Science

Intent

At Wivelsfield, through carefully planned learning opportunities, we empower children with the skills and knowledge to enable them to explore, understand, engage and question an ever-changing world.

Implementation

In order to teach the substantive scientific knowledge, engage children, and underpin theory, wherever possible the teaching of science will be practical. In turn, this will also develop children’s resilience and develop specific practical disciplinary skills. The science curriculum will be taught through a mixture of activities: tasks will range from being confirmatory to exploration.  Teachers will select tasks that best suit the learning and to move learning forward and will aim to plan in one exploratory lesson once a long term.

The concrete-pictorial-abstract (CPA) approach has been adopted across the school to support the learning of all pupils and offer greater support for our disadvantaged and SEND pupils. This has enabled teachers to close gaps in prior learning.  

Reading and shared reading will be used at every opportunity. At the beginning of each topic and when encountering new vocabulary, children will be taught explicitly the meaning of the new words. In addition, key vocabulary will be sent home at the beginning of each term for children and parents to explore.

Children will be taught how to organise their writing, templates will be used to model scientific writing and explore the features within context. Once they’ve mastered it, children will be encouraged to experiment organising their results in different ways.

Maths and science are closely intertwined and the teaching of science will utilise these natural links to reinforce and apply different mathematical concepts. This can support making mathematical processes as concrete, visual and direct as possible.

Teachers will be cautious not to expose children to mathematical concepts which they have not yet learnt how to do and understand what they mean.

Impact

Through the well-planned and thoughtful teaching of science and scientific skills, children will leave Wivelsfield with a good understanding of how the natural world works and the tools to carry out scientific experiments in Key Stage 3 and beyond. Alongside this, children have the confidence and resilience to raise questions and are inquisitive about the natural world.