Science

Subject Lead: Miss Coward

‘Science is simply the word we use to describe a method of organising our curiosity.’

-Tim Minchin

Our science curriculum is intended to create scientists: children who are eager to investigate and to ask questions, seeking out answers to these. We provide opportunities for children to learn independently and collaboratively, to explore the world around them.  From EYFS to Year 6, children are given the opportunities to explore and investigate a variety of products and phenomena. Our children will gain an understanding of scientific processes and also an understanding of the uses and implications of Science, today and for the future.

At Abbey Hulton Primary, scientific enquiry skills are embedded in each topic the children study and these topics are revisited and developed throughout their time at our school. All children are encouraged to develop and use a range of skills including observations, planning and investigations, as well as being encouraged to question the world around them and become independent learners in exploring possible answers for their scientific based questions.

Planning is enhanced by the use of whole-school progression maps, so teachers are aware of the prior knowledge of year groups before planning units and individual lessons. This ensures that key concepts and prior learning is built on and developed rather than repeated. Teachers can show children their learning journey, which they are able to then use to remind themselves of their prior knowledge before starting a new topic.

Skills focused upon working scientifically are embedded into lessons to ensure that these are being developed throughout the child’s school career. Lessons are planned so that children have the opportunity to refine these skills and become independent scientists. Some year groups use revision units to provide further opportunities for children to develop their investigative skills whilst recapping the knowledge specified in The National Curriculum.

Science lessons are planned to be practical, where possible, and teachers have access to a range of resources to support this.

At Abbey Hulton Primary School we believe that good science teaching and learning happens when:

• Children are engaged, excited and involved.
• Children can discover for themselves through trial and error.
• Children explain and discuss their predictions and findings of investigations
• Children feel inspired to find out more
• Children confidently use scientific vocabulary.

• Teachers are confident about what they are teaching and have high expectations of all children

• Children talk, ask questions, share ideas, explain.

Better Reading, Better Science was a project led by Miss Coward in school alongside other science leaders across the city. Through the project the children were provided with new science texts in each class to link to science topics and help promote an enjoyment of reading in science.

We also had the amazing opportunity to analytically review a science text. See page 9 in the link above.

We were lucky enough to be sent a class set of the text Superhero Scientists by David Allen and Alex Sinclair. Our year 6 children worked as a team to read and review the text and collect data based on the book. They met with a real life scientist who helped them to ask scientific questions to enable them to produce their own scientific poster. Their hard work was published in the Science Across the City journal!