Aims and Intent

At Rosehill Junior School, we follow the national curriculum for science and it 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.

Statement of Intent

Science stimulates and excites pupils’ curiosity. It is our intention to provide a high quality science education that provides children with the foundations they need to recognise the importance of Science in every aspect of daily life. We give the teaching and learning of Science high prominence and encourage inquisitiveness and develop pupils' interest and enjoyment of science by building on their interest with activities that inspire our pupils to experiment and investigate the world around them. We excite their enquiring minds by helping them to raise and pose their own questions. We ensure that the working scientifically skills are built-on and developed throughout the school so that pupils can apply their science knowledge when using equipment, conducting experiments, building arguments and explaining concepts confidently.

Across the school, pupils learn about a wide range of living things, materials and physical phenomena. They make links between ideas and, with a broadening scientific vocabulary, explain things using simple models and theories. Our curriculum will enable children to become enquiry based learners collaborating through researching, investigating and evaluating experiences. It will encourage respect for living organisms and for the physical environment.

Children will be encouraged to understand how science can be used to explain what is occurring, predict how things will behave, and analyse causes. It will provide opportunities for the critical evaluation of evidence and rational explanation of scientific phenomena as well as opportunity to apply their mathematical knowledge to their understanding of science, including collecting, presenting and analysing data. Children will be immersed in key scientific vocabulary, which supports in the acquisition of scientific knowledge and understanding. All children will be provided with a broad and balanced science curriculum which reflects the equality and diversity policies and practice in school.

Statement of Implementation

Our Science curriculum provides full coverage of the new National Curriculum, following the programmes of study for each year group carefully. It provides the right balance between working scientifically and learning scientific facts.

Our science curriculum links directly to scientific knowledge, skills and understanding ensuring that learning is progressive and continuous. Children learn about Science through exploring, talking about, testing and developing ideas about everyday phenomena and the relationships between living things and familiar environments. They ask their own questions about what they observe and make some decisions about which types of scientific enquiry are likely to be the best ways of answering them, including observing changes over time, noticing patterns, grouping and classifying things, carrying out simple comparative and fair tests and finding things out using secondary sources of information. They draw conclusions and use scientific language to talk and write about what they have found out. Pupils will be involved in real scientific activities, e.g. investigating a local environmental problem, or carrying out a practical experiment, discussing and analysing the results. 

We recognise that in all classes, children have a wide range of scientific abilities, and we will ensure that access is provided for all learners