Science

Intent:

At Corpus Christi, we want our children to be naturally curious about the world around them. Our curriculum has been developed to ensure full coverage of the National Curriculum and to foster a sense of awe and wonder about natural phenomena. We are committed to providing a stimulating, engaging and challenging learning environment with a firm emphasis on the acquisition and use of specific vocabulary. Scientific vocabulary is detailed within our bespoke cover pages and is built upon as topics are revisited in different year groups and across key stages to show clear skills progression.

Throughout our school, children are encouraged to develop and use a range of scientific enquiry skills including questioning, researching and observing independently and these opportunities are planned across every unit of work. We intend to provide all children regardless of ethnic origin, gender, class, aptitude or disability with a broad and balanced science curriculum. Through the teaching of Science, we endeavour to promote a respect and caring attitude for all living organisms and the environment in which we live. Our science curriculum provides the children with the foundations they need to recognise the importance of science in every aspect of daily life. It exposes children to a breadth of opportunities that develops their cultural capital and sparks their curiosity about.

This is supported through our curriculum drivers:

Communication: Develop the language and vocabulary of Science to communicate their findings and explain their work. Build confidence to communicate their learning in a variety of ways and to a range of audiences.
Opportunity: Realise aspirations for all – Research the work of past and present scientists, identify their impact on the world we live in, in order for children to build their aspirations to become future scientists.
Responsibility: Understand the responsibility for their own learning when crafting an education towards a scientific career. Also, understand the responsibility for all living and non-living things as a future scientist and key contributor to the development of the scientific service to the global community.
Perseverance: Build skills rooted in a ‘can do’ attitude and in a love of challenge and high expectations. Believe in the power of ‘yet’ and the fact that we may not know the answer ‘yet’ but we will persevere until we do.
Understanding: Challenge and push myself to fulfil my potential. Know how I learn best in science and how I can develop as a life-long learner of science. Understand the role I have to play in learning about science in my school, outside of school and in the wider world. Be open to learning challenges that push me to learn more and so know more. Be ready to share my learning with others and so breed a community of learners and questioners and pioneers in science.
Service: Be proud, respectful and tolerant of our diverse communities. Be aware of the needs of others and the impact that I can have on them. Understand the responsibility to contribute to mankind in a way that serves the greater good and develops a better world for all.

Implementation:

Teachers have high expectations of what the children at Corpus Christi can achieve in Science and this is supported through the curriculum drivers that underpin our subject intent.

We use a mixture of resources for science, in order to provide the best mixture of knowledge acquisition and skills application – We encourage ‘knowing more so that we can do more’.

Science is taught in planned and arranged topic blocks by the class teacher in conjunction with the Science Leader. This facilitates a greater depth of knowledge and understanding of skills involved in applying that knowledge to further study.
Through our planning, we involve problem solving opportunities that allow children to apply their knowledge, and find out answers for themselves. Children are encouraged to ask their own questions and be given opportunities to use their scientific skills and research to discover the answers. This curiosity is celebrated within the classroom. Teachers create engaging lessons, using resources to aid understanding of conceptual knowledge. These resources scientific include industry-based videos linked to the curriculum objective; planned opportunities to hear a scientist/professional discuss the importance of science within their role; a mixture of research based and practical enquiry-based learning activities and the non-negotiable expectation for regular, well planned opportunities to embed the five strands of Scientific enquiry.
Teachers use precise questioning in class to test conceptual knowledge and skills, and assess pupils regularly to identify those children with gaps in learning, so that all pupils keep up.
We build upon the knowledge and skill development of the previous years. As the children’s knowledge and understanding increases, and they become more proficient in selecting, using scientific equipment, collating and interpreting results, they become increasingly confident in their growing ability to come to conclusions based on real evidence.
Teachers demonstrate how to use scientific equipment, and the various Scientific Enquiry skills in order to embed scientific understanding. Teachers find opportunities to develop children’s understanding of their surroundings by accessing outdoor learning and workshops with experts.
Children are offered extra-curricular activities, visits, trips and visitors to complement and broaden the curriculum. These are purposeful and link with the knowledge being taught in class.
Regular events, such as Science days, allow all pupils to come off-timetable, to provide broader provision and the acquisition and application of knowledge and skills. These events are whole school events that develop the children’s curiosity in science and their understanding of how they are able to progress in their science learning throughout their education.

Impact:

The successful approach at Corpus Christi results in a fun, engaging, high-quality science education, that provides children with the foundations and knowledge for understanding the world. In providing a range of opportunities including working in the local environment, it ensures that children learn through varied and first-hand experiences of the world around them.
Frequent, continuous and progressive learning through each of the five enquiry skills is embedded throughout the science curriculum.
Through various workshops, trips and interactions with experts and local charities, children have the understanding that science has changed our lives and that it is vital to the world’s future prosperity.
Children learn the possibilities for careers in science, as a result of our community links and connection with national agencies such as the STEM association and NHS England and learn from and work with professionals, ensuring that children have access to positive role models within the field of science from the immediate and wider local community.
From this exposure to a range of different scientists from various backgrounds, all children feel they are scientists and capable of achieving. Children at Corpus Christi overwhelmingly enjoy science and this results in motivated learners with sound scientific understanding.

Please click on the links below to find out more about our Science planning.