Science

Science Curriculum

Science teaching at Quest Primary aims to give all children a strong understanding of the world around them whilst acquiring specific skills and knowledge to help them to think scientifically, to gain an understanding of scientific processes and also an understanding of the uses and implications of science, today and for the future. Our knowledge organisers set out the minimum knowledge children must acquire during the duration of the topic, to be successful in their learning and understanding. This includes key scientific knowledge about the topic, scientific vocabulary and information about a scientist of importance.

At Quest Primary, scientific enquiry skills are embedded in each topic the children study and these topics are revisited and developed throughout their time at school. There are four key scientific concepts that are taught across the school: Scientific Questions, Scientific Apparatus and Techniques, Scientific Data and Scientific Evidence. Within these concepts children will learn the methods used by scientists to ask and answer scientific questions, how to carry out specific procedures and protocols safely, how to gather, process and present data and how science uses evidence to develop explanations. This model allows children to build on prior knowledge and increases their enthusiasm for the topics whilst embedding this knowledge into their long-term memory.

All children are encouraged to develop and use a range of enquiry skills including observations, planning and investigations, as well as being encouraged to question the world around them and become independent learners in exploring possible answers for their scientific based questions. Specialist scientific and academic vocabulary is built upon through the years that can be applied to future learning and other academic areas and effective questioning to communicate ideas is encouraged.

Science is taught as a discrete subject discipline within a unit of work but has numerous links to other curriculum areas. These include but are not limited to, relationships and puberty in PSHE, cooking and nutrition in DT, and physical health and wellbeing in PE. Maths and English skills form an important part of science learning and children are guided to apply these skills within their science work. Our local area is utilised to support understanding and learning. This can include trips and visits to local places which complement and enhance the curriculum, which are purposeful and link with the knowledge being taught in class, as well as developing children’s foundational knowledge and cultural capital.

We use Ready-to-Progress assessments at the end of each unit of work in science. These assessments check that the science curriculum has been learned as intended and that children have the substantive and disciplinary skills they need, in order to be able to access the next stage in their science learning successfully.