Science at Springwell Park
In EYFS, we begin developing our Science skills and knowledge in the 'understanding the world ' area of development. This learning is the foundation for our Science work when we start KS1.
Our science curriculum is designed to ensure that children are able to acquire key scientific knowledge across the three disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics. It follows the structure and organisation of the National Curriculum, so that
it enables pupils to get better at observing, describing, explaining and understanding the life processes of organisms. (Biology)
it enables pupils to get better at observing, describing, explaining and understanding the properties of materials and how they can be changed. (Chemistry)
it enables pupils to get better at observing, describing, explaining and understanding forces, different types of energy, and the composition of the Earth and its planetary properties. (Physics)
The way in which the curriculum is structured and sequenced balances the building of conceptual understanding in these three disciplines with the development of enquiry questions and the conduct of scientific investigations. Children learn to communicate information including the findings from experiments and present in a systematic, scientific manner.
Their conceptual understanding and study of scientific methods supports children to appreciate the role Science plays in our lives, and some of the ways in which Science offers solutions to problems and questions to explore and debate.
Science is taught in planned units of study, with time matched to the content of the unit by the class teacher. This is a strategy to enable the achievement of a greater depth of knowledge.
Teachers create lessons which use high-quality resources to aid understanding of conceptual knowledge. They use precise questioning in class to test conceptual knowledge and skills, and assess children regularly to identify those children with gaps in learning, so that all children keep up. Teachers use Low Stakes Quizzes to assess children’s prior knowledge that has been retained from previous topics. This is used to support the teacher in building upon the knowledge and skill development of the previous years. New vocabulary and challenging concepts are introduced through direct teaching. At the end of each unit, key knowledge is reviewed by the children and rigorously checked by the teacher and consolidated as necessary.
As the children’s knowledge and understanding increases, they become more proficient in selecting and using scientific equipment, controlling variables, collating and interpreting results, they become increasingly confident in their growing ability to come to conclusions based on real evidence. This disciplinary knowledge of working scientifically and using the scientific method is embedded into lessons to ensure that this knowledge is systematically developed throughout the children’s school career.
Children can talk knowledgably about the scientific topics they have studied, and can demonstrate their understanding of key scientific concepts. They find patterns in and make connections between underlying concepts which recur in the different units of study and explain their understanding using appropriate scientific vocabulary and language.
They become increasingly accurate and secure in how they design and conduct experiments, in the measurements they record and in the way in which they interrogate and interpret results.
Please view the progression map below for an overview of how science is taught in our Early Years. Please also click the link below to visit our Early Years page.