Science
Intent:
At St. Mary's, we want children to:
- Develop an understanding of “what science is”, combining the foundational understanding of biology, chemistry and physics, at a level appropriate and relevant to them
- Develop an understanding of the disciplinary knowledge required to 'work scientifically', exploring the nature, processes and methods of science through the five different types of scientific enquiry and to help them answer scientific questions about the world around them
- Be equipped with the scientific knowledge and literacy required to understand the uses and implications of science, today and for the future
- Think “Science is for me”.
Our Science Principles are:
(please click to enlarge)
Implementation:
Miss Clements is our Science Co-ordinator.
At St. Mary's, within the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) in Acorn and Chestnut (Nursery and Reception), Science is taught through "Communication and Language", "Personal, Social and Emotional Development" and "Understanding the World":
Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage
In Birch to Oak (Years 1-4), we teach the Science National Curriculum:
Science Programmes of Study Key Stages 1 and 2
In Birch to Oak (Years 1-4), we use the PZAZ scheme of work to deliver our Science lessons. This excellent resource enables us to teach inspiring lessons, ensuring all children access all National Curriculum objectives for Science; developing a love of Science and a love of studying the world around them, that will stay with them beyond their lower school education.
PZAZ also enables children to gain real competence in the Science skills of planning investigations, gathering, presenting and analysing results, and critical evaluation of their experiments.
The following table shows which Science topics are taught throughout the school:
| Autumn Term | Spring Term | Summer Term | |
|
Acorn (Nursery) |
Ourselves - Physical care Seasonal Changes |
Ourselves - Healthy Eating Lifecycles: frog and sunflower Materials Seasonal Changes |
Ourselves - exercise Animals Lifecycles: ladybird and vegetables Seasonal Changes |
|
Chestnut (Reception) |
Ourselves - Parts of the body Seasonal Changes |
Ourselves - Healthy eating Growing cress Materials Lifecycles: chick Seasonal Changes |
Ourselves - exercise Growing carrots Animals Lifecycles: butterfly Seasonal Changes |
|
Birch (Year 1) |
Everyday Materials Seasonal Changes |
Animals, including Humans Seasonal Changes |
Plants Seasonal Changes |
|
Hazel (Year 2) |
Plants Uses of Everyday Materials |
Animals, including Humans | Living Things and their Habitats |
|
Rowan: (Year 3) |
Rocks Animals, including Humans |
Light Plants |
Forces and Magnets
|
|
Oak: (Year 4) |
Living Things and their Habitats Animals, including Humans |
Sound Electricity |
States of Matter |
Working Scientifically is taught throughout the year and is embedded within all topics. This allows for children to continue to build on their Science-based skills, their ability to work scientifically and think scientifically, developing their use and understanding of the different types of scientific enquiry.
Linked to each topic area, for children in Years 1 to 4, we also learn about a broad and diverse range of Significant Individuals, spanning across all areas within Science:
| Autumn Term | Spring Term | Summer Term | |
|
Birch (Year 1) |
Everyday Materials: Ole Kirk Christiansen
Seasonal Changes: Christopher Wren, Robert Hooke, Richard Towneley and George James Symons |
Animals, including Humans: Linda Brown Buck |
Plants: Jane Colden
Additional scientist/inventor: Mae Jemison |
|
Hazel (Year 2) |
Plants: Tim Smit and Nicholas Grimshaw
Uses of Everyday Materials: Charles Macintosh |
Animals, including Humans: Louis Pasteur |
Living Things and Their Habitats: Rachel Carson
Additional scientist/inventor: Elizabeth Garrett Anderson |
|
Rowan (Year 3) |
Rocks: Mary Anning
Animals, including Humans: Marie Curie |
Light: Thomas Edison and Lewis Howard Latimer
Plants: Sir Joseph Banks, Jeanne Baret, David Douglas and Tom Hart Dyke |
Forces and Magnets: William Gilbert
|
|
Oak (Year 4) |
Living Things and Their Habitiats: Gerald Durrell
Animals, including Humans: Washington Sheffield |
Sound: Alexander Graham Bell
Electricity: Nikola Tesla Thomas Edison (building on knowledge from Year 3) |
States of Matter: Lord Kelvin
Additional scientist/inventor: Maria Telkes
|
We are also developing and nuturing children's 'Science Capital' - providing them with an understanding of how the Science we teach in school links to the wider world and why it is relevant to them, including careers in the future, e.g. knowledge about animals can support someone to be a vet or a zoologist when they are older and how an undertanding of materials could support someone to become a builder or architect.
Impact:
All children are assessed in Science, by their teachers, on a termly basis. Miss Clements then analyses the attainment and progress of the whole school in this area. This information informs future teaching and learning in Science.
Children are also teacher assessed in Science at the end of Key Stage 1 (Year 2) as part of the end of Key Stage 1 SATs process.
The school was accredited with the Primary Science Quality Mark (PSQM) in September 2021, in recognition of our, "effective, confident science leadership," resulting in, "whole school impact on science teaching and learning" with "examples of cross-curricular learning."
