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Science

Intent 

At Bierton CE Combined School, we encourage children to be inquisitive throughout their time at school and beyond. The Science curriculum fosters a healthy curiosity in children about our universe and promotes respect for the living and non-living. We believe science encompasses the acquisition of knowledge, concepts, skills and positive attitudes. Throughout the programmes of study, the children will acquire and develop the key knowledge that has been identified within each unit and across each year group, as well as the application of scientific skills. We ensure that the working scientifically skills are built-on and developed throughout children’s time at Bierton so that they can apply their knowledge of science when using equipment, conducting experiments, building arguments and explaining concepts confidently and continue to ask questions and be curious about their surroundings.  

Implementation 

Teachers create a positive attitude to science learning within their classrooms and reinforce an expectation that all children are capable of achieving high standards in science. Our whole school approach to the teaching and learning of science involves the following; 

  •  Science will be taught in planned units. This is a strategy to enable the achievement of a greater depth of knowledge. 

  • Through our planning, we involve problem-solving opportunities that allow children to find out for themselves. Children are encouraged to ask their own questions and be given opportunities to use their scientific skills and research to discover the answers. This curiosity is celebrated within the classroom. Planning involves teachers creating engaging lessons, often involving high-quality resources to aid understanding of conceptual knowledge. Teachers use precise questioning in class to test conceptual knowledge and skills and assess children regularly to identify those children with gaps in learning, so that all children keep up. 

  • We build upon the learning and skill development of previous years. As the children’s knowledge and understanding increases, and they become more proficient in selecting, using scientific equipment, collating and interpreting results, they become increasingly confident in their growing ability to come to conclusions based on real evidence. 

  • Working scientifically skills are embedded into lessons to ensure these skills are being developed throughout the children’s school career and new vocabulary and challenging concepts are introduced through direct teaching. This is developed through the years, in-keeping with the units. 

  • Teachers demonstrate how to use scientific equipment, and the various working  scientifically skills in order to embed scientific understanding. Teachers find opportunities to develop children’s understanding of their surroundings by accessing outdoor learning and workshops with experts. 

At the start of the science unit, children should have a front-page unit overview (knowledge organiser). This includes the title of the unit, key vocabulary and learning questions that will be visited by the end of the unit. It is the expectation that most children will be able to use the vocabulary in the correct context and apply knowledge they have learnt to answer questions.  

We expect every science lesson to be broken down into 5 parts. Engage, Prior Learning, Introduce, Build and Apply.  

  • Engage: (Starter, Do Now Activity) Motivate students – provide them with an opportunity to succeed as soon as they start the lesson and recap/consolidate key knowledge from the previous lesson.  
  • Prior Learning: Check misconceptions and assess prior knowledge so that the rest of the lesson can be pitched correctly.  
  • Introduce: Start with the Learning Question and then Introduce new knowledge. Begin with a concrete idea or simple context so that you start from what your students already know. Modelling is important here.  
  • Build: Students have the opportunity to practise what they have learnt in the ‘introduce’ section to consolidate learning and develop understanding. 
  • Apply: Students have the opportunity to apply what they have learnt to new situations.  This will assess understanding and consolidate understanding.  

Impact

The successful approach to the teaching of science at Bierton CE Combined School will result in fun, engaging, high-quality science education, that provides children with the foundations for understanding the world, that they can take with them, once they complete their primary education. 

Children at Bierton CE Combined School will: 

  • Demonstrate a love of science and an interest in further study and work in this field 

  • Retain knowledge that is pertinent to science with a real-life context 

  • Be able to question ideas and reflect on knowledge 

  • Be able to articulate their understanding of scientific concepts and be able to reason scientifically using rich language linked to science 

  • Work collaboratively and practically to investigate and experiment 

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