Science

Science at Easton CE Academy

Curriculum Intent:

• At Easton CE Academy, we value Science as an important part of children’s entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum.
• We believe that science helps children to have the foundational knowledge they need to make links, ask questions and understand their observations about the world around them and the scientific phenomena in their daily lives. We want our children to develop curiosity about the natural world and engage with our science curriculum with confidence and enthusiasm.
• As such, our science curriculum aims to increase children’s knowledge and understanding of the key concepts in biology, chemistry and physics and develop the skills associated with science as a process of enquiry. As our pupils progress, they will develop the working scientifically (disciplinary) skills they need to follow a line of enquiry alongside the understanding that accepted scientific knowledge depends on the evidence relevant to it and has changed over time.

Implementation:

• In EYFS, children have daily opportunities to develop their curiosity about and understanding of the natural world, asking questions and investigating to find answers as part of their Understanding of the World curriculum area. Children develop the key skills they need for scientific enquiry such as asking questions, making comparisons, finding patterns and explaining ideas across the EYFS curriculum.
• Science is taught through unit based work in each year group.
• Subject knowledge in physics, chemistry, biology and earth and space science is progressively mapped out across the school.
• To ensure children can use appropriate scientific vocabulary to explain ideas, we explicitly teach scientific terms based on our whole school vocabulary progression document. Knowledge organisers are an essential part of our teaching and key facts and vocabulary are also shared with families using class dojo.
• We ensure progression in disciplinary knowledge by children ‘being scientists’ in every lesson, enabling them to: ask questions, plan and set up enquiries, observe and measure data, record, interpret and report results and evaluate the effectivenss of their investigations.  
• We use assessment for learning to plan effective sequences of lessons that build on previous knowledge both throughout a unit and over time across the school. We regularly review children’s knowledge and skills to ensure that children retain what they have been taught.