Curriculum Overview

Hawthorn Primary School Science Curriculum Statement

 

Vision Statement

 

At Hawthorn, we provide an inclusive and creative learning environment enriched with experiences to nurture individuals socially, emotionally and academically, enabling them to develop positive relationships. We support children to work together to achieve, succeed and become the best version of themselves.

 

Intent

We believe that our teaching and learning in Science should excite and stimulate children’s natural curiosity to enable them to make sense of the world in which they live.

 

We aim to provide children with opportunities to ask questions, make observations, investigate their ideas and ultimately improve their understanding. By providing a range of practical experiences, we develop pupils’ investigative skills and allow children to take risks and learn from their mistakes; enabling them to become more confident, independent learners.

 

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 teaching of Science is planned to ensure all pupils:

  • develop lively, enquiring minds and the ability to question.
  • learn scientific skills and knowledge with progression throughout the Key Stages.
  • build on their natural curiosity; enabling them to understand and care for the world in which they live.
  • are provided with a stimulating environment, where they can work in an investigative way and can communicate their findings in a variety of ways.
  • learn to use equipment safely and sensibly.
  • develop potential scientific links with all other areas of the curriculum.

 

 

 

Implementation

Early Years Foundation Stage

In the Foundation Stage, children are taught Science through the key areas of learning set out within the new EYFS Statutory Framework.

Through a broad range of teacher-led, child-initiated and continuous learning opportunities, children will be taught to:

  • Use their senses to investigate a range of objects and materials
  • Find out about, identify and observe the different features of living things, objects and worldly events
  • Look closely at similarities, differences, patterns and change
  • Ask questions about why things happen and why things work
  • Develop their communication and co-operation skills
  • Talk about their findings, sometimes recording them
  • Identify and find out about features of the place they live and in the natural world around them

 

 

Key Stage 1 and 2

Science teaching at Hawthorn Primary School involves adapting and extending the curriculum to match all pupils’ needs. Where possible, Science is linked to class topics. Science units are taught on a year rolling programme. This ensures that all topics are covered and enables progression through the year groups. The year group units have been adapted to cover any gaps caused by the recent Covid-19 pandemic. Teachers plan to suit their children’s interests, current events, their own teaching style. Children have weekly Science lessons, with teachers following the scheme of work, but adapting lessons where necessary to suit the needs of their class.

 

The following topics are covered throughout Key Stage 1:

  • Animals, including Humans
  • Everyday Materials
  • Plants
  • Seasonal Changes
  • Living Things & their Habitats

 

The following topics are covered throughout Key Stage 2:

 

  • Plants                                    
  • Living Things & their Habitats
  • Animals, including Humans
  • Rocks                                     
  • Light
  • Electricity
  • Sound
  • Properties and Changes of Materials
  • Earth & Space
  • Evolution & Inheritance
  • Forces & Magnets

 

 

Teachers have an understanding of the sequence of learning in Science and use this to assess prior learning and further extend children’s understanding and their scientific skills.

 

Teachers plan opportunities for pupils to recall prior learning. This enables pupils to consolidate their previous learning, while also preparing them for future learning, in line with the sequence of lessons. This is particularly important for our EAL and SEND children, who may need more opportunities to retain and embed scientific vocabulary and concepts.

 

Teachers encourage children to use a developing scientific vocabulary as they progress through each year group. Time is spent during lessons introducing and reinforcing age-appropriate scientific vocabulary. Children are given opportunities to consolidate their use of scientific vocabulary as they move through the year groups. Children are encouraged to use scientific vocabulary, both written and verbal, to explain their ideas and make sense of their observations and findings.

 

Working Scientifically

In addition to the scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding taught through each topic, children will also be provided with opportunities to develop their scientific enquiry skills. These skills are identified within the ‘Working Scientifically’ element of the National Curriculum. Children will be given opportunities to:

 

  • Ask questions
  • Hypothesise and predict
  • Plan and carry out successful investigations
  • Use apparatus effectively and accurately
  • Observe and measure
  • Record data in various ways
  • Present results in a variety of ways, including the use of ICT
  • Compare and evaluate results and identify patterns and trends
  • Draw effective conclusions

 

Opportunities are also planned to enable children to:

  • Develop investigative skills, including the use of ICT
  • Consider the nature of scientific ideas and the role of Science in everyday life
  • Communicate effectively using appropriate scientific vocabulary
  • Assess risks and develop an awareness of Health and Safety

 

 

Teachers create a positive attitude to science learning within their classrooms and reinforce an expectation that all children are capable of achieving high standards in science. We want our children to grow in confidence and develop independence in their scientific enquiry skills, in addition to their knowledge and understanding.

 

Our teachers model scientific skills, including planning, investigating, collecting data, evaluating results and drawing conclusions. As children move through the key stages, they will be given more opportunities to independently use and develop their own skills.

Teachers plan opportunities to develop children’s understanding of their surroundings by accessing outdoor learning and a variety of enrichment experiences. Here at Hawthorn primary school, we are lucky enough to have an edible playground where the children can investigate scientific concepts around plants practically.  We have access to a growing tower which gives pupils the opportunity to see the root system of a mature plant. We have developed a forest school area within our school grounds which offers the children many first-hand learning opportunities.

 

 

Impact

 

The impact of our Science curriculum is measured through the monitoring cycle in school. This includes:

 

  • Lesson observations
  • Book monitoring
  • Learning walks
  • Discussions with class teachers
  • Discussions with pupils

 

Monitoring is used to measure whether:

 

  • Children enjoy and are enthusiastic about science in our school.
  • There is a clear progression of children’s work and teachers’ expectations in our school.
  • Children’s work shows a range of topics and evidence of the curriculum coverage for all science topics.
  • Children are becoming increasingly independent in science, selecting their own tools and materials, completing pupil lead investigations and choosing their own strategies for recording.
  • Feedback from teachers has an impact on our pupils, often with next step questions to push learning on.
  • All children are making progress, including EAL and SEND children.

 

Monitoring is also used to identify gaps in the curriculum that may need to be addressed across the school, or within individual year groups. Monitoring is an ongoing cycle, which is used productively to provide the best possible Science curriculum for our children.