Science
Excellence, Inclusivity, Kindness, Curiosity, Music: Uniting Our Learning Community.
Impact
At HNPS, we believe in inclusivity, curiosity and excellence for all. Hence our curriculum aims to develop a sense of excitement and curiosity about natural phenomena and an understanding of how the scientific community contributes to our past, present and future.
We want pupils to develop a complex knowledge of Biology, Chemistry and Physics, but also adopt a broad range of skills in working scientifically and beyond. Our curriculum is inclusive and meaningful, so all pupils may experience the joy of science and make associations between their science learning and their lives outside the classroom. Studying science allows children to appreciate how new knowledge and skills can be fundamental to solving arising global challenges.
Our curriculum aims to encourage critical thinking and empower pupils to question the hows and whys of the world around them. Our sequence of learning encourages:
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A strong focus on developing knowledge alongside scientific skills across Biology, Chemistry and Physics.
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Curiosity and excitement about familiar and unknown observations.
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Challenging misconceptions and demystifying truths.
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Continuous progression by building on practical and investigative skills across all units.
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Critical thinking, with the ability to ask perceptive questions and explain and analyse evidence.
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Development of scientific literacy using wide-ranging, specialist vocabulary.
Our progressive Science curriculum enables pupils to meet the end of key stage attainment targets in the National curriculum and the aims also align with those set out in the National curriculum. Children are also encouraged to explore scientific theories through practical means in order to hone the skills and behaviours needed by scientists in the real world.
They understand that the history of science is a history of trial-and-error, and that what we accept as fact now may not always be so. Children learn about topics from physics, biology and chemistry strands, as well as being encouraged to develop their problem solving skills, their resilience, their questioning, and their confidence to disagree with each other and their adults in a positive manner.
In our science curriculum, children will encounter scientists from history who look and speak like them. They will leave school secure in the knowledge that they, too, are capable of changing the world for the better.
At Hackney New Primary School we are a Rights Respecting School. Our Science curriculum supports the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the teaching of it. Through the curriculum children learn and embed the understanding of:
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Article 13 - Sharing thoughts freely
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Article 14 - Freedom of thought and religion
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Article 17 - Access to information
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Article 28 - Access to education
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Article 31 - Rest, play, culture and arts
Implementation
In order to meet the aims of the National curriculum for Science and in response to the Ofsted Research review into Science, we have identified the following key strands:
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Scientific knowledge and understanding of:
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Biology - living organisms and vital processes.
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Chemistry - matter and its properties.
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Physics - how the world we live in ‘works’.
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Working scientifically - processes and methods of science to answer questions about the world around us.
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Science in action - uses and implications of science in the past, present and for the future.
Our Science curriculum is a spiral curriculum, with essential knowledge and skills revisited with increasing complexity, allowing pupils to revise and build on their previous learning. A range of engaging recall activities promote frequent pupil reflection on prior learning, ensuring new learning is approached with confidence. The Science in action strand is interwoven throughout the scheme to make the concepts and skills relevant to pupils and inspiring for future application. Cross-curricular links are included throughout each unit, allowing children to make connections and apply their Science skills to other areas of learning.
Each unit is based upon one of the key science disciplines; Biology, Chemistry and Physics and to show progression throughout the school we have grouped the National curriculum content into six key areas of science:
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Plants
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Animals, including humans
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Living things and their habitats
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Materials
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Energy
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Forces, Earth and Space
Our practice is, first and foremost, based on inclusivity. From Reception to Year 6, children are engaged in enquiry based tasks with high expectations and effective scaffolding to ensure all children achieve academic excellence.
Pupils explore knowledge and conceptual understanding through engaging activities and an introduction to relevant specialist vocabulary. As suggested in Ofsted’s Science research review (April 2021), the ‘working scientifically’ skills are integrated with conceptual understanding rather than taught discretely. This provides frequent, but relevant, opportunities for developing scientific enquiry skills. The curriculum utilises practical activities that aid in the progression of individual skills and also provides opportunities for full investigations.
Each year group has an exploratory ‘Making connections’ unit that delves beyond the essential curriculum, assimilating prior knowledge and skills to evoke excitement and to provide an additional method of assessing scientific attainment.
