Science at Stocksbridge Junior School

Our vision of science cultivates curiosity and critical thinking through hands-on learning and enquiry-based approaches. We ignite a lifelong passion for discovery in every pupil, equipping them with essential scientific knowledge, skills, and vocabulary for future opportunities and engagement.

Intent

Our teaching of science is ambitious and our intention is to ensure that our pupils gain a high-quality science education that meets the requirements of the national curriculum. Through the disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics, our pupils will learn and remember key scientific facts. In addition to learning key scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding in these disciplines, they will engage in various types of scientific enquiries. They will ‘develop an understanding of the nature, processes and methods of science’ and will learn how scientists have used the work they have conducted to explain the material world around them.

Through our curriculum, pupils learn ‘substantive knowledge in science which is organised according to three disciplines: biology, chemistry and physics.’ These disciplines explain the material world.’ Through substantive knowledge, pupils learn ‘knowledge of the products of science, such as concepts, laws, theories and models.’ Our pupils build substantive knowledge by learning scientific facts, increasing and using a scientific vocabulary, using models and concepts to explain scientific ideas and establishing and clarifying connections between areas in biology, chemistry and physics.  Alongside the substantive knowledge, our pupils learn disciplinary knowledge. Through disciplinary knowledge, ‘pupils learn about the diverse ways that science establishes and grows knowledge through scientific enquiry. When learning disciplinary knowledge, there are at least four content areas that pupils progress through which include:

1. Knowledge of methods that scientists use to answer questions
2. Knowledge of apparatus and techniques, including measurement
3. Knowledge of data analysis
4. Knowledge of how science uses evidence to develop explanations

Ofsted research review series: Science, 2021

Learning disciplinary knowledge enables our pupils to learn how to work scientifically developing an understanding of the processes and methods of science.

Through learning these different types of knowledge in science, our pupils will be able to understand the world around them using a scientific vocabulary, which grows over the key stage, to explain their knowledge. They will know that science has a profound influence on our lives and is constantly advancing our understanding of the world around us, enabling innovations in technology, medicine, and various other fields. We want our pupils to know that science permeates nearly every aspect of modern existence and inspire curiosity in our pupils about the boundless opportunities and challenges that science presents.

Implementation

The teaching of science at our school ‘provides the foundations for understanding the world through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics.’

Each discipline has been broken down into key concepts covered in our science curriculum:

Biology

C1: Living things and their habitats

C2: Animals including humans - Evolution and Inheritance

Chemistry

C3: Social, liquids and gases

C4: Materials

Physics

C5: Our natural world – Earth and Space and Light

C6: Forces and Magnets

C7: Sound

C8: Electricity

 

The concepts have been carefully selected to ensure pupils not only remember scientific knowledge, but are able to understand and develop skills and use their knowledge to work scientifically and understand the disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics.

The different types of knowledge are delivered through key concepts carefully selected to ensure that when pupils encounter them again and again throughout the science curriculum, they deepen their knowledge and retain essential information that they can apply when engaging in scientific enquiries and discussing science to explain the world around them.

The science curriculum progression builds upon the knowledge acquired in key stage 1. For instance, students explore various aspects of animals and humans. By Year 3, the emphasis on biology is the skeletal and muscular systems in both human and animal physiology. This foundational understanding precedes further exploration of body systems, such as the digestive system in Year 4 and the circulatory system in Year 6.

Science is integrated into the curriculum design using a spiral curriculum model which means that units of lessons are sequential, enabling children to build their skills and knowledge. Key skills and knowledge are revisited repeatedly with increasing complexity which allows our pupils the opportunity to revise and build on their previous learning. This approach fosters the development of a complex and rich understanding of science over time. Within the curriculum, there are science units that act as building blocks, ensuring that knowledge and concepts learned directly build on previous units and lay foundations for what pupils will go on to learn.

For example, in Year 3, pupils were introduced to how we see and what shadows are. In Year 5, within the Earth and space unit of work, pupils learned how light from the Sun determines whether it is night or day, and how we see the Moon. All these ideas are built on in Year 6 through the study of light. They find out that Isaac Newton discovered, using a prism, that clear white light is made up of other colours. Pupils see how we see different colours when light is absorbed or reflected. They look at the impact of light pollution on the world around us.

