Intent

At Garden Suburb Junior school, our intent is to give every child a broad and balanced science curriculum which enables them to confidently explore and discover what is around them, to achieve a deeper understanding of the uses and implications of science and the world we live in. Wherever possible, we intend to deliver practical, hands on experiences that encourage curiosity. These stimulating and challenging experiences help every child revisit prior learning, extend their specialist knowledge and vocabulary, increase their enthusiasm for topics and embed their procedural knowledge into long-term memory. We want our children to be willing and able to ask and answer scientific questions about the world around them. We hope that this inspires the next generation to succeed and excel in science, enabling more children to pursue a future in STEM careers.

Through our Science curriculum we intend to:

• Encourage curiosity and scientific enquiry
• Promote a deeper understanding of the world we live in
• Allow opportunities for practical, hands on experiences
• Help children to value the importance of science and scientific enquiry
• Embed scientific vocabulary
• Work scientifically
• Use a range of equipment accurately
• Asking probing scientific questions
• Predict and hypothesise
• Draw conclusions and explaining our understanding

Implementation

Science is taught in sustained blocks, according to national year group expectations and topics. Teachers create engaging lessons, with high-quality resources to aid understanding of conceptual knowledge and develop technical vocabulary. Tasks are selected and designed to provide appropriate challenge to all learners. As the children’s knowledge and understanding increases, they become more proficient in selecting and using scientific equipment, collating and interpreting results and they become increasingly confident in their growing ability to come to conclusions based on real evidence. Children are encouraged to ask questions at the beginning of each unit, within lessons and as hypotheses to promote curiosity. Visits to the school’s Nature Garden and Vegetable Garden are incorporated as an opportunity to develop children’s understanding of their surroundings and a respect for nature.

We develop the children’s scientific cultural capital by offering extra-curricular activities. The nature club is available to different year groups throughout the year and the vegetable club, teaches children about seasonal produce and caring for allotments. Over the spring term, each class is responsible for monitoring caterpillars as they become butterflies, which they later release into the nature garden as pollinators. Workshops and visits to museums complement and broaden the curriculum. The school also take part in celebrating National Science Week. This is time where pupils across the school engage in creative and inspiring activities together. It strengthens links with members of the wider school community, who expose children to a variety of STEM career prospects, and serves as an opportunity to demonstrate further the role that science plays in the real world and everyday life.

To deliver our Science curriculum we will:

• Develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through a range of activities
• Promote scientific enquiry and encourage children to be willing and able to participate in practical tasks
• Provide opportunities for analysis, collaboration and discussion
• Allow for exploration about everyday phenomena and the relationships between living things and familiar environments
• Build on children’s scientific cultural capital through a range of relevant clubs, workshops and museum visits
• Involve the expertise of our school and wider community
• Equip children with the scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of science, today and for the future

Impact

Our science curriculum will lead pupils to be enthusiastic learners who have a sense of excitement and curiosity about natural phenomena. Children have with a deep appreciation for how science continues to change our lives and its impact on the world. Children at Garden Suburb are skilled in selecting and using scientific equipment, collating and interpreting results are confident to make conclusions based on real evidence. Children are willing and able to ask questions, using scientific vocabulary to deepen their understanding and can communicate their ideas.

The impact of our Science curriculum is measured by:

• Children achieving age related expectations in Science at the end of KS2
• Children knowing and remembering key scientific knowledge and concepts
• Children being able to ask open ended and probing questions
• Children working collaboratively and practically to investigate and experiment
• Children being willing and able to explain the process they have taken and be able to reason scientifically
• Children demonstrating a love of science work and an interest in further study and work in this field

Assessment

As well as a range of formative assessment strategies, at the beginning of each topic, pupils are set an open-ended task in order to demonstrate what they already know about their subject and identify any misconceptions. This ensures that teaching is informed by the children’s starting points and that it takes account of pupil voice, incorporating children’s interests. At the end of each topic, pupils complete a similar task to their initial assessment in order to demonstrate what they have learnt and the progress that they have made. Summative KS2 assessments are also made at the end of Year 6 and the school participates in the science sampling tests, when required.