Our inclusive St Faith’s family strives to enable all to achieve their full potential and inspire a community of hope and friendship. We seek excellence by ensuring a safe, respectful and flourishing learning community, where differences are celebrated and our genuine love and high expectations make a difference to all. “Aspire not to have more, but to be more.” (Oscar Romero)               

Science Intent, Implementation and Impact

Science Intent

At St Faiths, the children will deepen their knowledge of all areas of science. The subject encourages children to become competent at using investigative skills, through following lines of scientific enquiry outlined in the National Curriculum and EYFS curriculum.

Implementation of Science

• We aim to encourage our children to remember knowledge and build on their prior learning by ensuring we carefully consider how knowledge is sequenced.
• Through the use of the Progression and Skills Document (which is in line with EYFS and National Curriculum) teachers will plan for learning carefully throughout the year in order to ensure progress is made in each term and across each year group.
• All learners will be assessed within their classes and then supported in line with the school’s commitment to inclusion, through careful planning that is adapted to stretch, guide and support every member of every class.

Early Years

In the EYFS, the ways in which every child engages with other people and their environment – playing and exploring, active learning, and creating and thinking critically – underpin learning and development across all areas and support the child to remain an effective and motivated learner.

Children develop early scientific understanding primarily through the Understanding the World area of learning. Through exploration and discussion, children begin to make sense of the natural world around them.

Through both adult-led activities and continuous provision, children are encouraged to explore, investigate and ask questions about the world around them. They use their senses to observe changes and talk about what they notice using an increasingly wide scientific vocabulary.

Children explore a range of scientific concepts including:

• Plants and how they grow
• Animals, including humans
• The natural world and seasonal change
• Materials and their properties
• Living things and their habitats

Hands-on experiences support children’s curiosity and understanding. Activities such as those listed below allow children to observe, investigate and make discoveries about the world around them:

• Planting seeds and caring for plants in the school grounds
• Observing seasonal changes during outdoor walks
• Mini-beast hunts and exploring habitats
• Looking after school pets, including Herman and our chickens and discussing how to care for living things
• Exploring materials through construction and investigation activities
• Observing changes such as melting, freezing, floating and sinking

Through these experiences, children begin to ask questions, make observations and talk about what they notice. They learn to describe similarities and differences, identify changes over time and begin to understand that living things have needs and life cycles.

Key Stage 1

In accordance with the National Curriculum, science teaching in Key Stage 1 builds upon children’s early experiences and develops their understanding of the world through practical investigation and enquiry.

Children are taught to:

• Ask simple scientific questions
• Observe closely and use simple equipment
• Perform simple tests
• Identify and classify
• Gather and record data to help answer questions

At St Faith’s, children study a range of topics including:

• Plants
• Animals, including humans
• Everyday materials
• Seasonal changes
• Living things and their habitats

Children are encouraged to develop their scientific knowledge through first-hand experiences and practical investigations. They learn to make observations, identify patterns, compare and classify objects and living things, and begin to explain what they notice.

Pupils explore the natural environment within the school grounds and local area, helping them to develop an understanding of plants, animals and habitats in their immediate surroundings.

At the beginning of each topic, children are encouraged to share what they already know and what they would like to find out. This ensures that lessons build on prior knowledge and reflect the interests and starting points of the children.

Consideration is given to how greater depth will be taught, learnt and demonstrated within each lesson, as well as how learners will be supported in line with the school’s commitment to inclusion. Planning is adapted to support all learners, including those with SEND, ensuring that every child can access and enjoy science learning.

Cross-curricular links are carefully planned to enhance learning. For example:

• English – developing vocabulary, discussion and recording observations
• Mathematics – measuring, sorting, grouping and presenting data
• Geography – exploring the natural environment and seasonal changes

Through engaging lessons and practical experiences, children develop curiosity about the world around them and begin to think and work like young scientists.

Impact

• Children are confident in sharing their knowledge of science through discussion, recording in a variety of ways and their explanations about scientific testing.
• They will have enjoyed practising a wide range of skills, demonstrating different types of scientific enquiry.
• Children will be enthusiastic about the subject of science and will have made good progress in their knowledge and skills throughout their time in our school.

The distinctive Christian values of respect, compassion, trust, justice, friendship and community are promoted through the experiences we offer to every child, in all areas of the curriculum.