“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”
Primary National Curriculum for Science 2014
SCIENCE CURRICULUM STATEMENT
At Alfriston Primary School, our Science curriculum is underpinned by a broad range of stimulating topics designed to bring learning to life through scientific enquiry, scientific contexts, the use of key texts, studies of our locality and school trips. Building on the national curriculum, we foster an enquiry-based approach to enable children to develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding whilst understanding the everyday uses and implications of science.
OUR CURRICULUM INTENT FOR SCIENCE
Our intent is for children to foster their love of Science and of scientific enquiry and that this love will lead to secure knowledge and understanding.
Our intentions for the Science curriculum are:
- to provide a broad, balanced, challenging and enjoyable curriculum for all pupils
- to develop pupil’s scientific thinking skills
- to meet the requirements of the national curriculum programmes of study for science at Key Stage 1 and 2
- to use different contexts to maximise engagement with and motivation to study science
- to help children acquire and develop the skills and confidence to advance their scientific understanding.
- to develop an understanding and use of scientific vocabulary to communicate knowledge and understanding
- to stimulate the children’s interest in and curiosity about their surroundings.
- to nurture a sense of wonder about the world.
- to understand the processes that give rise to key features of the world
HOW WE IMPLEMENT OUR INTENTIONS
Early Years explore scientific themes and content through the ‘Understanding of the World’ strand of the EYFS curriculum. This involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology and the environment.
Science is a core subject within the national curriculum for KS1 and KS2 and we use the EduKent Science scheme to follow the National Curriculum programmes of study.
We ensure that
- we follow a sequence of knowledge and concepts
- pupils make progress and develop secure understanding of each key block of knowledge and concepts in order to progress to the next stage
- pupils can describe associated processes and key characteristics in common language,
- pupils are familiar with, and use, technical terminology accurately and precisely.
- pupils build up an extended specialist vocabulary
- pupils apply their mathematical knowledge to their understanding of science, including collecting, presenting and analysing data