Lessons incorporate various teaching strategies from independent tasks to paired and group work, including practical, creative, computer-based and collaborative tasks. This variety means that lessons are engaging and appeal to those with different learning styles. In Year 1, we have tried to ease the transition into Key stage 1, by providing a selection of activities: some adult-led, some independent tasks, and some tasks that can be used during continuous provision to suit your set-up.
Guidance for adapting the learning is available for every lesson to ensure that all pupils can access learning, and opportunities to stretch pupils’ learning are available when required. Knowledge organisers for each unit help to identify prior and future curriculum links to make the scheme as meaningful as possible and reinforce key technical terms.
In Key Stage 1, teachers and support staff use Tapestry and science books to record and share children’s learning. As they progress through Key Stage 2, written recording of experiments is introduced using a school enquiry format, developing a firm understanding of scientific methods. At all levels, children engage in lively discussions and debates about their work. Throughout, teachers are implementing the evidence-informed practice of ‘I do, We do, You do’ to ensure all children are accessing learning. This is a model of teaching which is also known as the ‘gradual release of responsibility’ model. It enables our pupils to learn new knowledge through precise teaching, and gives them a chance to experiment with support before embarking upon independent enquiry.
Science is taught in line with national expectations and we have ensured that our curriculum incorporates woven strands of prior learning.
Every science lesson begins with an enquiry question that teachers use as a plenary tool to assess children’s learning. This is then followed up in a recap in the following lesson. This ensures that even all children with gaps are consistently exposed to and retaining key knowledge throughout the term. Children add new learning to their knowledge organisers at the end of each session that they will use for low stakes quizzes and recapping throughout the year.
The National Curriculum is specific about the ‘working scientifically’ skills which children should develop in each Key Stage, alongside their knowledge of scientific concepts. Throughout the year, topics have aspects of ‘working scientifically’ woven through them to ensure that our pedagogy is based in skills and practice as a route for proving knowledge.
The layout of our curriculum map has also been considered to complement our Outdoor Learning provision, with topics involving plants and animals often taking place in the periods when Outdoor Learning can take place so that these opportunities can be fully explored. We have an annual science focus week, in which children across the school will participate in gaining their Crest Science award. At least once a year, children will be taken on an educational visit directly linked to their science learning, for example Year 6 visiting the Old Operating Theater.
Impact
Outcomes on Tapestry and in science books evidence a broad and balanced science curriculum and demonstrate the children’s acquisition of key knowledge and skills. The impact of our curriculum is constantly monitored through both formative and summative assessment opportunities. Each lesson includes guidance to support teachers in assessing pupils against the learning objectives and any relevant scientific enquiry skills. Furthermore, each unit starts with Test it, beat it, prove it and a knowledge and skills catcher, which are used at the beginning and end of the lesson to provide full understanding of pupils knowledge and achievement. Opportunities for children to communicate using scientific vocabulary also form part of the assessment process in each unit.
As a result of the implementation of our curriculum, our pupils leave school equipped with the requisite skills and knowledge to succeed in key stage 3 Science. They have the necessary tools to confidently and meaningfully question and explore the world around them as well as critically and analytically experiencing and observing phenomena. Pupils understand the significance and impact of Science on society. Regular monitoring ensures that learning is matching with our expected outcomes.
By the end of KS2 our children are able to:
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Develop a body of foundational knowledge for the Biology topics in the National curriculum: Plants; Animals, Including Humans; Living Things and Their Habitats; Evolution and Inheritance.
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Develop a body of foundational knowledge for the Chemistry topics in the National curriculum: Everyday Materials; Uses of Everyday Materials; Properties and Changes of Materials; States of Matter; Rocks.
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Develop a body of foundational knowledge for the Physics topics in the National curriculum: Seasonal Changes; Forces and Magnets; Sound; Light; Electricity; Earth and Space.
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Be able to evaluate and identify the methods that ‘real world’ scientists use to develop and answer scientific questions.
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Identify and use equipment effectively to accurately gather, measure and record data.
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Be able to display and convey data in a variety of ways, including graphs.
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Analyse data in order to identify, classify, group, and find patterns.
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Use evidence to formulate explanations and conclusions.
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Demonstrate scientific literacy through presenting concepts and communicating ideas using scientific vocabulary.
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Understand the importance of resilience and a growth mindset, particularly in reference to scientific enquiry.
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Meet the end of key stage expectations outlined in the National curriculum for Science.