Science

A high-quality science education provides the foundations for understanding the world through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics. Science has changed our lives and is vital to the world’s future prosperity, and 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.

It is our intention at Launton School for Science to develop in all young people a lifelong curiosity and interest in the sciences. At our school, all pupils are taught essential aspects of the knowledge, methods, processes and uses of science. Pupils are encouraged to recognise the power of rational explanation and develop a sense of excitement and interest about natural phenomena. As children progress through the year groups, they build on their skills in working scientifically as well as on their scientific knowledge. As they develop greater independence, our children become ready to plan and carry out fair and comparative tests to answer a range of scientific questions.

• To develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

• To develop understanding of the nature, processes and methods of Science through different types of science enquiries that help them to answer scientific questions about the world around them.

• To be equipped with the scientific knowledge and skills required to understand the uses and implications of Science, today and for the future.
• To use a range of methods to communicate their scientific knowledge including ICT, diagrams, graphs, charts and reports.
• To develop a sense of excitement and curiosity about the world around them

• At Launton School we implement an ambitious, well-sequenced curriculum that is progressive throughout the whole school and gives full coverage of, ‘The National Curriculum programmes of study for Science 2014’ and, ‘Understanding of the World’ in the Early Years Foundation Stage
• Lessons are sequenced carefully and where appropriate, Science is taught in topics
• Careful attention is given to the progressive development of subject-specific vocabulary
• Teachers use targeted and specific questioning in class to test conceptual knowledge and skills, and assess children regularly to identify those children with gaps in learning, so that all children make appropriate progress
• The teaching of Science involves adapting and extending the curriculum to match all pupils’ needs.
• Disciplinary knowledge (how to do science), is developed alongside building substantive knowledge
• We build upon the learning and skill development of the previous years. As the children’s knowledge and understanding increases they become more proficient in selecting and using scientific equipment. They can collate and interpret results and become increasingly confident in their growing ability to come to conclusions based on real evidence.

Understanding the world involves guiding children to make sense of their physicalworld and their community. The frequency and range of children’s personal experiences increases their knowledge and sense of the world around them – from visiting parks, libraries and museums to meeting important members of society such as police officers, nurses and firefighters. In addition, listening to a broad selection of stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems will foster their understanding of our culturally, socially, technologically and ecologically diverse world. As well as building important knowledge, this extends their familiarity with words that support understanding across domains. Enriching and widening children’s vocabulary will support later reading comprehension.

Children at the expected level of development will:

- Explore the natural world around them, making observations and drawing pictures of animals and plants;

Know some similarities and differences between the natural world around them and contrasting environments, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class;

- Understand some important processes and changes in the natural world around them, including the seasons and changing states of matter. 

The principal focus of science teaching in key stage 1 is to enable pupils to experience and observe phenomena, looking more closely at the natural and humanly constructed world around them. They should be encouraged to be curious and ask questions about what they notice. They should be helped to develop their understanding of scientific ideas by using different types of scientific enquiry to answer their own questions, including 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. They should begin to use simple scientific language to talk about what they have found out and communicate their ideas to a range of audiences in a variety of ways. Most of the learning about science should be done through the use of first-hand practical experiences, but there should also be some use of appropriate secondary sources, such as books, photographs and videos.

‘Working scientifically’ is described separately in the programme of study, but must always be taught through and clearly related to the teaching of substantive science content in the programme of study. Throughout the notes and guidance, examples show how scientific methods and skills might be linked to specific elements of the content.

Pupils should read and spell scientific vocabulary at a level consistent with their increasing word-reading and spelling knowledge at key stage 1.

The principal focus of science teaching in lower key stage 2 is to enable pupils to broaden their scientific view of the world around them. They should do this through exploring, talking about, testing and developing ideas about everyday phenomena and the relationships between living things and familiar environments, and by beginning to develop their ideas about functions, relationships and interactions. They should ask their own questions about what they observe and make some decisions about which types of scientific enquiry are likely to be the best ways of answering them, including observing changes over time, noticing patterns, grouping and classifying things, carrying out simple comparative and fair tests and finding things out using secondary sources of information. They should draw simple conclusions and use some scientific language, first, to talk about and, later, to write about what they have found out.

‘Working scientifically’ is described separately at the beginning of the programme of study, but must always be taught through and clearly related to substantive science content in the programme of study. Throughout the notes and guidance, examples show how scientific methods and skills might be linked to specific elements of the content.

Pupils should read and spell scientific vocabulary correctly and with confidence, using their growing word-reading and spelling knowledge.

The principal focus of science teaching in upper key stage 2 is to enable pupils to develop a deeper understanding of a wide range of scientific ideas. They should do this through exploring and talking about their ideas; asking their own questions about scientific phenomena; and analysing functions, relationships and interactions more systematically. At upper key stage 2, they should encounter more abstract ideas and begin to recognise how these ideas help them to understand and predict how the world operates. They should also begin to recognise that scientific ideas change and develop over time. They should select the most appropriate ways to answer science questions using different types of scientific enquiry, including observing changes over different periods of time, noticing patterns, grouping and classifying things, carrying out comparative and fair tests and finding things out using a wide range of secondary sources of information. Pupils should draw conclusions based on their data and observations, use evidence to justify their ideas, and use their scientific knowledge and understanding to explain their findings.

‘Working and thinking scientifically’ is described separately at the beginning of the programme of study, but must always be taught through and clearly related to substantive science content in the programme of study. Throughout the notes and guidance, examples show how scientific methods and skills might be linked to specific elements of the content.

Pupils should read, spell and pronounce scientific vocabulary correctly.