A member of Dales Academies Trust
Intent
Our vision for science at Ainderby Steeple CE Primary is to encourage and inspire curiosity in our children and to give them the skills and tools necessary to pursue their natural desire to investigate and explore. Through our hands-on, inquiry-based curriculum our children will be encouraged to ask questions, experiment, reflect and to make and learn from their mistakes. Through this our children will build the core skills of independence and resilience and acquire a deeper respect for the environment, our community and the wider world.
What does science look like at our school?
Implementation
At Ainderby Steeple CE Primary school, we use Cornerstones as the foundation for our science planning. Our 2-year rolling program ensures that children have a varied, progressive and well-mapped-out science curriculum that provides the opportunity for progression across the full breadth of the science national curriculum from Reception to Year 6. Each unit provides detailed plans which staff adapt to provide a bespoke package of leaning to meet the needs of individual year groups and children. Through good quality science lessons, children develop questioning skills to extend their knowledge and understanding of the world around them and how it works. Where possible, they learn through practical activities which develop their investigative skills. We encourage our children to discover, ask questions, observe, collaborate, predict, investigate and conclude and we model and encourage children to use scientific vocabulary to explain what they observe.
Opportunities to celebrate science
In addition to the well-planned science lessons that take place weekly in each class, teachers look for opportunities to enhance learning and extend children’s curiosity and enthusiasm in all areas of science. In class 1 children use an investigation station to carry out independent research.
Impact
They also use their wildlife area, pond and vegetable garden to make first hand observations of plant growth and animal life-cycles. In Class 2, children look forward to using our incubator to hatch eggs and in Class 3 children use well developed research skills to carry out independent research. Impact Through the teaching of science at Ainderby Steeple, our children learn to appreciate the animals and plants with which they share the planet and develop a sense of responsibility and respect for our world and all its resources. They develop a broad understanding of everyday scientific concepts and they gain the confidence to ask questions and to use a variety of equipment and strategies creatively and independently to test their theories. Through the teaching and learning of science, our children move forward with a deeper understanding of the uses and implications of science, both today and in the future.
Quotes from our children
“I loved going to Preston Park to learn about olden days toys and what they were made from.”
“I like it when we do fun activities like testing materials”.
Science Subject Leader: Mrs Emily Thornton-Shaw
Documents
Science Whole School Progression
Knowledge Organisers
Autumn 1 2022- Class 1 – Everyday materials, Class 2 – human survival, Class 3 – food and the digestive system, Class 4 – circulatory system
Autumn 2 2022- Class 1 – Human Senses, Class 2 – habitats, Class 3 – sound, Class 4 (see above for circulatory system)
Spring 1 2023 – Class 1 – Seasonal Changes, Class 2 – Uses of Materials, Class 3 – Grouping and Classifying, Class 4 – Electrical Circuits and Components
Spring 2 2023 – Class 1 (see above), Class 2 – Plant survival, Class 3 – States of matter, Class 4 (see above).
