Science

Intent

Science teaching at Westcliff Primary Academy aims to give all children a strong understanding of the world around them whilst acquiring specific skills and knowledge to help them to think scientifically, to gain an understanding of scientific processes and also an understanding of the uses and implications of Science, today and for the future.

At Westcliff, scientific enquiry skills are embedded into each topic the children study and these topics are revisited and developed throughout their time at school. This model allows children to build upon their prior knowledge and increases their enthusiasm for the topics whilst embedding this procedural knowledge into the long-term memory.

All children are encouraged to develop and use a range of skills including observations, planning and investigations, as well as being encouraged to question the world around them and become independent learners in exploring possible answers for their scientific based questions. Specialist vocabulary for topics is taught and built up, and effective questioning to communicate ideas is encouraged. Taught concepts are reinforced by focusing on the key features of scientific enquiry, so that pupils learn to use a variety of approaches to answer relevant scientific questions.

Implementation

At Westcliff Primary we implement our science curriculum using these 5 golden threads:

• Child led: When children ask questions from their own desire to understand the world around them; their minds are more open to connections and learning. Child led questioning plays a big role in our science curriculum. This allows the children to take ownership of their own learning, hence promoting a greater  desire to find out about the world around them.
• Vocabulary: Scientific vocabulary opens up a new world for the children to explore and study. Science gives them the tools and vocabulary to communicate clearly, based upon a solid knowledge base.
• To analyse and question:  Science at Westcliff gives the children a platform from which to be curious and to ask questions about the world around them, to be proactive in their areas of enquiry and to question their results.
• To experience and observe: Working Scientifically - Children have a natural enthusiasm and curiosity for practical enquiry. They are helped to develop their understanding of scientific ideas by using different types of scientific enquiry to answer their own questions and make informed observations.  
• Love for the subject: Learning experiences are inclusive of all learning styles and promote an enthusiastic and curious approach to their learning, resulting in a love for science.

Impact

The impact of our curriculum is assessed through;

• observation of the children’s ‘Working Scientifically’ skills,
• child discussions,
• analysis of work in books,
• (where appropriate), written assessment tasks.

End the end of each unit, teachers assess the attainment of the children using the above and make an informed overall judgement. This is shared with the children.

The impact of this assessment process is a clear understanding of the attainment of the children as they develop their scientific knowledge and skills.