Science at Elm Hall
My name is Peter May and I am the Science leader for Elm Hall Primary School. At Elm Hall, we strive for our children to be SCIENTISTS. Science is an integral part of our curriculum where children are encouraged to be inquisitive, curious, inspired and fascinated by the world around them. We do this by providing them with a high-quality science education that creates the foundations for understanding the world in key areas such as biology, chemistry and physics. Our aim is to give every child a high-quality curriculum that not only allows for the development of scientific knowledge and concepts but also explicitly teaches them how to work scientifically so that they can be ‘real’ scientists within the context of scientific knowledge. Thus allowing their scientific knowledge to grow further. To support this, we aim for our children to be exposed to high quality teaching and learning experiences as well as providing children with the scientific vocabulary needed to express these concepts and skills confidently. We want to hook their interest in science and promote curiosity, a sense of wonder as well as an excitement to explore by providing stimulating and challenging opportunities. This helps to deepen their understanding of the processes and concepts of the world around them. At the heart of our curriculum is scientific investigation. By combining enquiry and working scientifically in a range of real experiences, we teach the progressive skills and understanding needed so that our children can develop their knowledge and skills as a scientist over time. Therefore, they have the skills to support them in finding answers to their questions, verifying ideas and presenting these.
Alongside our considered curriculum, through dedicated science days, children are offered opportunities to immerse themselves in the subject. We delve into the diversity of the subject and seek opportunities to challenge stereotypes. We aim to equip and prepare our children for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life with a range of transferable skills.
How do we teach Science?
In Science, our strategy when teaching science is to enable all children to be catered for through adapted teaching and planning suited to their abilities, ensuring that opportunities to develop as scientists are always considered.
- We plan for problem solving and real-life opportunities that enable children to find out 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.
- Teachers plan for a series of stimulating, practical and engaging lessons with clear knowledge, skills and subject-specific vocabulary. In these lessons, teachers use precise questions to identify misconceptions and provide clear, direct feedback in real time.
- Working Scientifically skills are planned into lessons and developed throughout the children’s school career, and new vocabulary is introduced through direct teaching.
- Teachers present subject matter clearly and promote appropriate discussion about what is being taught, making links to everyday life.
- Teachers assess learning in science against knowledge and ‘working scientifically’ skills-based learning objectives. Teachers provide opportunities to revisit and challenge children’s prior knowledge as well as recently taught concepts and skills, building on this as they move through the school.
- We also believe in whole-class teaching methods, group work and independent work. This is supported by the skills we learn in our Elm Hall Attitudes.
Teachers have worked collaboratively to ensure that the content of the Science curriculum in each year group is matched to the maturity, conceptual and mathematical understanding for their age. This supports their written, mathematical and verbal communication of their skills and knowledge. Science is planned and taught mostly in topic blocks by the class teacher and occasionally some objectives are split to compliment the over-arching topics in class. When organising the curriculum, consideration is given to things such as temperature and weather to ensure that enquiry opportunities can be completed effectively.
Our Learning Aims:
The Elm Hall science curriculum aims to ensure that all pupils:
- develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics
- develop understanding of the nature, processes and methods of science through different types of science enquiries that help them to answer scientific questions about the world around them
- are equipped with the scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of science, today and for the future
What do we learn?
Our well-planned Science curriculum ensures that children have experienced working scientifically and that their skills have been built-on and developed throughout their time at the school. They know more, remember more and understand more linked with the knowledge outlined in our curriculum while having worked collaboratively and practically during investigations and experiments with increasing independence the older they get. The children are able to explain the process they have taken linked with the ‘working scientifically’ skills and be able to reason scientifically.
They are also familiar with scientific terminology and are able to explain key knowledge taught through their work and pupil voice. They are encouraged to make connections between what they have previously learned and what they are currently learning.
Our Science curriculum provides our children with the foundations for understanding the world and a curiosity of it that they can take with them as they continue on in their learning journey.
Our Subject Ambassdors are:
Jake-Year 4
Braxton- Year 5
Francesca- Year 5
Curriculum Documents 2022-2023
Check our our Elm Hall Science Curriculum below:
Check out our Elm Hall Science Vocabulary Progression below: