Intent

At Priory Primary School we pride ourselves on the high-quality science provision available to our pupils that allows them to develop an enthusiasm and enjoyment of scientific learning and discovery.

The Scientific area of learning is concerned with increasing pupils’ knowledge and understanding of our world, and with developing skills associated with Science as a process of enquiry. It will develop the natural curiosity of the child, encourage respect for living organisms and the physical environment and provide opportunities for critical evaluation of evidence.  

In conjunction with the National Curriculum, knowledge organisers and CGP Science, our school has a carefully planned science curriculum that ensures children, from reception to year 6, cover the three aims: knowledge and understanding; working scientifically and the application of Science. We believe that children learn science best by doing and seeing; by providing the children with a range of opportunities to actively carry out different types of scientific enquiries. Through the use of quizzes and exit tickets we endeavour to ensure that every child is given the opportunity to enjoy and make progress in Science.

We develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Also, by developing the 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. We equip our pupils with the scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of Science, today and for the future. Developing the essential scientific enquiry skills is important, in order to deepen their scientific knowledge, by using a range of methods to communicate their scientific information and present it in a systematic, scientific manner, including I.C.T, diagrams, graphs and charts. Pupils are taught to respect the materials and equipment they handle and develop a respect for each other’s safety.

Impact

By the time children leave Priory Primary School they will:

• Have had access to the year by year progression of knowledge and skills set out in the National Curriculum.
• Be able to use the skills to work scientifically and have had opportunities for these skills and their knowledge to be applied.
• Know how to promote discussion and challenge their own thinking.
• Describe and evaluate their own and others’ scientific ideas related to topics in the national curriculum (including ideas that have changed over time), using evidence from a range of sources.
• Ask their own questions about the scientific phenomena that they are studying, and select the most appropriate ways to answer these questions, recognising and controlling variables where necessary (i.e. observing changes over different periods of time, noticing patterns, grouping and classifying things, carrying out comparative and fair tests, and finding things out using a wide range of secondary sources.
• Use a range of scientific equipment to take accurate and precise measurements or readings, with repeat readings where appropriate.
• Record data and results using scientific diagrams and labels, classification keys, tables, scatter graphs, bar and line graphs.
• Draw conclusions, explain and evaluate their methods and findings, communicating these in a variety of ways.
• Raise further questions that could be investigated, based on their data and observations.
• Develop their science capital by being given the opportunity to take part in extra-curricular activities such as, science clubs, visitors and trips and special science learning days.