Pupils in Year 3 to Year 6 participate in weekly science lessons throughout the year, focusing on the progression of knowledge and skills in the disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics. During these lessons, all pupils learn scientific knowledge, take part in enquiries and look at the work of a diverse range of scientists.

Knowledge organisers for each unit support pupils' learning by illustrating key knowledge, techniques, skills, processes, facts and vocabulary. They encourage pupils to recall what they have studied to further embed their learning.

Science is taught throughout the year and has several cross-curricular links. In particularly with RSHE, mathematics and physical education, art and design and English. In order to enable all of our pupils to build up their skills and knowledge in science, units of lessons are taught sequentially and build towards cumulative 'working scientifically' skills. We integrate science enquiries throughout all the units in all four-year groups, ensuring our pupils are developing their 'working scientifically' skills within the scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding of the national curriculum.

These working scientifically skills include:

• Asking questions
• Making predictions
• Observing, testing and measuring
• Setting up science enquiries
• Recording and presenting data
• Interpreting and communicating data
• Evaluating

How science is taught

The teaching of science incorporates various pedagogical approaches which include:

• Teacher explanation: Teachers enhance understanding by connecting new concepts to what our pupils already know and by integrating them with other subjects in the curriculum. Using skills from mathematics, such as measurement and data analysis, proves particularly beneficial in this process.
• Recapping and recall: Making connections between new and prior learning by activating prior knowledge.
• Differentiated Instruction: For success and progression, teaching is tailored to meet the diverse needs of our pupils.
• Scaffolded Instruction: Guiding our pupils’ learning by breaking down information into manageable steps.
• Enquiry-Based Learning – Working scientifically: We encourage pupils to ask questions, investigate, and explore scientific phenomena. They predict, observe and measure, set up science enquiries, record and present data, and evaluate findings. 
• Practical work: This may take the form of demonstrations led by the teacher or whole class participation.
• Collaborative Learning: Encouraging our pupils to work together to enhance communication and problem-solving.
• Integration of technology: We use digital tools, simulations, and multimedia resources to enrich learning and explore complex scientific concepts. This prepares pupils for the digital age and enhances their research and data analysis skills.
• Outdoor and field-based learning: Pupils use the school grounds or go on field trips, or conduct outdoor enquiries to observe and interact with the natural world first-hand. This stimulates curiosity, promotes environmental awareness and deepens their connection to science.

By employing a combination of these teaching (pedagogical) approaches, our teachers create engaging learning environments that inspire curiosity, foster critical thinking and cultivate a lifelong passion for science.

Assessment

Interwoven throughout each lesson and discipline unit are assessment opportunities. We use a combination of assessment strategies aimed at evaluating our pupils’ scientific knowledge and understanding of scientific processes through various assessment opportunities which include:

• Written and oral assessments such as questioning, quizzes and tests which are used to evaluate our pupils' scientific knowledge concepts, scientific processes and use of scientific vocabulary. These types of assessments include a mix of multiple-choice questions and short-answers and open-ended questions to assess different levels of understanding. These methods of assessment are also used to check that pupils have a secure knowledge of what has been taught before building upon it. Checking for misconceptions and addressing them before furthering learning is an essential element of assessment and feedback.
• At the start of lessons, prior knowledge is activated by ‘what I already know’ discussions, talk tasks and knowledge quizzes based on the previous lesson.
• At the end of lessons, learning is assessed through exit questions – these questions are based on the lesson just taught.
• At the end of a unit there is an assessment based on the ‘knowledge quizzes’ from the whole unit to check their understanding.
• Performance tasks where pupils demonstrate their understanding of the methodologies of scientific enquiries in the disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics through hands-on activities and scientific enquiries. During this method of assessment, teachers check that pupils can answer questions about the world around them by using the processes and methods of science in which pupils select, plan and carry out different types of relevant scientific enquiries. In Year 3, for example, pupils design and conduct an investigation to test the hardness of rocks. In Year 4, pupils design and create string telephones to show that sounds can be transmitted by solids – the pupils learn how sound travels from a voice to somebody’s ear. In Year 5, the pupils will conduct an enquiry to find out what materials are soluble. Finally, in Year 6, pupils will design and create their own periscopes during their 'light' unit, which will embed their knowledge on reflection and refraction.

