Miss Power is the Science lead for the school. She is a self-motivated and enthusiastic lead who ensures that the science curriculum stimulates our natural curiosity. She believes that science should be exciting, an education for problem solving and collaboration and practical. By providing a curriculum that embraces such, Miss Power believes children are able to become innovative thinkers, broaden their horizons and understand that anything is possible. Her favourite topic is Earth and Space as she is constantly wondering what/who else is beyond our solar system.
Intent
At Lower Darwen Primary school, we are all budding scientists! We want to build on our pupil’s curiosity and general sense of enquiry, enabling them to ask questions and make suggestions through investigations and practical activities. In order for our children to achieve their full potential, our Science curriculum has been carefully designed through the specific disciplines of Biology, Chemistry and Physics to ensure that all children develop their understanding and skills, whilst harboring a curiosity about natural phenomena.
We want our children to remember their Science lessons in school fondly and embrace the opportunities which they are presented with both inside and outside of the classroom. The Science lessons taught are a careful collaboration of the White Rose Science scheme and teacher developed lessons, underpinned by the objectives outlined within the National Curriculum for Science. Consequently, our lessons are ambitious and empower our children to become both resilient and independent learners.
We aim to equip our children with not only the minimum statutory requirements of the Science National Curriculum but prepare them for later life, by ensuring they are able to explain what is occurring, predict how things will behave and analyse their causes. It is paramount that children are taught that Science is vital to the world’s prosperity, for example, how animals and plants influence the eco-system in our local area.
Lower Darwen Primary School Curriculum Essentials Toolkits ensure that children have access to specific scientific knowledge and skills. The toolkits will continually evolve in response to current reactive affairs and whatever might spark the curiosity of our pupils.
Implementation
At Lower Darwen Primary School, the Science curriculum has been developed to ensure that high standards of teaching and learning take place across each year group. The Science curriculum follows the programmes of study outlined in the National Curriculum for each year group, supported by the White Rose Science scheme of learning. Science is considered a ‘core’ subject and teachers are encouraged to deliver a discrete Science lesson each week, focusing on one topic each half term or term. This sequential type of teaching allows adequate time for science to be taught, and ensures that the children’s knowledge is secure and is being retained into their long-term memory. Key scientific vocabulary is explicitly taught to enable children to build up an extended specialist vocabulary bank to support them when articulating their scientific thinking clearly.
At Lower Darwen Primary school, we believe that our pupils need to be actively involved in making sense of their own learning. Within each year group, scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding is planned within a sequence to ensure that the children gain a coherent understanding of each unit of work covered. ‘Working scientifically’ is not taught as a separate strand but is embedded within the content of Biology, Chemistry and Physics.
Children in the Foundation Stage (EYFS) are taught Science as indicated in the EYFS Statutory Framework (2021) under the prime focus of ‘Understanding the World.’ Furthermore, to provide a balanced learning experience, the teaching of Science lends itself to our school’s creative curriculum and relates to other subject areas; Maths, P.E., English, as well as making use of our extensive outdoor learning environments where possible.
Health and Safety is paramount in the teaching of Science. Children are reminded and taught about the potential hazards and work with their class teachers to assess any potential risks before conducting any Science experiments. Teachers will also refer to CLEAPPS for further guidance on Health and Safety when planning their Science lessons.
Impact
At Lower Darwen Primary School, we measure the impact of our science curriculum by assessing topics termly through both a formative and summative approach. Teaching staff will then use this information to inform their short-term planning and tailor their plans to meet the children’s specific needs and interests. These assessments are then analysed collaboratively as part of our monitoring cycle. This continual assessment of science allows our teaching staff to provide the best possible support and further challenge for all of our children. Furthermore, it ensures that we as teachers have an accurate and comprehensive understanding of the quality of education in Science.
By providing a Science curriculum that ensures progression and repetition, pupils will develop the skills and knowledge needed to meet the end of key stage expectations. Pupils should leave Lower Darwen Primary school with a fondness for Science, remembering their inspiring lessons and an in-depth scientific knowledge. Pupils will be resilient and independent scientists with the ability to think independently and raise questions about working scientifically. They should be confident in demonstrating their scientific knowledge and understanding through explanations, problem solving and be able to report their findings.
Below you can download a copy of our science policy, science long term plan and our scientific enquiry progression of skills document.