Our Vision
Our vision at St. Andrew’s is to inspire our children to be excited about learning and curious about the world they live in.
We aim to provide a science curriculum which offers the children the opportunity to think scientifically and explore the world so that they have a deeper knowledge and understanding of a range of scientific concepts.
Science lessons aim to nurture children’s curiosity through practical hands-on experiences that inspire questions and inquiry.
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How do we plan and teach science?
A science unit is taught every half term. Teachers plan sequences of lessons across the unit that will build on and develop the children’s knowledge and skills.
Each unit of learning has a strong foundation in new knowledge, linked to prior knowledge, that will support the children to understand increasingly complex scientific phenomena and processes.
Scientific vocabulary is mapped and taught rigorously to ensure that children can both recognise, understand and use scientific terminology accurately and confidently.
Opportunities to learn outdoors and explore our natural environment are embedded throughout our science curriculum.
Carefully selected skills are planned to best match each unit of knowledge and progress year on year.
Opportunities to practise and embed skills are planned for so that they are revisited and refined over time.
The knowledge and skills that children will develop throughout each science topic are mapped across each year group and across the school to ensure progression.
How do we evaluate learning in science?
The impact of our science curriculum can be seen in the children's books, by talking with the children and through our environment.
At the beginning of each unit, a detailed overview outlines the main learning objective alongside the skills that the children will build on and those which will follow.
Children also complete a KWL grid which they revisit at the end of the unit.
Class teachers then use the children's class learning and assessments, along with observations of their skills when carrying out experiments and investigations, to make a judgement as to whether each child is working towards, at or above the expected level.