Science

WELCOME TO THE SCIENCE PAGE

Mrs. Faulkner - Subject Leader    

Curriculum Intent:

At St. Bede’s Catholic Junior School we endeavour to teach a Science curriculum that ensures our learners not only have secure scientific knowledge but also the wisdom to reflect and empathise on how they can use Science to protect and improve their future. Our teaching of science is also strongly underpinned by Catholic Social Teaching and Gospel Values – whilst teaching science we strive to “work with generosity and tenderness in protecting this world which God has entrusted to us” (a response to Pope Francis’ invitation in Laudato Si’)

Our Science curriculum is knowledge-rich.

• We aim to impart the programmes of study in a way that ensures the learners are fully invested into the learning.
• We want to equip the learners with the skills to be able to plan, observe, record and draw conclusions from their enquiries.
• The children should know how to raise questions that can be investigated.
• We encourage children to consider the validity and reliability of results when drawing conclusions.
• Developing children’s scientific vocabulary and ability to articulate scientific concepts clearly and precisely is imperative.
• Children should know about the contributions of significant scientists and how their findings influence their lives.

Our Science curriculum is also humanity-rich.

• We want to show children the relevance, purpose and impact of Science in the wider world, using local and world contexts to frame learning; showing Science is all around us and vital for a sustainable future - their future!
• Coupled with creating a curiosity into enquiry based science, we aim to build active, solution focussed compassion – where pupils are protected into a context where they feel they can make a change to the issues facing their future; basing this on the understanding that “no one will protect what they don’t care about; and no one will care about what they have never experienced.” (Sir David Attenborough)

We invest in making our children aware of how scientific knowledge and wisdom has and still can contribute to local and world issues – empowering them to be able to participate in protecting and shaping their future.

ality, interesting and engaging science lessons

• Using effective questioning to extend pupils’ learning and inspire and motivate pupils
• Teaching about the contributions of significant scientists
• Developing pupils’ ability to work scientifically and involve pupils in planning, carrying out and evaluating investigations
• Developing pupils’ scientific vocabulary and ability to articulate scientific concepts clearly and precisely
• Using a good balance of subject knowledge lessons and practical, investigative lessons
• Ensuring that all pupils are appropriately challenged to make good progress in science. 

Teaching and Learning Intentions:

• Science is taught confidently across the school – teachers’ high subject knowledge ensuring children can develop their curiosity and questioning in Science.

• Accurate scientific vocabulary is actively encouraged and celebrated, with teachers and children having high expectations around the use of scientific language.

• Formative assessment is used effectively to ensure retention of the key knowledge in each subject.

• Working scientifically is taught across all areas of science and aims to include a balance of teacher-led and pupil-led enquiries; helping to model the skills of enquiry as well as providing opportunities for learners to conduct enquires themselves.

• Links and partnerships are developed with STEM ambassadors, parents/carers and the local community to influence and build upon learning in school.

• Individual learning needs are differentiated for – with literacy and numeracy not being a barrier to progression in Science.  

Implementation

Organisation of Teaching and Learning

At St Bede’s Catholic Junior School we use the National Curriculum to guide us in the content taught and use resources such as ‘Switched on Science’, ‘STEM learning’ and  ‘ASE’ to support in this. We aim to teach science for two hours each week and each year group covers at least two main topics in each term - ensuring that the skills of ‘working scientifically’ are built upon in each topic.

• In Lower KS2 the children build on KS1 by broadening their view of science in the world around them.  They explore, talk and test – looking at relationships within the environment and with living things.

• In Upper KS2 the children  deepen their understanding of a wide range of scientific ideas through exploring and talking about their ideas; they ask their own questions about scientific phenomena and analyse functions, relationships and interactions more systematically. At Upper KS2 they encounter more abstract ideas and use these to help them understand how the world operates. They look at how scientific ideas have changed; they select the most appropriate ways to answer their own and others questions using different types of scientific enquiry. When drawing conclusions, the children draw on data they’ve obtained, use evidence to justify ideas and use scientific knowledge to explain their findings.

 Working scientifically

The key skills of working scientifically are taught throughout each topic using the National Curriculum’s programme of study to help identify the key skills in each phase of Key Stage Two. As the children progress, the aim is that they develop greater independence in planning and conducting their own tests to answer their own and others questions; whilst also being equipped with a range of ways to record their findings and the knowledge to explain their conclusions.

Assessment

Assessment is ongoing throughout the year – the teacher uses observations, marking and conversations with pupils to inform their judgements. We also use ‘pre-topic’ assessments to help ascertain prior subject knowledge from the pupils and use this to inform planning for the content of the topic. ‘Mini-progress’ checks, which can range from a 5 minute practical activity to a quick written response, will help inform assessments as a topic progresses as well as helping to indicate the level of knowledge retentions. A final topic assessment also helps us identify the progress from the pupils’ starting points and this data is recorded on a tracking system and used by class teachers and subject lead to inform future lessons. 

Working scientifically is assessed informally throughout the science topics; however, teachers record an informed judgement against each attainment target once a term.

By linking our science topics, whenever possible, to familiar situations and making links with local communities and industries (e.g Catalyst Museum; Chester Zoo Ignite project; Ogden Trust; Science days – including STEM visitors) we aim to help the children relate science to the world around them; understanding how science has shaped their lives and will affect their futures.

