Intent

 

Across the Fair Acre Federation, it is our intent to provide a high quality Science education so that our children have a wide range of opportunities to develop their science knowledge and skills enabling them to think as scientists.

 

Science is taught in EYFS, Key Stage 1 and 2. In line with the 2014 National Curriculum. Our aim is to provide a high-quality science education which provides the foundations for understanding the world through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics. The curriculum will teach children key knowledge about:

• plants; animals including humans;
• everyday materials;
• seasonal changes;
• living things and their habitats;
• rocks; light;
• forces and magnets;
• states of matter;
• sound;
• electricity;
• Earth and space;
• evolution and inheritance.

 

Learners will also have the opportunity to gain an understanding of the skills needed to work scientifically. The knowledge of these scientific skills will be delivered progressively through all science lessons and year groups.

The objectives within each strand support the development of learning across the key stages, ensuring a solid grounding for future learning and beyond. The science curriculum at the Fair Acres Federation, is driven by real life application and a curiosity about the world in which we live.

 

Implementation

 

Our children will be taught Science in a way that ensures progression of the knowledge and skills set out in the National Curriculum (2014), and follows a sequence built on previous learning. Teachers use our progression of knowledge and skills document to plan their science lessons. This ensures that the knowledge and skills taught are progressive from year group to year group.

At The Fair Acres Federation, science is carefully planned to excite and engage all learners. This ensures children are able to develop depth in their knowledge and skills over the duration of each of their science topics. Teachers then allow opportunities to revisit these areas during ‘Spaced learning’ sessions, to assess what the children retain, and also to build on prior knowledge. Teachers use the Federation planning progression documents as a starting point for their planning and science is taught as a discrete lesson weekly. Where possible it is linked to engaging contexts in other subjects and topics using cross curricular connections. Employing cross-curricular links motivates pupils and supports them to make connections and remember the steps they have been taught.

 

Due to the nature of our mixed age classes, children get the opportunity to ‘revisit’ knowledge, often building upon what they know, constantly making links between old and new knowledge. The long and mid-term plans are designed to ensure that they allow a consistent evolution of skills across mixed year groups. Knowledge Organisers allow the children an overview of what they will be learning, key facts and vocabulary and any useful diagrams which may aid their learning. Learning in science may be recorded in their science exercise books, photos, computer work or presentation.

 

Impact

 

Our approach to the curriculum results in a fun, engaging, and high-quality science education. The quality of children’s learning is evident in their class books (both discrete science and cross curricular) where pupils can share and evaluate their own work, as well as that of their peers. Feedback is given to the children as soon as possible, and marking work will follow the school’s marking policy. We measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:

 

?          Assessing children’s understanding of topic linked vocabulary before and after the unit is taught.

?          Images and videos of the children’s practical learning/learning walks and observations.

?          POP tasks (proof of progression)/comparative judgement

?          Interviewing the pupils about their learning (pupil voice).

?          Moderation staff meetings where pupil’s work is scrutinised and there is the opportunity for a dialogue between teachers to understand their class’s work.

?          Annual reporting of standards across the curriculum.

?          Action planning for progress

 

 

Science blocking – when do we teach each aspect of science?

To allow for our mixed year classes, science has been blocked ‘mapped out’ in a two-year cycle to allow all children to experience the coverage of a full curriculum. We follow the progression map, which can be found at the end this document to ensure that skills are taught in a logical order. Due to the nature of both of our federation schools having a different combination of year groups in each class, two different blocking systems have been produced. These cover a split R/1, Y2/3 and Y4/5/6 or a R/Y1/2, Y3/4 and Y5/6 combination.

 

 

Faldingworth version Science Progression Fair Acres Federation Sept 2022

[pdf 1MB]