Science

Intent

At the Village Schools Partnership, the Science Curriculum will enable all children to be fully immersed in every aspect of Science and allow them to confidently recognise the importance of Science in their daily lives. 

We want children to explore and discover scientific knowledge through exciting, practical hands-on experiences that encourage the natural curiosity of children and to deepen their understanding through questioning. These stimulating and challenging experiences help every child secure and extend their scientific knowledge and vocabulary, as well as promoting a love for learning.

We intent to have a coherently planned and sequenced curriculum, which has been carefully designed and developed with the need of every child at the centre of what we do. We want to equip children for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.

Implementation

The Village Schools Partnership Teachers and Staff will:

• promote enjoyment and foster interest of the scientific disciplines; Biology, Chemistry and Physics.
• teach the National Curriculum, supported by developing a broad range of skills and understanding, which is built on year by year and sequenced appropriately to maximise learning for all children.
• use a clear and comprehensive rolling programme of science content that will teach appropriate scientific vocabulary and have lots of first-hand learning opportunities and investigations.
• allow children to explore, question, predict, plan, carry out investigations and observations as well as conclude their findings.
• support children in their ability to ‘know more and remember more’ there are regular opportunities to review the learning taken place in previous topics as well as previous lessons.
• use knowledge organisers at the start of each topic, which details some key Science Curriculum knowledge, information and vocabulary.
• use cross-curricular links to develop skills across the curriculum (for example, artistic skills when creating detailed diagrams; maths skills when interrogating or representing data)
• use highly effective assessment for learning in each lesson to ensure misconceptions are highlighted and addressed.

The Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum supports children’s understanding of Science through the planning and teaching of ‘Understanding the World.’ Children find out about objects, materials and living things using all of their senses looking at similarities, differences, patterns and change. Both the environment and skilled practitioners foster curiosity and encourage explorative play, children are motivated to ask questions about why things happen and how things work.

Science will be taught either in blocks or in weekly lessons, depending on which makes best use of learning time and first-hand learning opportunities.

Teachers will plan science using our rolling programme of science content:

Science Curriculum for Woolsery

Science Curriculum for Parkham and Buckland Brewer

and detailed outcomes are planned here: VSP Progression Map of Scientific Knowledge and Skills

Impact

Children will know more, remember more and understand more about science and investigation. Children will recognise and apply key scientific vocabulary both verbally and written. The large majority of children will achieve age related expectations for Science. Through various workshops, trips and interactions with experts, our Science curriculum will lead pupils to be enthusiastic Science learners and understand that science has changed our lives and that it is vital to the world’s future prosperity.