Science

At Catton Grove Primary School, our pupils are SCIENTISTS! We want our children to feel empowered by the way science reveals mysteries within the world around them. We want them to have no limits to what their ambitions are and to grow up wanting to be microbiologists, astronauts and zoologists. Through promoting the work of Scientists from all walks of life, meeting adults from STEM backgrounds, and establishing connections with the numerous Science facilities in the Norwich area, Catton Grove inspires all pupils that Science is something really worth achieving for.

At Catton Grove, we want pupils to be curious about Science in the real world and recognise the importance of Science in every aspect of daily life. By linking Science discussions and topics to real life events and demonstrating how accessible Science in the media is, pupils feel a relevant connection and intrigue towards scientific discovery. They know that science is interwoven throughout all of our lives in and out of school, into the universe and beyond!

Catton Grove Primary sits on a large site with access to a variety of exciting and engaging indoor and outdoor spaces. Our school promotes the use of purposeful practical investigations and learning which takes place inside and outside of the classroom. We want our children to remember their Science lessons in our school, to cherish these memories and embrace the scientific opportunities they are presented with!

As one of the core subjects taught in primary schools, Catton Grove gives the teaching and learning of Science the prominence it deserves. Science topics and lessons are carefully planned to suit the needs of all pupils, allowing them to build on previous knowledge and increase their confidence and enthusiasm for their topics. We develop the pupils' scientific skills through practical activities focusing on all 'Working Scientifically' skills. We view pupil's questions as opportunities to deepen understanding and engage the learner actively through discussion and practical investigation.

We see Science as the perfect opportunity to incorporate Catton Grove's core values. Whether it is promoting resilience when investigating, encouraging unity within a group project or raising ambition through exploring the life of a scientist, our aim is to help create a strong community identity throughout our school.

By the end of the Early Years foundation Stage, our children will be excited and curious about the world around them. They will be actively aware and inquisitive of processes and structures that they experience or see. They will seek answers by asking questions and by experimenting with cause and effect. They will be resilient and will persevere in order to gain a deeper understanding of a concept. They will have learnt
some key scientific vocabulary and will use this in their everyday interactions.

By the end of Key stage 1, our pupils will be confident and inspired to ask questions about the world around them. They will be able to use their skills in scientific investigation to answer their own questions and will be empowered with scientific vocabulary to enable them to discuss and share their results.

By the end of Year 6, we aim that our pupils at Catton Grove are able to recall key knowledge and concepts that will provide them with a foundation for future Science learning and opportunities, responsibilities and experiences for later life.

Implementation

Our Science curriculum at Catton Grove Primary School has been designed to ensure that both skills and knowledge are of equal importance. The through-school knowledge aspect of the curriculum is designed around key concepts. This allows students to be introduced to a breadth of core principles and develop an understanding of the foundation knowledge of the subject.

During the delivery of our engaged curriculum, teachers at CGPS will regularly link knowledge and skills to current world events, to important scientific breakthroughs and to future plans in order to not only make Science more relatable for students, but to
enrich them with cultural capital.

To support teaching at CGPS, teachers access a range of resources and planning from the Kent Scheme of Learning and the topics are carefully sequenced and blocked to allow children to focus on developing their knowledge and skills, studying each topic in depth. Every year group will build upon the learning from prior year groups therefore developing depth of understanding and progression of skills.

Memorable knowledge and skills have been identified for each of the units to provide progressive acquisition of knowledge. This is supported by the use of science working walls and subject specific knowledge organisers. Teachers regularly refer to this knowledge and key vocabulary with meanings so that it 'sticks'.

Each science unit begins with a 'wow' task that provides a hook for learning, developing a sense of excitement and curiosity for children. Pupils will be able to build on prior knowledge and link ideas together, enabling them to question and become enquiry based learners.

In order to support children in their ability to 'lock in learning' there are regular opportunities to review the learning taking place in previous topics as well as previous lessons.

Children are given a knowledge organiser at the start of each topic which details their previous learning journey, key Science curriculum knowledge and vocabulary. This is not used as part of an assessment, but to support children with their acquisition of knowledge and is used as a reference document.

Working Scientifically skills are embedded into lessons to ensure that skills are systematically developed throughout the children's school career and new vocabulary and challenging concepts are introduced through direct teaching. This is developed through the years, in-keeping with the topics. Teachers demonstrate how to use scientific equipment and the various Working Scientifically in order to embed scientific understanding.

Other things to include...

Children explore, question, predict, plan, carry out investigations and observations as well as conclude their findings.
Children present their findings and learning using science specific language, observations and diagrams.
Effective modelling by teachers ensures that children are able to achieve their learning intention, with misconceptions addressed within it.
Through using a range of assessment tools, differentiation is facilitated by teachers, to ensure that each pupil can access the Science curriculum.
Attainment will be assessed each half term through related topic assessment tasks
Teachers find opportunities to develop children's understanding of their surroundings by accessing outdoor learning and workshops with expert-stem ambassadors and trips. Through enrichment days, such as 'science week', we promote the profile of Science and allow time for the children to freely explore scientific topics
Opportunity for children to work independently and collaboratively
Ensured that staff are equipped with the necessary professional development to deliver our curriculum
Staff talking about science, opportunities to meet with Science Leaders.
Planned opportunities for home learning tasks to consolidate and extend knowledge and skills
Cross curricular- writing