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Impact

At the end of key stage 2, our pupils will have met the expectations outlined in the national curriculum for science. They will have developed substantive and disciplinary knowledge through the three disciplines in science.

In the biology topics in the national curriculum, they will cover:

• Plants
• Animals, including humans
• Living things and their habitats
• Evolution and inheritance

They will have developed knowledge of the chemistry topics in the national curriculum:

• Everyday materials
• Uses of everyday materials
• Properties and changes of materials
• States of matter
• Rocks

They will have developed knowledge of the physics topics in the national curriculum:

• Seasonal changes
• Forces and magnets
• Sound
• Light
• Electricity
• Earth and space

Through working scientifically, they will be able to identify and evaluate the methods scientists use to answer scientific questions. They will be able to participate in a scientific enquiry by using equipment effectively to measure, record and present data. They will be able to use their mathematical knowledge and skills to present data and analyse it in order to identify, classify and find patterns, and use scientific vocabulary accurately.

Science at Stocksbridge Junior School is engaging, high-quality and provides children with the foundations for understanding our world that they can take with them once they complete their primary education. The children have opportunities to experience outdoor learning and take part in educational visits, which provide children with opportunities to work with, and learn from, professionals.

As the children’s conceptual knowledge and understanding become embedded, and they become more proficient in selecting and using scientific equipment, collating and interpreting results, they become increasingly confident in their growing ability to come to conclusions based on real evidence. Pupils have high aspirations which will see them through to further study, work and a successful adult life.

Adaptations for SEND

The science curriculum aims to be ambitious and inspiring for all students with SEND, emphasising the need to adapt the delivery of scientific knowledge, concepts, and language to ensure accessibility for everyone. This includes pre-teaching, using print resources, and knowledge organisers to introduce new vocabulary and concepts, along with providing additional opportunities for discussion and collaborative work. The collaboration between teachers and special educational needs staff ensures that each student's unique needs are addressed while still offering a meaningful educational experience.

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Stocksbridge Junior School Curriculum for Science

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The National Curriculum for Science

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.

Aims

The national curriculum for science aims to ensure that all pupils:

• Develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics.
• Develop understanding of the nature, processes and methods of science through different types of science enquiries that help them to answer scientific questions about the world around them.
• Are equipped with the scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of science, today and for the future.

Scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding

The programmes of study describe a sequence of knowledge and concepts. While it is important that pupils make progress, it is also vitally important that they develop secure understanding of each key block of knowledge and concepts in order to progress to the next stage. Insecure, superficial understanding will not allow genuine progression: pupils may struggle at key points of transition (such as between primary and secondary school), build up serious misconceptions, and/or have significant difficulties in understanding higher-order content.

Pupils should be able to describe associated processes and key characteristics in common language, but they should also be familiar with, and use, technical terminology accurately and precisely. They should build up an extended specialist vocabulary. They should also apply their mathematical knowledge to their understanding of science, including collecting, presenting and analysing data. The social and economic implications of science are important but, generally, they are taught most appropriately within the wider school curriculum: teachers will wish to use different contexts to maximise their pupils’ engagement with and motivation to study science.

The nature, processes and methods of science

‘Working scientifically’ specifies the understanding of the nature, processes and methods of science for each year group. It should not be taught as a separate strand. The notes and guidance give examples of how ‘working scientifically’ might be embedded within the content of biology, chemistry and physics, focusing on the key features of scientific enquiry, so that pupils learn to use a variety of approaches to answer relevant scientific questions. These types of scientific enquiry should include: observing over time; pattern seeking; identifying, classifying and grouping; comparative and fair testing (controlled investigations); and researching using secondary sources. Pupils should seek answers to questions through collecting, analysing and presenting data. ‘Working scientifically’ will be developed further at key stages 3 and 4, once pupils have built up sufficient understanding of science to engage meaningfully in more sophisticated discussion of experimental design and control.

Spoken language

The national curriculum for science reflects the importance of spoken language in pupils’ development across the whole curriculum – cognitively, socially and linguistically. The quality and variety of language that pupils hear and speak are key factors in developing their scientific vocabulary and articulating scientific concepts clearly and precisely. They must be assisted in making their thinking clear, both to themselves and others, and teachers should ensure that pupils build secure foundations by using discussion to probe and remedy their misconceptions.

