Science at Pucklechurch
Intent
At Pucklechurch Primary School our vision is to provide children with a Science curriculum that broadens their minds and makes abstract concepts come to life through investigations and outdoor learning opportunities. Our aim is that these experiences will develop the children’s interest in Science and encourage them to become lifelong learners who pose interesting questions and are able to think critically.
Implementation
At Pucklechurch, we deliver carefully thought out sequences of science lessons that aims to deliver a scientific concept in a range of different approaches in order to ensure the children retain information. This sequence will include opportunities for children to enquire and discover things for themselves, conduct their own research both online and through non-fiction texts, apply their core reading, writing and maths skills, explore cross curricular links and opportunities to plan and carry our scientific investogations.
The six types of enquiry run throughout our science teaching and are integral to all we do. These are: observing over time, identifying and classifying, research, fair and comparative testing, pattern seeking and exploring/ problem solving. We know that to be successful scientist, we must use each of our types of enquiry.
‘Working scientifically’ sits at the heart of our Science teaching and learning ethos. Children are given the opportunity and freedom to explore the world around them and raise their own questions and ideas. We follow working scientifically objectives that have been differentiated for each individual year group. The six areas of working scientifically are: questioning, predicting, investigating, measuring, recording and explaining. The children progress in each of these areas as they progress through the school. Children work in their hub groups and, over a 2 year rolling program, cover all units in the National Curriculum for their age group.
Working_Scientifically_Skills_Progression.docx
Planning and carrying out our own investogations is a key part to gaining further understanding into any scientific concept. We follow our differentoated planning templates when planning and discussing investogations as a class.
Planning_Boards_for_Fair_Tests_KS1.docx
Planning_Boards_for_Fair_Tests_Lower_KS2.docx
Planning_Boards_for_Fair_Tests_Upper_KS2.docx
Impact
Children at Pucklechurch are knowledgable and enthusiastic scientists. They are able to discuss and demonstrate the six types of enquiry with increasing skill. Children are independent learners who can use objects and materials to carry out enquiry based activities in order to make their own scientific deductions. They are able to research key scientific concepts using both technology and non-fiction texts. The children are cross curricular learners who not only apply their core reading, writing and maths skills to science but also see the links between science and other subjects across the wider curriculum. They are able to make predictions and then plan and carry out investigations in order to find out if they were correct or incorrect and why. The children follow carefully planned science lesson sequences which incorporate these aspects as well as carefully differentiated working scientifically skills which they follow and progress through as they move up the school.