Science at The Pines

Science knows no country, because knowledge belongs to humanity

and is the torch which illuminates the world.

Louis Pasteur

Vision and Intent

At The Pines School, our vision for the Science curriculum is to not only ignite and stimulate the excitement, curiosity and compassion of every single child, but also provide each of them with essential and transferable skills for life-long learning and aspirational futures.

We aim to:

  Encourage children to be inquisitive; fostering a healthy curiosity and ability to ask meaningful and challenging questions throughout their time at school and beyond.

   Promote a profound respect for living organisms and the physical environment, within our local community and the wider world, furthering understanding of the vital role we all play to ensure its care and protection.

 Provide an environment that enables all children to acquire essential knowledge and understanding of the world around us, through the specific disciplines of biology,   chemistry and physics.

  Encompass hands-on, enquiry led learning to nurture skills in building arguments, explaining concepts confidently, predicting how and why things may occur and analysing discoveries and evidence critically.

  Equip all children with the skills required to understand and discuss the uses and implications of science that may affect their own lives, the direction of society and the future of the world.

Our Curriculum Drivers are reflected through our Science curriculum as it:

Enables children to value THEIR PLACE IN THEIR WORLD by helping them to understand how the world works and the necessity of Science in the preservation of our planet.

Enriches their LANGUAGE AND ORACY through the introduction of new scientific vocabulary and the confidence to articulately communicate their questions, predictions, conclusions and viewpoints.

Highlights the importance of LEARNING SKILLS in scientific discoveries - inspiring them to make their own - and develops their ability to actively take risks, collaborate and learn from their mistakes.

Provides children with the knowledge of why a HEALTHY BODY, HEALTHY MIND is essential in allowing them to be their best.

Implementation

Our Science curriculum has been planned in conjunction with the key areas of study in the National Curriculum with the aim to enable the achievement of a greater depth of knowledge and develop enthusiasm and enjoyment through practical learning, discussion and independence. Key Stage 1 will follow the programme of study as directed by the National Curriculum within a continuous provision approach. In Key Stage 2 the programme of study is followed, using a cross-curricular approach where appropriate, linking children’s learning to embed and ‘stick’ core knowledge and concepts.  

Our teaching will be tailored to focus upon working scientifically, using skills to gain essential knowledge. This builds on from the enquiry-led learning style in EYFS. Each half term, five main science enquiry investigations are included in the programme of study, to ensure progression through each aspect of scientific area along with opportunities for assessment. Precise questioning in class, to test conceptual knowledge and skills, will identify gaps in learning and ensure all children can confidently access and understand their own discoveries.

Our five key enquiries include:

• Observing over time
• Identifying and classifying
• Looking for patterns
• Comparative and fair testing
• Answering questions using secondary sources of evidence

From these, teachers design and demonstrate high quality and engaging investigations involving planning, testing, recording and analysing results. Increased knowledge and understanding will lead to proficient independent enquiries, providing opportunities for our children to display and apply their creative and imaginative capacities in Science and beyond; including the successful selection of equipment, collating and interpreting results and the ability to come to conclusions based on real evidence with a desire to question further and make their own predictions.

In conjunction with our enquiry-based focus, a comprehensive list of notable scientists, from diverse backgrounds and points in history, is provided by the subject lead to match objectives across all year groups. Learning about the influence of these key and contemporary scientists, will allow children to become familiar with and also question great historical and present-day discoveries. They will gain an awareness of the development of scientific understanding over time, providing further foundations of knowledge to draw upon.

Example:

Impact

Our Science curriculum gives our children:

 A fun, engaging and high-quality science education with the foundations and knowledge for understanding the world.

 Transferable skills in relation to oracy, questioning, collaboration, reasoning, problem solving, analysing, evaluating and a thirst for furthering their own knowledge.

  Engagement with the local environment through varied first hand experiences of the world

around them.

 Assessment data that is at least in-line with national data for science when they leave The Pines.

 The understanding that science has changed our lives and that it is vital to the world’s future ecology and prosperity.

  The possibility of a career in the field of science, as a result of providing positive role models, through integrated studies of notable scientists, from various backgrounds, and their achievements, alongside our community links and access to national agencies such as the STEM association.

  The understanding that everyone is a scientist.