Science Statement of Intent

Intent

At St. Joseph’s Catholic Primary school we aim to foster a love and curiosity of science. We provide stimulating scientific experiences and develop a positive attitude to science and scientific enquiry. We teach and develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding. We teach the different scientific enquiry skills. We also develop a caring attitude towards the environment, living things and to encourage appreciation for the world we live in. We enable children to develop wider skills relating to Science and STEM subjects, including co-operation, teamwork, problem solving and independent working.

We want to inspire children’s aspirations of science and increase children’s science capital developing children’s awareness of careers in science, STEM, challenging gender roles and cultural strategies. To do this all of Upper Key stage 2 visit UCLAN to see the campus and complete science activities.

We deliver activities that meet the requirements of the National Curriculum in a way that is appropriate to the needs and interests of all pupils and which challenges them to fulfil their potential. We provide experiences to children in the Early Years Foundation Stage relating to Science that meet the objectives laid out in the Early Learning Goals and from the Development Matters additional guidance.

We aspire for our children to be motivated, engaged and enthusiastic about Science. We aim for all of children to leave St. Joseph’s with science knowledge and enquiry skills to complete their own science investigation and understand about the world around them.

Implementation

To successfully embed science in St. Joseph’s:

• We teach 2 hours of science a week from Reception to year 6.
• Teachers plan from the long term plan and use the skills medium term plans to carefully ensure all the skills are being taught and met.
• Regular CPD for staff delivering science lessons.
• Teachers use precise questioning in class to test conceptual knowledge and skills, and assess pupils regularly to identify those children with gaps in learning, so that all pupils keep up.
• Tasks are selected and designed to provide appropriate challenge to all learners, in line with the school’s commitment to inclusion.
• Working Scientifically skills are embedded into lessons to ensure that skills are systematically developed throughout the children’s school journey and new vocabulary and challenging concepts are introduced through direct teaching.

Impact

The successful approach to the teaching of science at St. Joseph’s Catholic Primary School will result in a fun, engaging, high quality science education that provides children with the foundations for understanding the world that they can take with them once they complete their primary education.

By the end of Key Stage Two, all children will have developed scientific enquiry skills in the five key areas: Observing changes over time, noticing patterns, grouping and classifying things, finding things out through secondary sources of information and modelling. We want children to be immersed in Science to reinforce the skills that they have previously learned, but then want to build on them by challenging their thinking further. Through enrichment opportunities such as workshops, trips and extra-curricular activities, children develop the understanding that science has changed our lives and that it is vital to the world’s future prosperity.

The impact of our science curriculum at St. Joseph’s can be measured and monitored in a variety of different ways including:

• Learning walks, lesson observations & peer coaching/teaching
• Evidence of lessons captured in science books or on Tapestry in EYFS.
• Data analysis and tracking
• Pupil interviews
• Reports to governors
• Assessment reports to parents

It is the responsibility of the subject leader to triangulate this evidence to ensure consistency across the whole school.