Science at Lawley Primary School
Our school vision
The whole school community at Lawley have high expectations for our children, and strive to ensure they leave school as confident, polite and independent young people, with the appropriate skills, values and learning to become successful in whatever their future will be. We aspire to instil in all our children a desire to never stop learning and to have the courage to succeed in whatever they do, across all areas of school life and beyond. At Lawley we are ‘Planting the seeds, growing the future.’
Led by Dan Taylor-Richards and Rebecca Johnson
Intent
At Lawley Primary School, in conjunction with the aims of the National Curriculum, our Science teaching offers opportunities for children to:
- 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;
- be equipped with the scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of Science, today and for the future.
Implementation
The use of the White Rose scheme supports our school’s progression documents and aids teachers’ planning.
In Key Stage 1 and 2, the detailed progression documents are split into small steps. This ensures that children are developing a solid understanding of scientific processes and concepts. Each step has a working scientifically skill focus. Working scientifically skills are developed across years and year groups.
Through our planning, we include opportunities for working practically whereby activities are engaging and relevant. Children are encouraged to ask their own questions, carrying out experiments following a plan, investigate and evaluate (KS2) model. Modelling is used wherever possible to explain abstract scientific ideas and concepts. This makes it easier for children to apply their knowledge and improve their understanding.
Teachers teach and use precise scientific vocabulary and questioning in class to assess conceptual knowledge and skills regularly to identify those children with gaps in learning.
There is one enquiry per block covering the five enquiry types.
- Research
- Comparative and Fair Testing
- Observation over time
- Identify, grouping and classifying
- Pattern seeking
Impact
Children are assessed throughout each block of learning. This allows for misconceptions in their knowledge and understanding to be addressed in future lessons.
The implementation of this curriculum ensures that, by the time children leave Lawley Primary School, they have a developing understanding of the scientific world around them, a continuing curiosity, and the ability to question scientific phenomenon.