Science

• Foster the joy of discovery
• Develop a natural curiosity for the world around them
• Have a deep respect for living things and the environment

Our whole curriculum is comprehensibly planned and clearly sequenced, and science follows this consistent design, effectively adapting and developing to meet the needs of all pupils, including those with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities and those that are disadvantaged.

Our science curriculum is taught by the class teacher, who will first revisit prior learning. We return to previous learning, in order for pupils to retrieve knowledge from their long-term memory and build on this, with the introduction of new knowledge. This is through an approach of clear modelling and scaffolding of new concepts. The pupils will then practise and apply this knowledge in a group or individual learning task and have opportunities to deepen their understanding by applying this knowledge to scientific enquires as well as having opportunities to explain and reason.

We aim for all pupils to develop: both their substantive (scientific knowledge) and disciplinary (working scientifically) knowledge through different types of scientific enquiries that help them to answer scientific questions about the world around them. Our aim will allow children to become equipped with the scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of science, today and for the future. Our curriculum is designed to enable children to ask scientific questions and deepen their scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding. Throughout their time at Bearwood, pupils will explicitly develop the following skills, alongside the relevant conceptual knowledge, so that by the time they move onto their secondary education, all pupils have the skills and knowledge needed to independently undertake the five different enquiry types:

Working scientifically skills:

Enquiry types:

We use key concepts that are thread through our science curriculum, from Yr R to Yr 6, in order to build on prior learning and support pupils making strong links in their knowledge, from previous learning.

Scientific concepts:

• Materials
• Seasonal changes
• Plants
• States of matter
• Earth and space
• Living things and their habitats
• Light
• Animals including humans
• Forces
• Sound
• Electricity
• Evolution and inheritance

At Bearwood, we also ensure that we deliver a science curriculum which takes account of what pupils have learnt in other subjects. For example, pupils learn about states of matter alongside learning about the water cycle in geography. In this way, pupils can use their scientific knowledge of evaporation and condensation to better understand the water cycle in geography. This provides opportunities for pupils to consolidate their knowledge.

Our science curriculum also makes good use of our school grounds and local environment. For example, when looking at the concept of seasonal changes, our pupils are able to go on nature walks around the school grounds to observe changes in weather and the impact this has on humans. Similarly, when learning about living things and their habitats, our pupils are able to carry out classifying enquiries by using a classification key to categorise different living things within the school grounds and immediate local environment.