Science
At Olive School, Birmingham, our young scientists will both learn essential science knowledge and acquire life-long investigative science skills in order to explore and understand the world they live in. They will also develop an understanding of the vital role that major scientific ideas and scientists have played in society. In doing so, all our children, regardless of their starting points, will be fully prepared for their next stage of science education, and beyond.
Science is taught discretely, with a focus on knowledge-rich content and the development of essential science enquiry skills. The National Curriculum programmes of study and Early Years Foundation Stage framework are fully adhered to and then supplemented with additional knowledge-rich content. This provides a coherent science curriculum that both prepares children extremely well for future learning and gives them the tools to independently investigate and explore the world further.
The science curriculum encourages children to be curious about natural phenomena and to be excited by the process of understanding the world. We want our children to remember the concepts they learn. Therefore, the curriculum focuses on the sequential development of essential knowledge underpinning biology, chemistry and physics, as per the science progression map below. Over time, these building blocks of component learning are transformed into a deep scientific understanding, adding new core knowledge to existing schema. For example, the biology strand of ‘plants’ is revisited multiple times throughout the year groups, with the component learning of basic plant structure in Year 1 transforming into the composite learning of water transportation within plants in Year 3.
Procedures and concepts that underpin scientific methods are developed. Every unit of work contains opportunities to develop the skills of asking questions, predicting, observing, measuring, fair testing, classifying, thinking critically and drawing conclusions, according to the science progression map. Thus, essential science concepts are developed whilst children practically investigate.
Key science concepts and working scientifically skills are taught according to the following whole school long term plan:
| Autumn Term | Spring Term | Summer Term | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 |
Animals, Including Humans (NC) Use of Everyday Materials |
Plants (NC) Introduction to Magnetism |
Taking Care of the Earth Seasonal Changes |
| Year 2 |
Animals Including Humans (NC) Living Things and their Habitats (NC) |
Plants (NC) Electricity (CKS) |
Matter (CKS) Astronomy & The Earth (CKS) |
| Year 3 |
Animals Including Humans (NC) Forces and Magnets (NC) |
Rocks (NC) Plants (NC) |
Light (NC) Insects (CKS) |
| Year 4 |
Sound (NC) Electricity (NC) |
Animals Including Humans (NC) Living Things and Their Habitats (NC) |
States of Matter (NC) The Human Body: Systems, Vision and Hearing (CKS) |
| Year 5 |
Forces (NC) Properties and changes of materials (NC) |
Earth & Space (NC) Living things and their Habitats (NC) |
Geology (CKS) Meteorology (CKS) |
| Year 6 |
Electricity (NC)
Light (NC) |
Animals, Including Humans (NC) Living Things and Their Habitats (NC) |
Evolution & Inheritance (NC) Matter and Change (CKS)
|
These units are planned in conjunction with the science progression map, which signposts essential prior knowledge and ensures the careful sequencing of learning, in adherence to the National Curriculum.
Our children are given motivating and inspiring out-of-class opportunities and special experiences to embed essential learning. This enrichment is an essential element of our Science curriculum offer. For example:
- Science clubs to develop Science capital
- Educational visits to National Space Centre, Sandwell Nature Reserve, Botanical Gardens.
- Celebration of Science Week
- STEM workshops
- Science assemblies
- External speakers
Related documentation: