Science at St. Mary’s 2022/2023
Intent Statement
Through the study of science, St. Mary’s children will develop their experimental thinking and curiosity to investigate the world around them. They will become reflective thinkers who see links and patterns in a meaningful way.
Rationale and our learning sequence
The National Curriculum for England states the following:
“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 St. Mary’s we have developed our Science Curriculum to ensure that at all stages of their learning journey our children are equipped with the following skills:
- To be curious about themselves and the world in which they live and to understand how their world has evolved and changed over time
- To develop enquiry skills though asking questions
- To be able to use skills of observation and planned investigations to answer their enquiry skills
- To be able to identify and classify the living and non-living world around them
- To understand that science is not static and developments made over time have shaped our world and new developments will continue to do so
Our children are taught to learn scientifically through these key skills whilst embedding the scientific principles of biology, chemistry and physics. This learning is supported by enrichment activities including educational visits focused on different units of study including using our local environment and educational visits further afield. Our annual Science Week in the spring term is a highlight of the school calendar when visitors come into school to share their scientific expertise with children. Our science curriculum overview tracks the sequence of learning for our children and seeks to build on prior learning at all stages of the learning journey so that children are able to refer to prior learning experiences when accessing new learning and deepening skills and understanding over time.