Science

Science helps children make sense of the world around them. We want every child to be curious, to ask good questions, and to find answers by testing ideas and weighing up evidence.

Science at Sparken Hill

Science is a hands-on investigation of the living, material and physical world. As one of the core subjects in primary school, it is given the prominence it deserves, both as a subject in its own right and as a support for learning across the curriculum. Scientific knowledge and understanding help pupils make sense of their learning in other subjects and connect it with everyday life.

Using scientific methods of investigation encourages a natural curiosity about our universe, respect for living things and the physical environment, and the ability to question and critically evaluate evidence. We aim to give children the confidence and motivation to keep developing their skills, and to deepen their respect, care and appreciation for the natural world.

• IntentWhy we teach science
• ImplementationHow we teach it
• ImpactWhat children achieve

Intent

Why we teach science

We want our children to wonder about the world: why the seasons change, how their bodies work, what happens when materials are heated or mixed, and how plants and animals survive. Our curriculum builds both scientific knowledge, the facts and ideas that explain the world, and working scientifically, the skills of asking questions, planning investigations, observing carefully and drawing conclusions from evidence.

The National Curriculum aims for all pupils to

Develop knowledge

and conceptual understanding through the disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics.

Understand how science works

through different types of enquiry that help them answer questions about the world around them.

Understand its impact

with the knowledge needed to understand the uses and implications of science, today and in the future.

At Sparken Hill, our science curriculum aims to

• Be accessible to all, so every child knows more, remembers more and understands more
• Develop enthusiasm and enjoyment of scientific learning and discovery
• Nurture enquiring learners
• Build knowledge, concepts, skills and positive attitudes towards science
• Show how science explains, predicts and analyses causes
• Develop practical skills: observing, predicting, investigating, interpreting, questioning and hypothesising, with increasingly precise measurement and technology
• Give pupils high-quality first teaching and rich scientific experiences
• Immerse children in science-specific vocabulary
• Provide a broad and balanced science curriculum for every child, regardless of ethnicity, origin, gender, background, aptitude or disability

Implementation

How we teach science

Staff create a positive attitude to science and expect every pupil to achieve high standards. Planning gives full coverage of the National Curriculum programmes of study and of Understanding the World in the Early Years. Science is taught on a two-year rolling programme in each key stage, with a science unit each term. Where it fits, it is linked to the class topic; where it does not, it is taught as a discrete unit.

Each unit is built around a small number of clear "to know" statements, so children remember the most important knowledge rather than skimming across too much. This reflects our whole-school approach of Doing Less. Well. and our Golden Thread, where every topic is driven by a key question that pupils return to and answer by the end.

Six science strands

🌱Living things

Plants, habitats, classification, life cycles, evolution and inheritance.

🐾Animals and humans

Our bodies, senses, health, skeletons, digestion and the circulatory system.

🧪Materials

Everyday materials, their properties, states of matter and how materials change.

🧲Forces

Pushes and pulls, magnets, friction, gravity, and gears, pulleys and levers.

💡Light, sound and electricity

How we see, how sound travels, and how electrical circuits work.

🌍Earth, space and seasons

The seasons, weather, and the Earth, Sun and Moon in space.

Building knowledge from Nursery to Year 6

Each strand is revisited in more depth as children move through school. Each dot is one unit in our two-year cycle that teaches that strand.

Strand	Foundation Stage	Key Stage 1	Lower Key Stage 2	Upper Key Stage 2
🌱 Living things
🐾 Animals and humans
🧪 Materials
🧲 Forces	-
💡 Light, sound and electricity	-	-
🌍 Earth, space and seasons			-

Our teaching sequence

Every unit, in every year group, follows these steps in order.

1. Start with the big picture

   Find out what pupils already know, understand, can do and can say.

2. Daily review

   Revisit previous learning and vocabulary.

3. Teach the concepts

   Provide the information and scientific ideas for the unit.

4. Name the vocabulary

   Set out the key words and what they mean.

5. Investigate and present

   Explore in a range of contexts, then gather and present evidence.

Working scientifically

Children learn to answer questions in different ways, using five types of scientific enquiry:

• Observing over timeWatching how things change, such as plants growing or the seasons.
• Pattern seekingLooking for patterns in what they observe and measure.
• Identifying and classifyingSorting and grouping living things and materials.
• Comparative and fair testingChanging one thing and keeping everything else the same.
• ResearchUsing books and other secondary sources to find answers.

Approaches to teaching science

Teachers choose the approach that best fits what pupils need to learn.

• Behaviourism: direct teacher instruction, modelling of skills and techniques, and demonstration.
• Constructivism: enquiry-based learning, where pupils build understanding through investigation.
• Social constructivism: teacher modelling and questioning, with individual, paired and group work.
• Liberationism: pupil-led learning, with opportunities to follow their own lines of enquiry.

What this looks like in school

• A clear scheme of work showing progression across every strand and key stage
• High-quality resources: equipment, digital technology and secondary sources
• Hands-on investigations and problem-solving tasks
• Lessons that build on prior learning and make cross-curricular links
• Creative, engaging lessons with precise questioning
• Enrichment through events, expert visitors and trips, and outdoor learning
• Strong staff subject knowledge, kept up to date through regular training
• Regular monitoring of planning and pupils' work
• Assessment for learning in lessons, KWL grids and end-of-unit assessment tasks using LBQ

Foundation Stage

In Nursery and Reception, science is taught through Understanding the World and continuous provision. Children explore, observe and talk about plants, animals, materials and the seasons, watching chicks hatch and butterflies emerge, and growing plants of their own.

Impact

What children achieve

We want children to gain the age-related knowledge of the science curriculum, along with the skills to make progress from their own starting points and to use science in everyday life. Teachers assess each unit against its "to know" statements, so we can check that knowledge is secure before moving on. Children will:

• Develop scientific knowledge and the skills of enquiry and investigation
• Build a rich vocabulary to explain the concepts they have learned
• Achieve age-related expectations by the end of each year
• Retain knowledge and connect it to real-life contexts
• Question ideas and reflect on what they know
• Work together to investigate and experiment
• Explain their process and reason scientifically
• Show enthusiasm and a sense of awe and wonder, becoming increasingly independent
• Be ready for science at secondary school and beyond

How we measure impact

• Pupil voiceDiscussions, interviews and questionnaires
• Start and end of unitAssessing knowledge and understanding
• KWL grids and LBQTracking knowledge and vocabulary to plan future learning
• Pupils' booksShowing a progressive, broad and balanced curriculum
• Leadership reviewSubject reports, action plans and review meetings for leaders and governors