Science

Science Intent

‘Science is the key that opens doors to a world of innovative, life-changing possibilities’

At Pineham Barns Primary School, the purpose of Science education is to equip pupils with the knowledge and skills they need to make sense of the world around them, revelling in its wonders. Regardless of a child’s background, they will be given tools to effectively question, not accept, results to hands-on, practical experiments which take advantage of the school’s unique indoor and outdoor facilities. Through delivering our Eco Curriculum, we aim to inspire children to live healthy and fulfilled lives and become citizens of the world who make positive contributions towards building a more sustainable future for all. Innovation and high expectations are encouraged, taking children beyond their everyday experiences and preparing them to enter an ever-changing, highly-competitive world.

 

Implementation

At Pineham Barns Primary School, our Science lessons follow a three step system; knowledge, experiment, review. We believe that this ensures our children are given the time to acquire, explore and understand new pieces of scientific knowledge in order to successfully retain new information and potentially make links within their topic and other areas of Science. We believe, this approach allows our children to deepen their understanding of scientific concepts, therefore encouraging each and every child to achieve their full potential.

Once the children have acquired scientific knowledge, in their first lesson of the three step sequence, they can solidify their understanding through the appropriation of skills during a Science investigation. The investigation is based upon a question related to an area of their study and is designed to challenge existing knowledge. Experiments are carefully planned or guided to ensure that our children experience engaging, innovative and inclusive investigations during their time at Pineham Barns Primary School, preparing them for a life beyond our curriculum. As our children move into upper Key Stage 2, they have more autonomy on the hypothesis they wish to investigate, ensuring that progress is maximised for all. Once an investigation has been conducted, the pupils then record their process and results within a differentiated report; this allows teachers to assess the pupils understanding and rectify any misconceptions, whilst enhancing their understanding of scientific key words, skills and knowledge.

In addition to the National Curriculum programme of study, the delivery of ecologically aware ‘green’ units, raises children’s awareness and understanding of environmentally important concepts. Each year group must cover one area of our Eco-Curriculum each half term. We have an elected group of children, Pineham Planet Protectors, who meet regularly in order to ensure that the school is implementing green choices consistently throughout the school.

Science Impact

The children experience exciting, fun and creative opportunities through the many visitors and different investigations they participate in during Science lessons, celebration days and Science week. Children are engaged during Science lessons and achieve their learning objectives (as their books demonstrate). Through verbal discussion and debate the children work collaboratively to consolidate their understanding and apply their skills during investigations. Unit discussions promote the recounting of key skills and knowledge acquired at the end of each Science unit. Pupil assessment is conducted at the end of each unit, so the impact of learning can be monitored, to ensure all pupil groups are progressing effectively against their current expectations and outcomes for each year group. As a result of our bespoke Science curriculum, our pupils leave primary school with a heightened ecological awareness, a sense of environmental responsibility and an environmentally sound ethos embedded in their character.

Science Long Term Plan R-2

Science Long Term Plan 3-6