Science at Yohden Primary School

Intent  

Science teaching at Yohden Primary School aims to give all children a strong understanding of the world around them whilst acquiring specific skills and knowledge to help them to think scientifically, to gain an understanding of scientific processes and also an understanding of the uses and implications of Science, today and for the future. The main focus is that of developing scientific enquiry skills which are taught throughout and within its own unit. This enables the children to develop their investigative skills; observing, questioning, fair testing, predicting, measuring, recording, evaluating and concluding in a variety of lessons. They develop their understanding of scientific ideas by using different types of enquiry to answer their own questions, including observing changes over a period of time, noticing patterns, grouping and classifying things, carrying out simple comparative tests and finding things out using secondary sources of information. By the time our children leave Yohden Primary they will have the ability to ask questions, be able to carry out simple practical science investigations, use equipment safely, cooperate with others, have an enquiring mind, build arguments and explain concepts confidently. 

Implementation 

Planning and Assessment 

•     Science units are planned and taught using Yohden Primary’s Long Term and Medium Term planning documents for Science, which use guidance and planning ideas from PLAN documents.  

•     Medium term planning documents are used by teachers to plan lessons, adding additional information to support learning e.g SEND/GD learners.  

•     Teachers use the Science progression document to support their planning and teaching of skills, knowledge and understanding. 

•     Teachers use the examples of work documents to support assessments.  

•     Assessments are made during each lesson using formative assessment strategies e.g. retrieval, low stakes quizzes, odd one out, concept cartoons and this informs future lessons 

•     At the end of each assessments are added to tracker using the National Curriculum statements and end of key stage teacher assessment objectives to state whether each child is on track, working towards or off track.  

•     Teachers to display 5 enquiry types and refer to during the lesson.  

Teaching and Learning 

•     Reception children are allocated time to access the provision indoors and outdoors each morning and afternoon. They follow a ‘plan, do, review’ approach with the children’s interests at the heart of what they do. Children explore what they already know and what they would like to find out. Resources and provocations are planned for and provided the following week based around the children’s interests. Staff are trained so that they can use ‘in the moment’ to extend a child’s learning. Staff at our school ensure that broad opportunities are provided for the children to develop their existing skills. Reception have a LTP with overarching themes linked to festivals or seasons and these provide the provocations across the year. Books are carefully chosen by the EYFS team to support in delivery of the EY’s programmes of study. Each child has a focus week each half term and all the children’s learning across the week is documented on Tapestry. Whole class activities are documented in the class floor book.  

•     Children in KS1 complete a floor book for Science (in year 2 children have access to a discrete science book when they are ready). Children in KS2 to complete their learning in a discrete Science book.   

•     At the start of every unit, there will be a unit starter with knowledge, questions, vocabulary and answers. This is added to throughout the learning of the unit in purple pen.  

•     Science unit title is displayed in the classroom with key information e.g vocabulary displayed.  

•     Science and topic vocabulary is displayed to support children and word mats for SEND.  

•     Science equipment and resources are available in classrooms.  

•     Start of lessons are to have a 5-minute retrieval from previous lessons or half terms to support sticky Science knowledge.   

•     Focus on enquiry in lessons asking questions and answering them through research, science sources and a range of scientific enquiry learning activities. 

•     Activities in lessons are to focus on scientific skills, knowledge and understanding 

•     Resources are used to support learning.  

•     A range of activities are drawn upon to support learning e.g debates, re-enactments, hot seating, written accounts, Venn diagram, sorting and classifying activities, practical activities.  

•      Marking: learning objective highlighted green if successful. Children to be given challenges using a triangle when applicable, at least once per unit.   

•     Lesson structure: 5-minute retrieval, teaching or learning activity based on lessons type, teaching/learning activity, plenary.  

•     SEND children - activities are differentiated or scaffolded and evidence is recorded in different ways.  

Long Term Plans