Curriculum Intent for Science

At St Simon’s our Science curriculum will excite pupil’s curiosity and increase their knowledge and understanding of the world and the processes in it, using the “10 Big Ideas” from our Science scheme of work.

It will enable a child to ask questions and plan investigations to find answers. It will encourage all pupils to evaluate those answers against their knowledge and experience. The science curriculum will provide the skills to enable pupils to critique and improve theirs and others’ methods and results in practical, relevant investigations so that they become confident and independent learners.

Science links with other subjects: art, maths, design and technology to demonstrate that the integration of all these subjects reflects what each child experiences in their present and future life.

Implementation

• We follow The Educational People’s Primary Science Scheme of Work, which provides opportunities for independent thinking and practical activities in all units of work.

• Lessons and units have been planned using the latest pedagogical research and are therefore designed to revisit and reinforce prior learning as well as addressing potential misconceptions.

• The scheme of work is based on “10 Big Ideas” which link learning across scientific areas of study.

• We include STEM activities so that science skills and knowledge are integrated with those of other subjects.

• We ensure class teacher’s subject knowledge is extensive, focused and up to date.

• The Science leader and class teachers ensure progression in knowledge and scientific enquiry skills throughout the year and throughout the school.

• We use moderation (both internal and via our Academy Trust) and the specific materials provided to make assessment relevant and useful.

• We provide opportunities for children to teach each other, developing theirs and others’ skills and knowledge and their ability to evaluate them.

• We provide enrichment activities that compliment and extend the curriculum including STEM week, and the KCSP Online Science Day.

• Each unit within our curriculum gives children the opportunity to explore the work of people in STEM both contemporary and historical. These provide children with a diverse coverage of the career opportunities linked to their Science learning.

• We provide STEM experiences from outside of school such as trips and visits wherever possible.

• We use our school setting for STEM activities such as Outdoor Learning.

• We ensure examples of children’s work, particularly showing the use of working scientifically skills and children’s evaluation of these, are consistently displayed and referred to.

• We ensure current vocabulary is displayed and referred to and is revisited to embed understanding.

Impact

Children will leave St Simon’s School with a passion for Science and /or a curiosity that pushes them to find out and question what is going on in the world. Questioning and independently checking on facts and assumptions will be an accepted practice.  Children will have had enough experience of enquiry skills to use them in their future education. They will confidently use scientific vocabulary and knowledge to develop it further in secondary school and to have some understanding of what is happening in the world in terms of science.