Intent | What and why do we teach what we teach?

At Knowle Primary, we have carefully curated a science curriculum in line with the national curriculum that engages, inspires and challenges pupils to learn and remember more. Creating a sense of ‘Awe and Wonder’ and ‘Excitement and Curiosity about Natural Phenomena’ has also provided the basis for the curriculum.

Substantive knowledge:

• Ensuring pupils master core content through the development of key concepts and timely revisiting of key knowledge
• Sequencing the curriculum and selecting knowledge to allow for gradual development of vertical concepts – the ‘big ideas’ in science – to provide firm foundations for KS3 and KS4
• Preventing common misconceptions that are often formed at an early age and prove problematic at the later stages of pupils’ science education
• Purposefully teaching appropriate knowledge that goes beyond the KS1 and KS2 national curriculum, to aid current and future understanding, and to smooth the transition to KS3
• Encouraging pupils to apply and make connections between the disciplines of science, the wider curriculum and the wider world

Disciplinary knowledge:

• Sequencing Working Scientifically elements so that they are explicitly taught and practised alongside the substantive knowledge, and regularly reviewed and built upon across the years and key stages
• Making deliberate and explicit links to other curriculum areas – particularly geography and mathematics – to ensure there is a consistent approach to teaching content, and that pupils are always first taught content in the most relevant subject. For example, pupils are taught how to construct bar charts or calculate the mean in mathematics before they are applied in science
• Planning practical tasks that have a clear purpose: to demonstrate or prove substantive concepts, or to allow pupils to deliberately practice working scientifically skills in a relevant context

Curiosity and excitement about science:

• Selecting examples and applications of science that inspires pupils’ curiosity about the world and natural phenomena
• Ensuring that all pupils can see themselves reflected in the science curriculum, by highlighting present-day role models and the contributions of scientists from a wide range of backgrounds; and considering social and cultural values around scientific ideas

Implementation | How and when do we teach what we teach?

Science is taught from EYFS to Year 6 through our LAT-wide curriculum. Our key concepts are: Animals (including humans), plants, everyday materials (including their uses and properties, electricity, light, seasonal changes, living things and their habitats, rocks, forces and magnets, states of matter, sound, earth and space, forces, evolution and inheritance. Within these concepts we have disciplinary knowledge which embeds working scientifically whereby children compare and understand fair testing, observe over time, perform research, identify, group and classify, gather and record data and problem solve.

Across our schools, a variety of tools, models and methods are used to scaffold pupils’ learning to enable pupils to know more, remember more and deepen their understanding. This may include and are not limited to: live modelling, questioning, retrieval practice, knowledge organisers, graphic organisers and modified or specialist tools. It is essential that all pupils receive an ambitious and challenging science curriculum from when pupils join us in EYFS to when they leave us in Year 6, ready for Key Stage Three.

In EYFS, science is taught through the ‘understanding the world: the natural world’ aspect of the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework. Through a balance of child-led and adult-led learning, pupils explore the natural world around them, making observations about plants and animals through talk and mark-making. Pupils will develop an understanding of contrasting environments through real experiences and through literature. This enables pupils in their early years to discuss similarities and differences between the natural world around them.  Additionally, pupils will develop an understanding of important processes and changes in the natural world around them, including the seasons and changing states of matter.

Children at KS1 develop an understanding of the variance in plants and animals and what they need to survive and flourish. They study the materials in the natural world around them and begin to make conscious choices about which materials to used, based on their scientific properties (e.g. durability or strength) and whether or not they would be fit for purpose. Additionally, they observe and explain the changes in seasons and their effect on the environment and the various food chains within them. 

As they move into KS2, the key knowledge and understanding children require widens with the breath of topics now covered. Each child explores how different rock types are formed and their uses, how and why animals have evolved over time, the differing states of matter and develop an understanding of space and the solar system. Throughout KS2, in every year group, the children gain a deeper understanding of the human body, focusing on a particular area of human anatomy via teeth, skeletal structure, the digestive system and reproduction and puberty. They also visit and then re-visit topics like ‘Electricity’ and ‘Light’ to ensure they build upon previous learning and how an in-depth knowledge in fundamental areas of the curriculum to then make a smooth transition into secondary schooling.  

This curriculum also outlines the progression in data handling skills from Year 1 to Year 6, allowing children to record, present and analyse their findings in more complex and coherent ways. Furthermore, a progression in the ‘use of scientific equipment’ is outlined to ensure that children can use a range of recording equipment accurately and choose which one they think it best to carry out an investigation or prove a hypothesis.

Impact | How do we assess the impact of what we teach via pupil outcomes?

Science follows an assessment framework that informs the schools about the impact of two main aspects of the Teaching and Learning process:

1.  The depth of a pupil's knowledge, understanding and ability to make links in learning.                         
2. The ability for pupils to apply procedural knowledge to skill-based activities.

Within the context of Science, the following methods of assessment are used:

Recall knowledge: Pupils will demonstrate an ability to recall facts and information, whilst demonstrating their ability to recall and apply knowledge taught. This assessment of pupils’ knowledge in these areas will be used to inform future lessons, the need for additional practice, pre-teach and interventions. The call this our 'KNOWLEdge check'. 

Explore and Question: Pupils will be challenged to demonstrate an ability to use their knowledge by being asked rich, varied questions relating to the subject matter. Pupils will be able to use a rich vocabulary to communicate their own thoughts and interpretations of questions relating to the subject through written and oral responses. Pupils will demonstrate their understanding of the taught scientific skills and knowledge to explore their own ideas within science.

Communicate: Teachers will provide opportunities for practical work in science, cultivating an environment of inquiry where pupils can formulate hypotheses and test them through experiments. It encourages collaboration among students, promoting teamwork and communication skills as they discuss results and findings. This can also be done, but is not limited to: pupil conferencing, science displays and science exhibitions.

Science In Action