Our Science Curriculum aims to nurture children’s curiosity about their everyday environment, where regular opportunities for exploration and the development of a range of practical skills enables their observations and questions to be investigated. A hands-on, open-minded philosophy encourages our children to discover, reason and draw conclusions about the world, our bodies and the objects/materials we employ. At St Mary’s, we study all strands as detailed in the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework and Primary Science National Curriculum for Science. The national curriculum for science aims to ensure that all pupils:
• develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics
• develop understanding of the nature, processes and methods of science through different types of science enquiries that help them to answer scientific questions about the world around them
• are equipped with the scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of science, today and for the future
Our planned teaching and learning follows a clear progression, where topics revisit and build on children’s previous learning, whilst addressing any misconceptions. This approach aims to give the children a deeper understanding of the concepts covered as well as help them to remember their learning across the primary phase and beyond. Where possible, core knowledge is taught so as to match topics taught in other subjects or to match the most suitable season of the year for that particular area of study. Throughout all topics, children will be guided to ‘work scientifically’. This involves learning to apply the key features of scientific enquiry in order to answer questions related to the concepts covered. This includes pattern seeking; identifying, classifying and grouping; comparative and fair testing (controlled investigations); and researching using secondary sources. Children will learn to record their findings in varied ways, extend their vocabulary in order that they can use technical terminology accurately and apply mathematical knowledge, when appropriate, when collecting, presenting and analysing data.