Science

Intent

At Ninfield CE School, we want our pupils to see science everywhere, in every aspect of their lives. We want our pupils to understand that science is a system of observations and experiments used to gain knowledge about how things work. We want our pupils to become scientists in their lessons, to want to discover and to feel the thrill of discovery, but also to respect living organisms and their physical environment. There should be no limit to their ambitions, whether that is to become an astronaut, a marine biologist or a palaeontologist. To achieve this, we plan for exciting, practical experiences that encourage curiosity and questioning. Our aim is that these stimulating and challenging experiences help every pupil secure and extend their scientific knowledge and vocabulary, as well as promoting a love and thirst for learning. 

Implementation

To ensure our curriculum is robust, consistent and covers every aspect of the curriculum, we have developed a Curriculum Map (see below) that ensures that the National Curriculum is covered across a school with mixed classes that can change from year to year. We use the ‘Knowledge Matrices’ from the ‘PLAN: Planning for assessment’ website to clearly outline the expectations for each unit; this includes what ‘prior knowledge’ children should have, the key learning and vocabulary, common misconceptions, ideas for activities to support and evidence learning and what learning comes in the next cycle of the topic.

Teachers ensure that science lessons ensure that both substantive knowledge and disciplinary knowledge are developed through each unit. Teachers ensure that scientific enquiry is included in each unit and that all aspects are covered across the year; within this, they ensure that all pupils have the opportunity and support to develop their ‘working scientifically skills’.

Impact

At the beginning and end of each unit, Pupils complete a ‘science assessment’ sheet which includes colour coded questions linked to prior learning, the learning within the unit and further learning. The scores between each test are compared to measure progression and knowledge acquisition through the unit. Teachers use the outcome of the pre-assessment to decide if any prior learning needs to be recovered before starting the new unit. Pupils who answer all relevant questions correctly at the end of the unit, will be recorded as working at the required standard. The teacher will use their personal judgement and the test outcomes to record those working ‘below the expected standard’ and ‘above the expected standard’.

We measure the impact of our curriculum through:

• ‘end of unit assessments’
• Summative assessment and feedback during lessons
• Triangulation of teaching, book scrutiny and data analysis
• Pupil Voice