Science
We hope for our science teaching to make children understand that science teaches us about the world around us and that science has changed and changes our lives daily and that it is vital for the world’s future prosperity. It helps us develop an understanding of natural phenomena, builds and stimulates our curiosity and allows us insight into why things happen in the way they do. We teach to explain, predict and analyse why things happen.
Through building up a body of key foundational knowledge and concepts, pupils are encouraged to recognise the power of rational explanation and develop a sense of excitement and curiosity about natural phenomena.
Science lessons are based on the National Curriculum, which sets out the appropriate units of study for each phase in primary school. This is then broken down into units of work that the teachers plan in order to teach both content and investigation skills throughout the year groups. Our curriculum is compliant with the requirements of the National Curriculum and we feel goes beyond this, being more ambitious by also considering how our school grounds, including our polytunnel and dell, can help pupils learn principles of our biology units.
We recognise the importance of pupils developing both substantive knowledge of natural phenomena (concepts) whilst also developing disciplinary knowledge (working scientifically skills); we want our children to feel, think, and ultimately be scientists.
The main objectives of teaching science are to enable children to:
- predict, analyse, ask and answer scientific questions
- plan and carry out scientific investigations, using equipment correctly;
- know and understand the life processes of living things;
- know and understand the physical processes of materials, electricity, light, sound, and natural forces;
- know about the nature of the solar system, including the earth;
- evaluate evidence, and present their conclusions clearly and accurately.
Science Curriculum (School Progression of Skills and Coverage)
Science Skills Progression by Year Group
Science Skills by Enquiry Type
Science National Curriculum Information
Science Vocabulary Progression
National Curriculum for Science
At Markyate Village school, we believe that science is part of our everyday lives, and often links to many of the other subjects we teach. We often include STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) projects in our teaching and learning to foster wider, exciting learning opportunities for our children.
We teach pupils to learn to develop scientific skills such as how to:
- carry out a fair test
- research
- measure accurately
- observation
- identify patterns and draw conclusions
- identify and classify
Some of the skills the children will learn include:
- How to properly use scientific equipment; to plan experiments and to carry them out, to record results and communicate what is founds; to identify patterns; draw conclusions that are linked to their results.
- Children will learn to interpret results from data presented in different ways. For example: by looking at data tables, pie charts and different types of graphs. The children will consider different ways to present their results and which is the most suitable for communicating their results.
- Children will develop their scientific vocabulary so that they can use subject specific terminology accurately and with confidence.
- Children will learn that it is highly valuable to be able to ask interesting questions, as well as to answer them.
We believe that science is an important part of our everyday lives and often links to other subjects in our curriculum. We often include STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) projects into our teaching provision to provide wider, exciting opportunities for our children to learn about the world and develop their understanding and skills.
Our Polytunnel
We have a poly-tunnel, to support the biology element of our science curriculum. The tunnel is 3 metres by 14 metres long and will be used by each class in the school to grow flowers, fruit and vegetables. The produce will be harvested and used either in the salad bar in our school dinning room at lunchtimes, or will be sold as part of our Farm Stall. Experts form the world-renowned Rothamsted Centre in Harpenden will also be working with us on this exciting new project!
We are looking forward to our children enjoying the hands-on experience of growing food, which links both to the nutrition section of our Design and Technology curriculum, but also to the themes of sustainability and caring for our environment, which are important to our school community values.
