Science

 Aims of the National Curriculum

The national curriculum for science aims to ensure that all children:

• 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

OUR STATEMENT OF INTENT

Before explaining why we think science is important for the children at Chillingham Road Primary we believe it’s worth quoting the rather succinct purpose of science from the national curriculum programme of study that states:

“A high-quality science education provides the foundations for understanding the world through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics. Science has changed our lives and is vital to the world’s future prosperity, and all pupils should be taught essential aspects of the knowledge, methods, processes and uses of science. Through building up a body of key foundational knowledge and concepts, pupils should be encouraged to recognise the power of rational explanation and develop a sense of excitement and curiosity about natural phenomena. They should be encouraged to understand how science can be used to explain what is occurring, predict how things will behave, and analyse causes.”

At  Chillingham Road Primary we want our children to enjoy science as well as be able to work in a scientific manner. The Chilliverse, Heaton, Newcastle and the North East are places that will ignite their curiosity and interest in the world around them- it is our role to ensure they have developed the skills to explore those things.  At the primary level, these skills include observing and measuring, recording data and presenting findings.

Our children will have explored facts and ideas around plants, habitats and humans as part of our biology curriculum. They will have explored sound, electricity and forces in the physics curriculum.  They will have a good understanding of states of matter and how they can change in the chemistry curriculum.

In fact it is not just within our science curriculum that our children will engage with scientific content. Throughout our curriculum, there are many opportunities for our children to get to know some of the greatest thinkers and scientists. In Year 1 during their topic- What is the difference between a biography and an autobiography? both David Attenborough and the English primatologist Jane Goodhall provide the focus for their writing.

We are also committed to developing scientific awareness through the power of human stories and experiences. In Year 5, during their topic- What have we discovered about solar system and who made these discoveries? The children investigate the life and work of Professor Stephen Hawking as well as delve into the phenomenal book, A Galaxy of Her Own which tells fifty stories of inspirational women who have been fundamental to the story of humans in space, from scientists to astronauts to some surprising roles in between.

Over the last 5 years, we have also merged the power of animation into our science curriculum. The process of animation lends itself remarkably to breaking down fundamental scientific ideas into bite- size manageable chunks. Take seed dispersal or petrification and fossilisation as examples or even the changing seasons around one fixed place such as a tree; through the power of animation, our children live and breathe every step of the process. By the end of the project, they can share and publish their own unique scientific stories.

Creating opportunities to talk scientifically remains at the heart of our science curriculum. Our Early Years children are encouraged to use talk to help work out problems and organise thinking and activities, and to explain how things work and why they might happen (C&L R.8. Understanding the wide range of scientific vocabulary across the curriculum and using it accurately is prioritised so that our children can talk as marine biologists or volcanologists and begin to see the many scientific careers accessible to them as their confidence and understanding of the fundamental scientific principles and big ideas grow.

IMPLEMENTATION

science overview chillingham road primary.pdf