Purpose of study

A high-quality science education provides the foundations for understanding the world through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics. Science has changed our lives and is vital to the world’s future prosperity, and all pupils 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, pupils 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 science can be used to explain what is occurring, predict how things will behave, and analyse causes.

Source: National Curriculum, 2014

Intent

At Ilchester school we encourage children to be curious and inquisitive. We want them to ask questions and seek answers; to develop lively, enquiring minds and a positive attitude to science. Through our science teaching we want to develop our children’s scientific knowledge and understanding of concepts. We follow the national curriculum that has progression across topics and year groups to build up this understanding. This science curriculum is mapped onto a two-year rolling program to ensure coverage of all objectives and progression. This also allows the school to accommodate split year groups across the school due to the transient nature of our school population. We want the skills of working scientifically to permeate the science curriculum, so children can apply their science knowledge when predicting, using equipment, conducting experiments, observing, making measurements, recording results, concluding and explaining concepts confidently. We want children to be engaged in ‘hands-on’ science to develop their skills. We want children to understand the impact science has on our daily lives and the role it plays in the world around us and how important it is for the future.