Science Vision and Intent
Our Vision and Intent for Science:
At Cotford St Luke Primary School, we aim to inspire children’s curiosity about the world around them through the teaching and exploration of science. Our curriculum is not only designed to spark interest but also provide the knowledge needed to understand natural phenomena.
Children build their understanding by testing ideas and examining existing evidence. They learn the scientific method, which involves developing and evaluating explanations based on experiments and models. This helps them see how key scientific concepts drive technological advancements that impact industries, medicine and everyday life.
We encourage our children to ask questions and discuss scientific issues that affect their lives and society's future. Our science teaching promotes teamwork, allowing the children to share ideas and explore them together. This collaborative approach helps them develop critical thinking skills while fostering a sense of community.
Our aims:
Preparing our children for life in an increasingly scientific and technological world.
Cultivating concern for, and active care of, our environment.
Helping our children acquire a growing understanding of scientific ideas.
Enable children to question, hypothesise, test and discover for themselves about our world.
Developing the skills of investigation - including observing, measuring, predicting, hypothesising, experimenting, communicating, interpreting, explaining and evaluating.
Enhancing the use of scientific techniques, language and recording methods.
Developing the use of ICT in investigating and recording.
Enabling our children to become effective communicators of scientific ideas, facts and data.
We seek to ensure that our children:
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.
The School Implementation of Science
At our school, science is an exciting and important part of learning, where all teachers work together to ensure full coverage of the National Curriculum programme of study. In the Early Years Foundation Stage, science is primarily covered under 'Understanding the World,' encouraging young children to explore and make sense of their environment. However, it also connects with other early years goals, supporting a well-rounded approach to learning and development.
We believe in making science both excellent and enjoyable, connecting it with other subjects to create a more enriching learning experience. Each year group follows a carefully planned curriculum based on the National Curriculum's guidelines, with content spread out over a two-year rolling programme.
Our aim is to provide a broad and balanced science education, where curiosity and enquiry are at the heart of our children's learning. Through hands-on exploration and investigation, we nurture their natural interest in the world around them.
The disciplinary knowledge and key concepts that we help guide our focus of lesson on include:
Asking questions and proposing theories.
Selecting a scientific enquiry.
Research using secondary sources.
Grouping and classifying.
Observing over time.
Noticing patterns.
Comparative and fair testing.
Carrying out enquiries
Planning
Using scientific apparatus
Observing and measuring
Using evidence to draw conclusions and ask new questions
Science in EYFS
In EYFS, science is woven into the broader EYFS themes of ‘Here I Am,’ ‘Once Upon a Time,’ and ‘Our Wonderful World,’ which naturally inspire children to explore their surroundings and nurture their curiosity about how things work. Play is central to all learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), where children engage in different ways—sometimes expressing their thoughts and ideas, and other times quietly reflecting. Through playful, hands-on activities, children are encouraged to experiment, explore, and ask questions, all within a secure and stimulating environment.
The EYFS strand, ‘Understanding the World,’ is key to introducing scientific concepts and sets the foundation for more structured science learning in Key Stage 1 (KS1) and Key Stage 2 (KS2). By encouraging curiosity and fostering a love for exploration, we create an engaging learning environment where children can develop a deeper understanding of new ideas.
Wherever possible, cross-curricular links are made with science, helping children see how their learning fits into a broader context and contributing to their overall development.
Key Stage One
In Key Stage One, children engage in observing, exploring, and asking questions about living things, materials, and their environment. They work together to gather evidence, identify patterns, classify objects, and conduct research from various sources. They also monitor environmental changes and perform fair tests to draw conclusions.
To deepen their understanding, children use reference materials and communicate their findings using scientific terminology, along with drawings, charts, and tables. Science is taught for at least one hour per week, with a focus on creativity and exploration. Lessons include hands-on investigations, recording results, and using outdoor spaces to enhance learning. Where possible, science is linked to other areas of the curriculum.
Key Stage Two
In Key Stage 2, children are motivated to broaden the scientific questions they pose and to explore about their environment. They engage in various scientific investigations, including conducting observations over time, identifying patterns, classifying and grouping items, and using diverse research sources, including digital tools.
Children in this stage learn how to design their own science experiments and understand the necessary steps to ensure fair testing. They make use of outdoor spaces to enhance their scientific learning experiences. Communication is key, as children are encouraged to express their thoughts using topic-specific scientific vocabulary, along with diagrams, charts, tables, and computer-generated graphs.
Teachers allocate one afternoon each week to science lessons, ensuring that these sessions include hands-on scientific inquiries and concentrate on essential skills, such as interpreting results to draw basic conclusions. The outdoor environment, including gardens and forest school area, can be incorporated into their science activities to provide practical, real-world applications of their learning.
Cross-curricular Science Opportunities
Teachers aim to create meaningful cross-curricular links, allowing children to apply the skills and knowledge gained in science to other subjects in the school curriculum:
Maths: Children practice measurements, data handling, and presenting data using graphs and charts.
Computing: Computing skills enhance science learning, enabling children to research, collect, and present scientific findings using tools like data loggers.
Geography: Children explore the science within their local environment, deepening their understanding of the natural world.
History: Children explore the contributions of influential scientists and learn how scientific methods are used in historical research, such as analysing artifacts.
Science is inherently cross-curricular, enhancing children’s understanding of global issues and real-world challenges. By integrating various disciplines, students learn to analyse data and explore the impacts of their findings on the world around them. Our summer projects aim to emphasise these connections, helping the children see how science informs solutions for a sustainable future.
Impact
We use assessment to inform and develop our teaching.
Topics begin with an assessment of what children already know using activities such as: asking a big question, concept cartoon, grouping or classifying a set of objects/cards, true or false statements, mind maps/word webs etc. which are used for planning.
We assess throughout the topic. Primarily by beginning lessons with a recall session or use of weekly questioning to assess the key knowledge for each lesson. Activities during, and at the end of, each topic record achievement and celebrate success.
In each unit (every half term) we use a Teacher Assessment for Science (TAPS) planned lesson to aid our assessment of the skills which is accompanied with a levelled exemplar for each year group. This is best used when it follows on from a similar objective that was previously modelled within the term. (https://pstt.org.uk/resources/curriculum-materials/assessment )
Science work, where appropriate, will be recorded in science books; evidence will also be photographic or written and evident on classroom displays or in floor books.
The school science coordinator monitors progress through the school by sampling children’s work at regular intervals. Children who need additional support or those who show exceptional ability in science are recognised and provided with the resources they need to thrive.
The Y2 & Y6 staff assess children’s attainment and progress at the end of each key stage. This is based on assessment records and work samples from across the key stage and is supported by the science coordinator and previous class teachers if needed.