Science
Science Intent
Our aim at Holy Trinity is to provide a high-quality Science curriculum that enables all pupils to develop as curious and knowledgeable scientists. We ensure pupils gain the knowledge they need to discover, understand and begin to explain the world and phenomena around them whilst also ensuring pupils are equipped with the skills and knowledge of processes though which science is achieved and applied. We believe that Science should be engaging to ensure that children leave us with a life-long curiosity that motivates them to question and understand the rapidly changing world that we live in.
Aims
The national curriculum for science aims to ensure that all pupils:
- 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.
Teaching and Learning
Science at Holy Trinity is taught through progressive units. Science lessons are taught weekly in Years 1-6. To support the planning of Science at Holy Trinity we use Ark Curriculum+. The AC+ science curriculum is fully aligned to the National Curriculum. The units of work ensure pupils gain the knowledge they need to discover, understand and begin to explain the world and phenomena around them whilst also ensuring pupils are equipped with the skills and knowledge of processes though which science is achieved and applied. The knowledge builds sequentially in the three disciplines with pupils often revisiting an idea or concept in a later unit. In some units, progression is clear however in others it is within a more complex thread of learning.
Using Ark Curriculum+ supports the teaching of Science at Holy Trinity as it provides a clear and consistent approach that enables pupils to have correctly pitched, knowledge based opportunities for learning. The scheme also supports the working scientifically strand of Science as it has investigations planned throughout the units.
The unit order is built in a way which ensures pupils have the knowledge they need to work scientifically in a meaningful way. Rather than pupils learning solely from practical work, they will gain knowledge of the scientific concept first before deepening it through ‘working scientifically’. The different types of scientific enquiry have been incorporated across the units and as a result pupils encounter opportunities to take part in: observing over time, pattern seeking, identifying, classifying and grouping, comparative and fair testing and researching using secondary sources.