Science

INTENT:

“I have not failed, I have successfully discovered 10,000 things that didn’t work” – Thomas Edison

At Cotham Gardens, we deliver the National Curriculum for Science in a way that equips children with the skills and knowledge they need to think and work scientifically in order to become truly fantastic scientists! We aim to encourage inquisitive minds and to allow children to develop physically, emotionally, socially and academically through questioning and exploring the world around them. Our science lessons aim to provide a progression of skills and cumulative learning through a rich and varied curriculum. We teach creative lessons that spark curiosity, simultaneously developing children’s scientific knowledge and their ability to work scientifically. Children in Science will gain:

• Scientific knowledge and understanding through learning which encourages inquisitive thinking, exploration and questioning.
• Scientific skills progressively to support them in understanding how science can be used to explain what is occurring, predict how things will behave, and analyse causes.
• Knowledge and application of scientific vocabulary to describe and explain science processes and concepts.

 

IMPLEMENTATION:

At Cotham Gardens, we will do this by using the Science Bug Scheme of Work, implemented in January 2022. Where possible, we will link our Science learning with other areas of the curriculum to enhance and and build connections and knowledge 

Here is our curriculum map:

	Term 1	Term 2	Term 3	Term 4	Term 5	Term 6
Y1	Parts of an animal	Changing seasons	Comparing materials	Plants	Types of animals	Identifying materials
Y2	Habitats	Living things	Feeding and Exercise	Growing plants	Changing shape	Uses of materials
Y3	Movement and feeding	Light and shadows	What plants need	Rocks and salts	Part of plants	Magnets and forces
Y4	Sound	Grouping living things	Human nutrition	Changes of state	Dangers to living things	Electricity
Y5	Separating mixtures	Forces	Earth and space	Life cycles	Materials	Types of change
Y6	Light and sight	Our bodies	Classifying living things	Changing circuits	Evolution and inheritance	Review and celebration

 Lesson frequency:

1. Years 2 – 6 will have one lesson per week dedicated to teaching the Science curriculum. These lessons will cover both scientific knowledge and working scientifically.
2. EYFS and Year 1 will continue teaching Science objectives using previous approach and embedding science through exploratory play and guided learning.

We also seek to enrich Science learning through practical experiments and utilising the rich resources of the city of Bristol. This includes visits to interactive Science venues such as We the Curious in Year 3, and we encourage visits from parents and carers with scientific professions; for example, we have enjoyed visits from a heart and lung doctor in Year 4 to talk about circulation, digestion and nutrition and interactive science workshop visits in Year 6.

IMPACT:

• Our approach at Cotham Gardens aims for a fun, engaging, high-quality science education that provides children with the foundations and knowledge for understanding the world. All ideas are valued and no one is afraid to use skills such as predicting and reasoning to help deepen their scientific understanding. Scientific vocabulary is confidently used by all.
• Children make links to topics and real-life encounters with hands-on experiments, including taking informed risks. We aspire for all children to achieve well, produce good quality work and be ready for the next stage in their education.
• We use yearly staff and pupil consultations and work monitoring to ensure high quality teaching and learning.

science curriculum progression map.pdf

 These are the learning objectives covered in each year group:

science overview y1 6 for websitev2.pdf