Science
Intent
Science teaching at King’s Oak Primary aims to give all children a strong understanding of the world around them whilst acquiring specific skills and knowledge to help them strive for excellence in their scientific abilities, to gain an understanding of scientific processes and also an understanding of the uses and implications of science, today and for the future. We strive for the children to understand that many significant contributions to Science are only available as a result of scientists who are passionate about making a difference and for the children to be inspired to make their own mark in science one day.
At King’s Oak Primary, scientific enquiry skills are embedded in each topic the children study and these topics are revisited and developed throughout their time at school. This model allows children to build upon their prior knowledge and increases their enthusiasm for the topics whilst embedding this procedural knowledge into the long-term memory. Links across the topics and learning are made explicit for the children so that they can understand why citizenship in science is important for a sustainable future.
Across the school children are enabled to develop their understanding through the five Scientific Areas of Enquiry as outlined by the National Curriculum.
These are:
- Observation over time
- Pattern seeking
- Identifying, classifying and grouping
- Comparative and fair testing
- Researching (KS2)
We have a carefully planned curriculum in Science which covers the full breadth of the National Curriculum. Learning is progressive and links are made to support children knowing and remembering more: this helps to prepare them for the next stage of their learning and education. Specialist vocabulary for topics is taught and built up, and effective questioning to communicate ideas is encouraged. Concepts taught are reinforced by focusing on the key features of scientific enquiry, so that pupils learn to use a variety of approaches to answer relevant scientific questions. All children are exposed to high quality teaching and learning experiences, which allow them to explore their outdoor environment and locality, thus developing their scientific enquiry and investigative skills.
