Intent

We now live in an increasingly technological and scientific world, where children need to acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes to prepare them for life in the 21^st Century. At Shortbrook Primary School, we believe that science develops in children a natural ability to question the world around them. With our community being a key driver in how we plan our curriculum, we want science to be a tool which encourages our children to challenge the world they live in with tolerance, respect and freedom. We would like children to understand the importance of living a healthy lifestyle through the knowledge of humans, animals and plants. We aim for our children to not only become curious about the environment around them, but to understand how science can play a pivotal role in inspiring change, for the better. We see the value in giving children the opportunities to experience practical investigations and to use these methods as a way of children to test their hypothesis. In turn, science can be used to help children challenge their own assumptions about the world whilst adopting a scientifically thinking mind.

We aim to:

• Develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of Biology, Chemistry and Physics.
• Develop the use of scientific language through the use of communication, observation, prediction, investigation, interpretation, and questioning.
• Teach the required content from the National Curriculum.
• Encourage children to work independently and as a team through the use of group work.
• Encourage children to be respectful and tolerant of the world around them, showing sensitivity towards living and non-living things.
• Promote a mindset of not always knowing the answers when carrying out scientific enquiry. 

Implementation

 Teachers and staff at Shortbrook Primary School create a positive attitude towards science learning within their classrooms and environments. We always set a high-expectations that all students can achieve in science. Throughout school, science is given a level of importance through;

Children having high-quality and engaging science lessons every other week in both KS1 and KS2, using a varied range of documents and resources to inform planning and teaching. In Early Years, children explore and experience the world around them through play. Teaching staff in the Early Years model how to question their environment, whilst creating a learning atmosphere for children to ask their own questions.

Science is taught every other week, in order to allow for distance between learning so that children can recall on their long-term memory. Space between science topics allows an opportunity to revisit areas of the curriculum, rather than studying them in isolation.  In each phase, science topics are revisited so that children can build upon their knowledge and skills. We aim to equip children with a variety of ways to present their learning and these concepts are built on over time.

Working scientifically skills are linked to lessons to ensure these skills are being developed and children are both supported and challenged to utilize a wide range of scientific vocabulary.

Opportunities are given to children to use scientific equipment and teaching staff model how to best set up and organize a practical investigation.

Impact
By the end of each term, staff use their teaching and learning sequence to make informed
assessments of children’s progress. Children are assessed at working towards, working at or working above the age-related expectations, set out by the national curriculum.

Science is a subject which consistently comes out as a favourite subject from pupil voice interviews.
Children have a desire to learn more at secondary school. Furthermore, we see that science allows
our children to develop their use of questioning about the world.