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Gaywood Primary School

Science

Intent
A high quality of science education helps to provide children with the foundations for understanding the world around them.  The science curriculum aims to equip children with the foundations for understanding the world through a scientific lens. They are encouraged to be curious, ask questions about what they observe and should be helped to understand scientific vocabulary and ideas by using different types of enquiry to answer their own questions. By deepening their understanding, we are helping them grow into confident, aspirational, passionate human beings who are equipped with the knowledge to be successful and to make a difference to their community and beyond.

Implementation
Our science curriculum builds knowledge incrementally year on year to revisit and build on children’s knowledge and understanding of key concepts. Following the science curriculum will give children an introduction to fascinating content such as the inner workings of the human body, animals and the environments they live in, plants and their features, forces in nature, what lies beyond the visible and what lies beyond the planet we live on. Over time their knowledge will deepen moving from recognising and naming parts of the human body to understanding how our muscles work, how our blood moves around our body.

Pupils will be encouraged to use the knowledge they learn in science and apply it to investigations that test a theory or set out to answer a question. Importantly, substantive scientific knowledge is taught first, before pupils are asked to undertake enquiry. This helps them to fully understand the elements of the enquiry first, and to make informed observations about the processes they see. Gathering information, recording data, graphing data and interpreting findings are all essential skills that pupils will apply to new contexts as they work through the curriculum. Enquiries include observing over time, pattern seeking, identifying, classifying and grouping, comparative and fair testing and researching using secondary sources. Scientific enquiries provide children with a wealth of opportunities, but first and foremost they will help to deepen understanding of the nature, processes and methods of science as a discipline and how it differs from other subjects they are studying. Pupils will gain an understanding of the purpose and uses of science both today and in the future.

Impact
The impact of our curriculum and delivery of science is that our children will have a greater appreciation for their world, be encouraged to make a difference and have a better understanding of the impact they can have and how the world works.

Children will have:

  • A wider variety of skills linked to both scientific knowledge and understanding, and scientific enquiry/investigative skills.
  • A richer vocabulary which will enable to articulate their understanding of taught concepts.
  • High aspirations, which will see them through to further study, work and a successful adult life.

To view the Curriculum Overview click here