If you have any questions regarding the curriculum we teach, please contact the school office directly and the office staff will pass your enquiry on to the relevant Curriculum Leader.

Science Curriculum Leader: Mr S.Eccles

Intent

At St. Michael’s School we believe that science for all pupils is integral to understanding the world in which we live.  Pupils are taught how to explore and investigate concepts and subjects, developing an interest and enjoyment of Science as they learn about the world around them through experimentation and investigation. Science in the National Curriculum involves both procedural and conceptual understanding and at St Michael’s we value the development of practical skills, which will enable the children to better understand the facts and concepts they learn.

As pupils progress through the school they are introduced to an ever-widening vocabulary of relevant scientific terminology, learn to record their work in appropriate ways and gain an awareness of the value of ICT in obtaining and presenting their findings. Pupils also develop their skills of Working Scientifically, allowing them to design and complete their own investigations into scientific phenomena.

Implementation

We follow the National Curriculum as the basis for science teaching at St Michael’s. We use a variety of resources from a variety of sources and publications to ensure that our children receive the best all round teaching from different schemes, while focussing on teaching the objectives provided by the curriculum.

We ensure that there are opportunities for children to develop their skills of Working Scientifically in each unit.  The unit of work is planned to build upon prior learning so that progression is assured as pupils move through school.  Curriculum objectives, particularly from the Working Scientifically strand, are used to provide challenge and progression for work across each year of a Key Stage.

Within Foundation Stage we teach science as an integral part of topic work undertaken throughout the year.  As the Reception class is part of the Foundation Stage of the National Curriculum, we relate the scientific aspects of the children’s work to the objectives set out in the Early learning Goals which underpin the curriculum planning for children aged 3 – 5 years.  Science makes a significant contribution to the objectives in the Foundation Stage profile, developing children‘s Knowledge and Understanding of the World.

Time Allocation

Key Stage 1 - minimum 1 hour per week

Key Stage 2 - minimum 1 hour per week

Teaching and Learning

We use a variety of learning and teaching styles to deliver the science curriculum and organise science lessons so that pupils are offered opportunities to learn in different ways including:

• Whole class teaching
• Group work
• Paired work
• Independent work
• Use of ICT resources (computer, TV, tape recorder, interactive programmes, data collections resources,  online resources)
• Fieldwork and educational visits (into school and out of school)
• Experimental investigation
• Problem solving activities
• Research and explorative work

We encourage pupils to ask as well as answer scientific questions, thus taking charge of their own learning and acknowledge that children learn in a range of ways and have preferred learning styles.  We encourage independence and create opportunities for pupils to design and complete their own investigations into scientific phenomena.

Impact

Children develop their knowledge and understanding of:

• Comparative and Fair Testing – pupils use both comparative and fair tests to investigate the answers to questions.
• Pattern Seeking – pupils search for patterns and trends between variables, using this to investigate phenomena in the physical world around them.
• Identifying and Classifying – pupils learn to identify using specific criteria and classify objects, plants and animals.
• Research – pupils learn to use secondary sources to find out about phenomena in our world.
• Observation over time – pupils observe natural phenomena as they occur over periods of time, from minutes to months.
• Problem Solving – pupils develop their independent investigative skills by approaching scientific problems provided by staff or observed in the world around them.

Children also improve their personal skills: 

• Language and communication – listen, speak effectively for different audiences, understand and respond appropriately to the ideas of others and participate in group discussions, prepare written reports following investigations being able to draw conclusions from the work.
• Application of number – process data, solve increasingly complex problems and explain the reasoning used.
• Information technology – using ICT sources and tools to research, analyse, interpret, evaluate and present information.
• Problem solving – identifying the problem, planning ways to solve a problem, monitoring progress and reviewing solutions to a problem
• Working with others – contributing to small group or whole class, developing the skills of working as a team re: co-operation and mutual respect.
• Improving own learning performance – understanding the purpose for learning, being able to reflect on the processes of learning, being able to assess progress, identify problems that prevent learning and plan ways to overcome such problems.

If you have any questions regarding the curriculum we teach, please contact the school office directly and the office staff will pass your enquiry on to the relevant Curriculum Leader.

Science enables the acquisition of skills, concepts and attitudes that allow children the opportunity to make discoveries about the world around them. This is encouraged through observation, prediction and practical investigations based on first hand experiences and secondary sources such as books, photographs and videos. Scientific knowledge is built up over the key stages along with the use of specialist vocabulary so they can talk about scientific concepts clearly and precisely. Scientists from the past and present are studied.

If you have any questions regarding the curriculum we teach please contact the school directly