Science

SCIENCE AT SUNDRIDGE

Intent

It is our intention, at Sundridge, to develop in all young people a lifelong curiosity and interest in the sciences. When planning for the science curriculum, we intend for children to have the opportunity, wherever possible, to learn through varied systematic investigations, leading to them being equipped for life to ask and answer scientific questions about the world around them. As children progress through the year groups, they build on their skills in working scientifically, as well as on their scientific knowledge, as they develop greater independence in planning and carrying out fair and comparative tests to answer a range of scientific questions. Each Year group will have classroom display related to the most current science topic which enable children to learn and retain the important, useful and powerful vocabulary and knowledge contained within each topic.

Implementation

The acquisition of key scientific knowledge is an integral part of our science lessons. The progression of skills for working scientifically are developed through the year groups and scientific enquiry skills are of key importance within lessons. Each science lesson has a clear focus. Scientific knowledge and enquiry skills are developed with increasing depth and challenge as children move through the year groups. They complete investigations and hands-on activities while gaining the scientific knowledge for each unit. Interwoven into the teaching sequence are key assessment questions - these allow teachers to assess children's levels of understanding at various points in the lesson. They also enable opportunities to recap concepts where necessary. The sequence of lessons helps to embed scientific knowledge and skills, with each lesson building on previous learning. There is also the opportunity to regularly review and evaluate children's understanding. Activities are effectively differentiated so that all children have an appropriate level of support and challenge. Our teachers are equipped with secure scientific subject knowledge, enabling them to deliver high-quality teaching and learning opportunities while making them aware of possible scientific misconceptions.

Impact

In science, progress is measured through a child’s ability to know more, remember more and explain more. This can be measured in different ways in our topics. The use of key questions ensures opportunities are built into the lesson for ongoing assessment. Attainment and progress can be measured across the school using our assessment spreadsheets. The learning environment across the school will be more consistent with science technical vocabulary displayed, spoken and used by all learners. Whole-school and parental engagement will be improved through the use of science-specific home learning tasks. Children who feel confident in their science knowledge and enquiry skills will be excited about science, show that they are actively curious to learn more and will see the relevance of what they learn in science lessons to real-life situations and also the importance of science in the real world.