kett, children follow a pathway of Science, from EYFS to Year 6. Early Years science sits broadly under ‘understanding the world’. The children talk about the features of their own immediate environment and how environments might vary from one another. They make observations of animals and plants and explain why some things occur, and talk about changes. What is covered depends on the interests of the children and is not always explicitly planned. It might be linked to a story with animals which leads to talk about the features of the animal or their habitat.

Having joined the Association of Science Education (ASE) we are eager to follow their advice and guidance so that we consciously include more scientific enquiry (such as: observing changes over a period of time, noticing patterns, grouping and classifying things, carrying out simple comparative tests, and finding things out using secondary sources of information) into our teaching and learning. This is coupled with the scientific knowledge that we know children need to develop their understanding of scientific ideas.

In Key Stage One, we have introduced floor books to record the scientific journey each class has made.

In Key Stage Two, we continue to ensure that scientific enquiry is balanced with factual knowledge. Children are encouraged to should draw simple conclusions and use some scientific language, first, to talk about and, later, to write about what they have found out.

Scientific enquiry is taught as part, not separate from, our curriculum offer,

You will find copies of the Knowledge Organisers for our Science topics under the curriculum tab of our website.

Additional opportunities are provided to enrich our science curriculum, such as British Science Week and in school and educational visits linked to the science curriculum, such as visits to How Hill.

We endeavour to ensure that the Science curriculum we provide will give children the confidence and motivation to continue to further develop their skills into the next stage of their education and life experiences.