School curriculum

The programmes of study for science are set out year-by-year for key stages 1 and 2. Schools are, however, only required to teach the relevant programme of study by the end of the key stage. Within each key stage, schools therefore have the flexibility to introduce content earlier or later than set out in the programme of study. In addition, schools can introduce key stage content during an earlier key stage if appropriate. All schools are also required to set out their school curriculum for science on a year-by-year basis and make this information available online.

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Lower key stage 2 – Years 3 and 4

The principal focus of science teaching in lower key stage 2 is to enable pupils to broaden their scientific view of the world around them. They should do this through exploring, talking about, testing and developing ideas about everyday phenomena and the relationships between living things and familiar environments, and by beginning to develop their ideas about functions, relationships and interactions. They should ask their own questions about what they observe and make some decisions about which types of scientific enquiry are likely to be the best ways of answering them, including observing changes over time, noticing patterns, grouping and classifying things, carrying out simple comparative and fair tests and finding things out using secondary sources of information. They should draw simple conclusions and use some scientific language, first, to talk about and, later, to write about what they have found out.

‘Working scientifically’ is described separately at the beginning of the programme of study, but must always be taught through and clearly related to substantive science content in the programme of study. Throughout the notes and guidance, examples show how scientific methods and skills might be linked to specific elements of the content.

Pupils should read and spell scientific vocabulary correctly and with confidence, using their growing word-reading and spelling knowledge.

Lower key stage 2 programme of study

Working scientifically

During years 3 and 4, pupils should be taught to use the following practical scientific methods, processes and skills through the teaching of the programme of study content:

• Asking relevant questions and using different types of scientific enquiries to answer them.
• Setting up simple practical enquiries, comparative and fair tests.
• Making systematic and careful observations and, where appropriate, taking accurate measurements using standard units, using a range of equipment, including thermometers and data loggers.
• Gathering, recording, classifying and presenting data in a variety of ways to help in answering questions.
• Recording findings using simple scientific language, drawings, labelled diagrams, keys, bar charts, and tables.
• Reporting on findings from enquiries, including oral and written explanations, displays or presentations of results and conclusions.
• Using results to draw simple conclusions, make predictions for new values, suggest improvements and raise further questions.
• Identifying differences, similarities or changes related to simple scientific ideas and processes.
• Using straightforward scientific evidence to answer questions or to support their findings.

 

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Upper key stage 2 – Years 5 and 6

The principal focus of science teaching in upper key stage 2 is to enable pupils to develop a deeper understanding of a wide range of scientific ideas. They should do this through exploring and talking about their ideas; asking their own questions about scientific phenomena; and analysing functions, relationships and interactions more systematically. At upper key stage 2, they should encounter more abstract ideas and begin to recognise how these ideas help them to understand and predict how the world operates. They should also begin to recognise that scientific ideas change and develop over time. They should select the most appropriate ways to answer science questions using different types of scientific enquiry, including observing changes over different periods of time, noticing patterns, grouping and classifying things, carrying out comparative and fair tests and finding things out using a wide range of secondary sources of information. Pupils should draw conclusions based on their data and observations, use evidence to justify their ideas, and use their scientific knowledge and understanding to explain their findings.

‘Working and thinking scientifically’ is described separately at the beginning of the programme of study, but must always be taught through and clearly related to substantive science content in the programme of study. Throughout the notes and guidance, examples show how scientific methods and skills might be linked to specific elements of the content.

Pupils should read, spell and pronounce scientific vocabulary correctly.

Upper key stage 2 programme of study

Working scientifically

During years 5 and 6, pupils should be taught to use the following practical scientific methods, processes and skills through the teaching of the programme of study content:

• Planning different types of scientific enquiries to answer questions, including recognising and controlling variables where necessary.
• Taking measurements, using a range of scientific equipment, with increasing accuracy and precision, taking repeat readings when appropriate.
• Recording data and results of increasing complexity using scientific diagrams and labels, classification keys, tables, scatter graphs, bar and line graphs.
• Using test results to make predictions to set up further comparative and fair tests.
• Reporting and presenting findings from enquiries, including conclusions, causal relationships and explanations of and a degree of trust in results, in oral and written forms such as displays and other presentations.
• Identifying scientific evidence that has been used to support or refute ideas or arguments.