Science Curriculum Intent

Science is a systematic investigation of the physical, chemical and biological aspect of the world we live in and beyond. The study of science enables children to think creatively to understand and explore the world around them.

‘Equipped with his five senses, man explores the universe around him and calls this adventure SCIENCE.’ (Edwin Powell Hubble, astronomer 1889-1953.)

We intend to work towards the following aims within our teaching and learning of Science at Ightham Primary School:

• To develop pupils’ knowledge and understanding of Science.
• To build on pupils’ curiosity and sense of awe of the natural world, and promote their interest and enjoyment in Science.
• To use a planned range of scientific enquiry and practical activities to give pupils a greater understanding of scientific facts and concepts.
• To advance pupils’ ability to measure and record in an appropriate manner including the use of diagrams, graphs, tables and charts.
• To provide enrichment opportunities, which effectively foster pupils’ cultural capital in Science.

Through their work in science, children will gain the knowledge and understanding to begin to make sense of phenomena and events in our world today. The main aspects of Science to be studied will be determined by the Programmes of Study of the National Curriculum and supported by the Kent Scheme of Work.

At Ightham Primary School, we value Science because:

• It makes an increasingly important contribution to all aspects of life
• All children are naturally curious about their local environment and Science makes a valuable contribution to their knowledge and understanding of our world.

Our science vision statement and principles (developed by pupils and staff) reflect these key ideas:

“At Ightham School, we will enjoy following an enquiry and knowledge-based curriculum to inspire curiosity and improve our understanding of the world.”
Principles:

• Ask and answer questions
• Use scientific vocabulary
• Record and share what we find out.
• Challenge ourselves
• Explore and investigate
• Retrieve and build on prior knowledge
• Make links with other subjects
• Use practical equipment
• Have fun!
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Science Curriculum Implementation

Teaching and learning is based on Rosenshine’s principles.  It is coherently planned and sequenced towards cumulatively sufficient knowledge and skills for future learning. Prior learning is activated through the use of retrieval practice to ensure the children know more and learn more over time.

‘I do, we do, you do’ at Ightham Primary School

Knowledge lessons always begin with retrieval practice, followed by ‘I do’, then ‘We do’ then ‘You do’ to ensure a gradual release of responsibility.

Teachers continually assess throughout the lesson to ascertain children’s understanding and be prepared to move back a stage if required. Depending on the understanding of the children, ‘we do’ should be extended to ensure all children are secure in their knowledge. If the children are not ready, the teachers should not move onto ‘You do’. A knowledge lesson could be taught over more than one lesson as a result of assessment for learning where the ‘you do’ part is covered in a subsequent lesson.

Following knowledge lessons, children will be given the opportunity to apply the knowledge through enquiry and investigative tasks which need to be clearly modelled, scaffolded and adapted as required, to meet the needs of the individual children.

CUSP Science

	Autumn	Spring	Summer
Year 1	Seasonal changes and daily weather   Introduce Plants – (trees)   Animals, including humans	Everyday materials   Revisit 1: Animals, including    humans	Plants   Revisit 2: Plants, Animals including    humans
Year 2	Living things and their habitats   Animals, including humans	Uses of everyday materials   Revisit Living things and their    habitats / materials	Plants   Revisit Living things and their habitats /    Animals, including humans
Year 3	Rocks   Animals, including humans   Revisit Rocks	Forces and magnets   Plants	Plants continued…   Light
Year 4	Living things and their habitats   States of matter	Animals, including humans	Electricity   Sound
Year 5	Properties and changes of materials   Animals, including humans	Forces (Gravity and Galileo)   Earth in space	Living things and their habitats   Forces continued
Year 6	Electricity   Animals including humans    (circulatory system)	Animals including humans    (water transport)   Light	Living things and their habitats   Evolution and inheritance

Scientific analysis is developed through IPROF criteria. We call it ‘Thinking Scientifically.’ 

• identifying and classifying 

• pattern seeking 

• research 

• observing over time 

• fair and comparative testing . 

Curriculum connections: support teachers to build cumulatively and coherently on prior learning. They support relevant, deliberate and precise revisiting across the wider curriculum.  

Science in EYFS

In the EYFS, the exploration of science links with the ‘Understanding the World’ part of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Curriculum. Science is introduced indirectly through activities designed to inspire each child to engage in exploration, problem-solving, observation, prediction, critical thinking, decision-making, and discussions about the world around them.

During their initial years at school, our young learners delve into the areas of creatures, people, plants, and objects within their natural environments. They actively observe and manipulate objects and materials, identifying differences and similarities. Utilizing their senses, they might feel dough or listen to sounds in the environment, distinguishing elements like sirens or farm animals. The curriculum encourages them to make observations of animals and plants, providing explanations for occurrences and discussing changes.

Children are prompted to pose questions about the reasons behind events and the workings of things. Engaging activities may involve adjusting the incline of a slope to observe the speed of a vehicle or disassembling a mechanical toy to understand its inner workings. In this process, children are encouraged to predict outcomes, fostering communication, planning, investigation, recording, and the evaluation of their findings. This approach instills a foundation for scientific inquiry and exploration, nurturing curiosity and laying the groundwork for further scientific understanding.