Science at St Augustine’s Catholic Primary School

Vision:

At St Augustine’s Primary School our vision is to ignite and inspire children’s curiosity to empower them to question and investigate the world around them and beyond.

Intent:

Science teaches us how to make sense of the world around us through developing a child’s understanding of the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics. Science has changed our lives and is vital to the world’s future prosperity, and all children should be taught essential aspects of the knowledge, methods, processes and uses of science. Through building up a body of key foundational knowledge and concepts, children should be encouraged to recognise the power of rational explanation and develop a sense of excitement and curiosity about natural phenomena. They should be encouraged to understand how key foundational knowledge and concepts can be used to explain what is occurring, predict how things will behave, and analyse causes. This foundational understanding should be consolidated through their appreciation of the specific applications of science in society.

Science-Subject-Curriculum-Overview

Aims:

To develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics.
To develop understanding of the nature, processes and methods of science through different types of science enquiries that help them to answer scientific questions about the world around them.
To equip pupils with the scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of science, today and for the future.
To enrich pupils with retrieval studies to ensure long-term retention of foundational knowledge and vocabulary.
To develop a practical understanding of the ways in which information is gathered and presented.
To promote enjoyment and enthusiasm for learning through practical activity, exploration and discussion.
To develop the ability to solve problems through decision-making and reasoning in a range of contexts.

Implementation:

At St. Augustine’ s we follow the CUSP curriculum and deliver Science using the increased frequency approach. This ensures a rigorous, sequential and consistent approach to the delivery of the Science curriculum. Lessons are structured to improve metacognition in the children. Topics are revisited throughout the year to ensure children can recall prior learning and that the knowledge they have learned stays with them.

Every lesson is defined by a clear outcome, with key knowledge and vocabulary shared with the children. We follow the model of retrieve, explain and model new concepts, check for understanding and then the children apply their learning through practical activities, discussion and recording in a variety of ways.

Our learning will be built around improving knowledge of:

Substantive knowledge – knowledge of the products of science, such as concepts, laws, theories and models: this is referred to as scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding in the national curriculum.

Disciplinary knowledge -knowledge of how scientific knowledge is developed: this is specified in the ‘working scientifically’ sections of the national curriculum and it includes knowing how to carry out practical procedures.

SCIENCE PRINCIPLES:

Our school community contributed to a set of science principles that form the basis of the teaching & learning at St Augustine’s. We know science is good when we can identify each of these principles within our lessons.

Impact:

Pupils will leave St Augustine’s being curious learners who are inquisitive, ask questions and think hard. They will ask relevant scientific questions as well as begin to answer them using substantive and disciplinary knowledge.