In other areas of the curriculum and during enrichment weeks, we encourage the children to reflect on world issues that may be impacting the science they have being studying. In  showing care and compassion to them in the application of the science curriculum, we  aim to ensure that they are not too overwhelmed with empathy but realise they can make a change – we aim to develop solution focussed compassion.

Through involvement with other agencies (e.g Chester Zoo, Ogden Trust) we aim to improve awareness of conservation and a respect for physics – to help improve the number of children taking up science in further education.

Delivery of Teaching and Learning

• Scientific enquiry skills have been carefully broken down for each year group to ensure the children can develop the key skills in a progressive manner.

• New scientific enquiry skills are carefully modelled by the teacher

• Questioning is used to promote careful thinking and application of knowledge.

• Key Vocabulary lists are provided to support pupils in responding to questioning and/or reporting their work in a written form.

• Differentiation and challenge is given by level of support, mixed ability groupings, differentiated activities and varied ways of recording results.

•Opportunities to use other areas of the curriculum are explored on a regular basis – using art to make sketches of fungi, writing letters to councils about road surfaces, presenting a news report on new planets being just some examples.

At St Bede’s Juniors we link our topics, wherever possible, to familiar situations, however we do take on board the National Curriculum’s suggestions that although the ‘social and economic implications of science are important… they are taught most appropriately within the wider school curriculum…’ and therefore we make some explicit links, where possible, in other curriculum areas (e.g. human development and growth in RSA, conservation in PSHE and RE…) and have enrichment days/weeks in which we look at how the science we have studied links to life today. We do, whenever possible, also use different contexts to maximise our pupils’ engagement and motivation – asking them, for example, to design a new road surface for the council, design a magnetic alarm. To encourage an increase of pupils taking up science at KS3 and beyond, we enrol our Year 4 and Year 6 pupils onto science awards – The Crest Awards.

Events and Extra-curricular opportunities

• Visiting scientists and companies, such as ‘MadScience’ and ‘Chemistry with Cabbage’ are invited to work with specific year groups and the whole school.

• Being part of the Ogden Trust now means we have links with our local college – providing specialist knowledge for staff and utilizing Science students to work with our pupils and parents.

• STEM ambassadors support on our science days and with curriculum ideas throughout the year.

•Working with Chester Zoo and Ignite on a conservation programme means we now have close links with Chester Zoo and their staff.

• Extra-curricular clubs are planned to be delivered by the MadScience team and/or 6 form students on the Crest Award schemes.

• Year 4 and Year 6 pupils to partake in the Crest SuperStar and Discovery science Awards.

• A team of children are now ‘Bee Ambassadors’ – they have set up and are maintaining our own bee garden to reduce the decline of bees.

Continuous Professional Development

• Staff attend STEM training and have STEM logins for CPD training.

• Registration with the Ogden Trust is providing subject lead staff training and resources.

• Staff meetings led by the subject lead are planned to assist with subject knowledge and developing scientific enquiry and assessment.  

Impact

LOWER KS2 Key Performance Indicators:

• Ask relevant questions; use different types of scientific enquiries to answer them.
• Set up simple practical enquiries, comparative and fair tests.
• Make systematic and careful observations; take accurate measurements, using a range of equipment
• Gather, record, classify and present data
• Record findings using simple scientific language, drawing, labelled diagrams, keys, bar charts and tables.
• Report on findings from enquiries (oral and written explanations, displays or presentations)
• Use results to draw simple conclusions, make predictions for new values, suggest improvements and raise further questions.
• Identify differences, similarities or changes related to simple scientific ideas and processes.
• Use straightforward scientific evidence to answer questions or to support findings.

UPPER KS2 Key Performance Indicators:

• Plan different types of scientific enquiries to answer questions, including recognising and controlling variables.
• Take measurements, using a range of scientific equipment, with increasing accuracy and precision, taking repeat readings when appropriate.
• Recording data and results using scientific diagrams and labels, classification keys, tables, scatter graphs, bar and line graphs.
• Use test results to make predictions to set up further comparative and fair tests.
• Report and present findings from enquiries, including conclusions, causal relationships and explanations of and a degree of trust in results, in oral and written forms such as displays and other presentations.

Identify scientific evidence that has been used to support or refute ideas or arguments.

Whilst gaining this knowledge it is hoped that the children will appreciate how science has changed their lives and is ‘vital to the world’s future prosperity…’ (NC 2014). They should develop a sense of excitement and curiosity about natural phenomena and be able to understand how science can be used to ‘explain what is occurring, predict how things will behave and analyse causes.’ Ultimately they will have experienced a knowledge-rich and humanity-rich curriculum.

Management and Evaluation of Imapct:

• By regularly timetabling Science each week the pupils’ achievement can progress and be regularly monitored and assessed

• Annually, school management plan objectives are set relating to improving outcomes in the subject following data analysis.

• Termly, the subject adviser conducts a work scrutiny to monitor curriculum and pupil progress.

• Informal teacher checks e.g. mini starter tasks, odd-one-out discussions etc inform teachers of misconceptions and knowledge retention – help with feedforward to next lessons.

• Teacher assessments are carried at the start and end of each ‘topic’ and termly for ‘working scientifically’ (data tracking on Excel tracking system and book scrutiny help inform subject lead about impact)

Please take a look at our photos from Science Week and below are links to sites that can be used at home to continue the science learning (not to mention the fun!) Also, click HERE to see our Bee Garden!

If you have any questions about Science at St. Bede's, please email [email protected] 

STEM activities           BBC Science        Array of science sites    Climate Change site