Science

At Minet Junior School, our approach is to deliver knowledge rich, sequential learning which excites and inspires, provides opportunity for recap and challenge, raises questions for debate, develops learners’ confidence and enables independent learning to flourish.

Intent 

In Science, we aim to provide a science curriculum which enables all children to show curiosity about, explore and discover both the world around them and the wider world. We believe Science is a way of working that assists children in building confidence in an investigative, working scientifically, ‘hands-on’, practical, visual approach, with opportunities to develop language and vocabulary by discussing ideas, knowledge and findings. By recording ideas and findings in a variety of ways, we aim to establish links with the wider school curriculum and utilise skills from other curriculum areas. It is essential that these intents are embedded throughout all units of the Science curriculum. 

Our intent is to encourage children to:

• develop a questioning and reflective mind by providing a range of exciting and enjoyable activities
• develop a systematic and logical way of working
• apply their skills and knowledge to investigative work
• come to a deepening understanding of scientific concepts
• work safely and carefully
• develop transferable enquiry skills for future education and employment

Implementation

The curriculum will be delivered through varied and engaging Science lessons that seek to develop understanding of new content, building on prior learning. Lessons will vary widely, depending on what is being taught. The school uses a variety of teaching and learning styles in science.

At Minet Junior, teachers create a positive attitude to science learning within their classrooms and reinforce an expectation that all children are capable of achieving high standards in science. Our whole school approach to the teaching and learning of science involves the following;

• We provide high quality teaching by all teaching staff and have high standards of all pupils in our school.
• Long term plans are followed that ensure all coverage and progression of the 2014 National Curriculum.
• We plan for problem solving and real-life opportunities that enable children to find out for themselves. Children are encouraged to ask their own questions and be given opportunities to use their scientific skills and research to discover the answers. This curiosity is celebrated within the classroom.
• We use various planning resources that provide bespoke lessons designed to inform, interest and inspire our children. This is implemented through Collins Hub and White Rose Hub science schemes, Concept Cartoons, Explorify and documents from PSTT (Primary Science Teachers Trust). We embed health and safety in our lessons using risk assessments on CLEAPSS.
• Cross-curricular links are made where helpful, to highlight real-world application and relevance of the curriculum.
• Science is taught for the equivalent of 2 hours a week. This is mainly timetabled through weekly sessions.
• Each lesson will have clear learning objectives, which will be shared with pupils at the beginning of the lesson. The majority of lessons will have a content objective as well as a skills-based objective.
• Pupils will learn new content/concepts through a range of different methods and resources including,

• posing questions and carrying out enquiries
• watching videos
• listening to explanations
• observation
• diagrams
• role-play and drama
• photographs
• animations
• non-fiction reading texts
• models
• research using secondary sources
• trips
• newspaper/journal articles

• The progression of skills for working scientifically are developed through the year groups and scientific enquiry skills are of key importance within lessons.

• Working Scientifically

Pupils will be taught the Working Scientifically skills outlined in the curriculum across the units for the year, not in isolation. These skills build and progress through the year groups, however the level to which the children are expected to carry out these skills will develop across the years. As pupils progress through the school, they will be encouraged to become more independent in being able to carry out the skills.

• Enquiry Types

Pupils will explore a variety of scientific questions each year and will need to develop the necessary approaches. Each year they will take part in different types of scientific enquiries, applying the applicable working scientifically skills. Pupils will grow more independent as they move through the year groups, identifying which type of enquiry is best for answering different enquiry questions.

• Each unit’s content, including ambitious key vocabulary and key concepts, will be summarised on a Knowledge Organiser. These will be used with pupils as appropriate (for example, to teach content, to revise content once they learned it through enquiry or as a vocabulary/spelling prompt). These are also used to develop rention of key content and vocabulary through a range of creative activities that promote recall to help develop long-term memory. Knowledge organisers will also be shared with parents at the start of each unit and made available on class webpages to promote discussion about science learning at home.
• All lessons will ensure the children’s prior knowledge is taken into account so that progress is evident in every lesson.
• Provision will be made for children who are not making the expected level of progress through I.E.Ps. 
• KW grids and post-assessment will be used as a tool to inform planning and identify misconceptions that need addressing.
• Post-assessment will be used to help the teachers see where changes need to be made to improve students' ability to comprehend and retain the material in the future. Also, comparing pre-assessment and post-assessment scores will lets the teacher drill down into specific areas of improvement.
• Children’s attainment and progress is discussed by teachers and pupil achievement leaders and if progress is not made, support is immediate and steps provided
• Children’s attainment and progress is discussed with parents/carers during parents evenings
• Teachers find opportunities to develop children’s understanding of their surroundings by accessing outdoor learning and workshops with experts.
• Through enrichment days, such as ‘science week’, we promote the profile of science and allow time for the children to freely explore scientific topics.

Impact 

The successful approach to the teaching of science at Bishop King results in a fun, engaging, high-quality science education, that provides children with the foundations for understanding the world that they can take with them once they complete their primary education.

If our intent and implementation are successful, then at Minet Junior we would expect to see:

• A broad and engaging curriculum that makes use of a range of resources, such as visitors and local attractions
• Children and staff who are enthusiastic about scientific learning
• Children and staff who can speak confidently about science, including uses in the real world
• Children who can use appropriate scientific vocabulary in written and oral form
• All children being successful in sharing their understanding of scientific concepts

• Children who can make links between different areas of science and other subject areas
• Children who can recall prior scientific learning when required and use this to understand new learning
• Children increasingly being able to instigate their own investigations confidently and interpreting their findings
• Staff who are able to anticipate potential misconceptions and address these confidently
• Children meeting their age-related expectations in science consistently