·       Scientific Enquiry

·       Life processes of living things

·       Physical processes of materials

·       Materials and their properties

This focus aims to enable children at Hollins Grundy to build up a body of key knowledge and concepts in these areas, which they will build on throughout their time in school. It will allow them to ask, investigate and answer scientific questions through different types of scientific enquiry and seek explanations for concepts and phenomena that occur in the world around them.

It will ensure they develop a scientific vocabulary, which they will build on throughout school. It will encourage them to understand how science can be used to explain what is occurring, predict how things will behave, and analyse causes. It will help them understand how science has changed our lives and to understand the uses and implications of science, today and for the future on a personal, local, national and global level.

 Children will also learn about scientists, inventors and individuals who have had a positive impact on the scientific world. This includes people from different cultural, ethnic backgrounds and genders in order to recognise and promote diversity in the scientific world.

Implementation

Each unit is based on a question or learning challenge to stimulate the children’s interest. This is broken down into a series of questions which the children work on over one or more lessons. The last question allows children to demonstrate their learning through an end of unit application activity. This provides the children with a purpose to their learning as well as providing assessment opportunities. Children’s work is recorded in their individual science books in Key Stage 1 and 2.

We carefully consider each child’s starting point and how they learn best to ensure that there are opportunities for children of all abilities, including those with SEND, to make good progress from their starting point in science.

Reception currently follow the 2021 Early Years curriculum and Development Matters document. The areas of learning that relate to science are PSED  (ELG Understanding Self) and Understanding the World (ELG The Natural World) and Expressive Arts and Design (ELG Creating with Materials) These are taught through topics such as: planting and growing, animals, space,  seasons, healthy choices and life cycles. Topics are planned in consultation with the children and are in line with their interests, so they can vary, but they always focus on the ELG goals. Work is recorded in topic books and the class floor book.

Impact

Staff assess children’s learning in science in a variety of ways such as questioning, discussion with pupils, observation, marking work as a class, as a group or after lessons and planned assessment and application tasks. We then assess the impact of our teaching in science and track children’s’ progress using our science curriculum intent grid.

At the end of KS1 and KS2 children are also given a teacher assessment where they will be assessed at either working towards or working at the national curriculum for their Key Stage.

In Reception, at the end of the year children will be assessed at emerging or meeting the Early Learning goals for Understanding Self and Understanding the Natural World and Creating with Materials.