Arbury Primary School - Science Implementation

Curriculum and Learning

Science Implementation

Implementation

The Arbury science scheme of learning is based on units from the National Curriculum and EYFS framework, where children gain new knowledge and develop Working Scientifically skills. The programmes of study for science are set out year-by-year for Key Stages 1 and 2. Within each key stage, by building up a body of key foundational knowledge and revisiting some or having links to other concepts, children develop a deeper yet advancing knowledge through the years. Knowledge organisers support children to learn and retain the important, scientific vocabulary and knowledge contained within each unit. Certain units have been planned to take into account the time of year. For example, the ‘Seasonal Changes’ unit in Year 1 is taught throughout the academic year so children develop a stronger understanding about the changes to the seasons through exploration and observations. Science is taught every week in a timetabled session to ensure that pupils have frequent opportunities to revisit and build on their learning. Science has links with other areas of the curriculum including geography, English, maths, art and design technology which help to widen and deepen knowledge around the topics in a range of ways.

In Key Stage 1 pupils observe, explore and ask questions about living things, materials and the world around them – physical phenomena. They begin to collect evidence to support their questions and to link them to scientific ideas. They then consider whether tests and comparisons are fair and unbiased. Ideas are shared through pictures, drawings and recording results.

In Key Stage 2, through a variety of models and theories, pupils will develop an understanding of physical and living things through simple models and theories. They also think about the effects of technological developments on society and the environment. They talk about their work and the significance of it. By the end of Key Stage 2, pupils carry out investigations independently or with others. They show their results using a range of mathematical knowledge.

The units of study for science and when they are taught across the year can be seen in the grid below:

	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4	Year 5	Year 6
Autumn 1	Seasonal Changes Part 1 Everyday Materials	Materials	Animal including Humans	Solids, Liquids and Gases	Materials	Light
Autumn 2	Seasonal Changes Part 2 Everyday Materials	Plants Part 1 Materials cont…	Forces and Magnets	Solids Liquids and Gases cont. Animals inc. humans	Forces	Animals inc. Humans
Spring 1	Seasonal Changes Part 3 Plants	Animals, including Humans	Light	Animals inc. humans	Forces cont… Earth and Space	Electricity
Spring 2	Seasonal Changes Part 4 Plants	Animals, including humans	Plants Part 1	Sound	Earth and Space	Evolution
Summer 1	Seasonal Changes Part 5 Animals, including Humans	Plants Part 2 Animals and their habitats	Plants Part 2	Electricity	Animals inc. Humans	Evolution cont…
Summer 2	Seasonal Changes Part 6 Animals, including Humans	Animals and their habitats	Rocks	Animals and their Habitats	Animals and their Habitats	Living Things and their Habitats

Working Scientifically

Working scientifically is a key aspect of the science curriculum at Arbury Primary School, ensuring that pupils learn to use a variety of approaches to answer relevant scientific questions. The following types of scientific enquiries are woven throughout our curriculum: Problem Solving; Pattern Seeking; Comparative/Fair Testing; Research; Observation Over Time and Identifying, Grouping and Classifying, ensuring that children are gaining a full breadth of opportunities to engage in learning as scientists. All aspects of ‘Working Scientifically’ from the National Curriculum are interwoven throughout our curriculum, again, to ensure that children understand what it means to be a successful scientist. We are committed to providing exciting, hands on and practical experiences for our students.

Enrichment Activities

At Arbury Primary School, we firmly believe that enrichment activities provide children with opportunities to try new and varied activities and that this helps to promote science and develop a love for this important subject. We take full advantage of our school being situated so close to the centre of the city of Cambridge, a world centre for science, through ensuring that children have access to a variety of trips, visits and links with external organisations, such as the Cambridge Science Centre. Through these enrichment opportunities, we are able to enhance and extend children’s learning further, helping to teach them life skills that benefit them beyond the classroom, developing appreciation for cultural and community issues, teamwork and social responsibility. We aim to bring science learning to life through whole school science weeks, trips to museums, zoos and farms, visitors and hands on workshops in school.

Examples of recent enrichment opportunities and experiences in science for each year group include:

EYFS	Trip to Cambridge Botanical Gardens Visit from Lion Learners Gardening club
Year 1	Visit to the zoo Gardening Club Visit from a Polar scientist
Year 2	Visit to a farm Gardening Club
Year 3	Visit to BeWILDerwood in Norfolk
Year 4	Visit to Wicken Fen
Year 5	Visit to the National Space Centre, Leicester Digital microscope competition Yearly Project with Cambridge Science Centre
Year 6	Visit from the Brainbus Trip to the Sedgewick Museum, Cambridge Visit to the Zoological Museum, Cambridge Science Lectures at the University of Cambridge Digital microscope competition