Science at St Mary & St Margaret's Primary School 

Our School Values set the ethos in which our teaching in Science is grounded:

We believe that St Mary and St Margaret’s CE Primary School exists to enable every child to realise his or her potential to the fullest possible extent, whatever his or her particular needs and abilities. We aim to help all children to be the best they can be by ‘living life in all its fullness’ (John 10:10).

To this end, we promote our agreed School Values:

• Growing as a child of God
• Loving learning
• Caring
• Achieving
• Personal development

At our school science stimulates and excites children’s curiosity about phenomena and events in the world around them.

It also satisfies their curiosity with knowledge.

Science at our school is about developing children’s ideas and ways of working that enable us to make sense of the world.

We believe that science will lead to a better understanding of ourselves and the world.

It provides opportunities to appreciate scientific facts and concepts and to experience scientific discovery.

               Aims of Science in our school:

• To encourage children to ask and answer scientific questions
• To provide opportunities for children to plan and carry out scientific investigations, with the correct use of equipment (including computers);
• To ensure that children understand about life processes;
• To know about materials, electricity, light, sound, and natural forces;
• To know about the nature of the solar system, including the earth;
• To know how to evaluate evidence, and to present conclusions both clearly and accurately.
• To increase the child’s knowledge and understanding of the world.
• To develop attitudes of curiosity, originality, co-operation, perseverance, open-mindedness, self-criticism, responsibility and independence in thinking.
• To enable children to effectively and confidently communicate their scientific predictions and discoveries as they are given the opportunity to observe, describe, illustrate, hypothesise, evaluate and interpret, using appropriate scientific vocabulary.
• To develop children’s understanding of the effects of their actions on the environment.

   Our teaching style:

At St Mary & St Margaret’s we use a variety of teaching and learning styles in science lessons. Our principal aim is to develop children's knowledge, skills, and understanding. Sometimes, we do this through whole-class teaching, while at other times, we engage the children in an enquiry-based research activity.

We encourage the children to ask, as well as answer, scientific questions. They have the opportunity to use a variety of data, such as statistics, graphs, pictures and photographs. They use ICT in science lessons because it enhances their learning. They take part in role-play and discussions, and they present reports to the rest of the class.

Children engage in a wide variety of problem-solving activities. Wherever possible, we involve the pupils in real scientific activities, e.g. investigating a local environmental problem, or carrying out a practical experiment and analysing the results.We recognise that in all classes, children have a wide range of scientific abilities, and we ensure that we provide suitable learning opportunities for all children by matching the challenge of the task to the ability of the child.

At St Mary & St Margaret’s Key Stage One and Key Stage Two follow the Engaging Science curriculum which is based on the principles that:

-Science is best taught through practical sessions and investigation

-Pupils should be encouraged to think both scientifically and creatively

-Curiosity, wonder, humour and even disgust are emotions that build engagement in Science

            Science in EYFS

At St Mary & St Margaret’s we follow the EYFS Early Adopter framework (2020). Within this framework there are four guiding principles which shape our practice.

These are:

1. Every child is a unique child, who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident, and self-assured.
2. Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships.
3. Children learn and develop well in enabling environments with teaching and support from adults, who respond to their individual interests and needs and help them to build their learning over time. Children benefit from a strong partnership between practitioners and parents and/or carers.

Children develop and learn at different rates. The framework covers the education and care of all children in early years provision, including children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

As part of our practice we:

• Provide a balanced curriculum, based on the EYFS, across the seven curriculum areas, using play as the vehicle for learning;
• Promote equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice.
• We provide early intervention for those children who require additional support;
• Work in partnership with parents and carers;
• Plan challenging learning experiences, based on the individual child, informed by observation and assessment and by the children’s own ideas and interests;
• Provide opportunities for children to engage in activities that are adult-initiated, child-initiated and adult supported;
• Provide a secure and safe learning environment indoors and outdoors.

Science is fully embedded in the EYFS Curriculum and children have daily opportunities to explore and engage in scientific activities to help them progress towards meeting the ELG (Early Learning Goal) linked to the Science Curriculum at the end of Reception:

-Understanding the World

• Talk about the lives of the people around them and their roles in society.
• Know some similarities and differences between things in the past and now, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class.
• Understand the past through settings, characters and events encountered in books read in class and storytelling.
• Describe their immediate environment using knowledge from observation, discussion, stories, non-fiction texts and maps.
• Know some similarities and differences between different religious and cultural communities in this country, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class.
• Explain some similarities and differences between life in this country and life in other countries, drawing on knowledge from stories, non-fiction texts and (when appropriate) maps.

• Explore the natural world around them, making observations and drawing pictures of animals and plants.
• Know some similarities and differences between the natural world around them and contrasting environments, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class.
• Understand some important processes and changes in the natural world around them, including the seasons and changing states of matter.

Science is fully embedded in the EYFS Curriculum and children have daily opportunities to explore and engage in scientific activities to help them progress towards meeting the ELGs (Early Learning Goals) linked to the Science Curriculum at the end of Reception 'Understanding the World - The Natural World', 'Understanding the World - People, Culture & Communities' and 'Understanding the World - Past and Present'

         'Working Scientifically Skills' and 'Working Scientifically Approaches' we follow in school during every topic:

Skills:

• asking questions
• making predictions
• setting up tests
• observing and measuring
• recording data
• interpreting and communicating results
• evaluating

Approaches:

• Comparative/fair testing
• Research
• Observation over time
• Pattern seeking
• Identifying, grouping and classifying
• Problem solving

 Below is our 'Yearly Topic Overview' which shows which topics are taught in each year group throughout the year along with  other related documents including a document showing our Progression in Science throughout the years.