Statement of Intent, Implementation and Impact

Intent

At Oliver’s Battery Primary and Nursery school we strongly believe that all children are naturally curious about the world around them. We want to encourage children to develop a sense of excitement and curiosity about natural phenomena through investigation and experimentation. We provide opportunities throughout the curriculum for children to gain knowledge, methods, processes and uses of science to answer scientific questions which help children to understand our world and develop a respect for the living and non-living things. By providing these experiences for children of Oliver’s Battery Primary and Nursery School, we hope to embed the skills of scientific knowledge, understanding and critical thinking which are required in society today.

Implementation

• In Nursery and Reception Class at our school, science is delivered as part of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum. The main strand of learning in the early years comes under Understanding the World.
• In KS1 and KS2 teachers ensure our children progressively develop the substantive knowledge and disciplinary skills required to meet the National Curriculum objectives. Substantive knowledge includes the key scientific concepts which underpin the Science curriculum. Disciplinary skills are the skills required to be a scientist.
• Learning journeys developed by Hampshire Advisory Service are used across the KS1 and KS2 curriculum to support and enrich teacher planning and to ensure that knowledge and skills are taught in a logical and progressive order. These journeys are mapped across the school year.
• Each science session builds on prior knowledge and assessment so the children learn what ‘they need to learn next’.
• In each lesson substantive and disciplinary knowledge is identified to be explicitly taught.
• In line with our Oracy project, lessons provide frequent opportunities for discussion to extend thinking, check understanding, identify misconceptions and provide clear and direct feedback.
• We give the children opportunities to incorporate outdoor learning into their science curriculum. This is enriched through longitudinal studies, school trips linked to science topics, our Edible Playground and forest school.
• Through enrichment days, such as ‘science week’, we promote the profile of science and allow time for the children to freely explore scientific topics.

Impact

At Oliver’s Battery Primary and Nursery School children will understand the relevance and importance of what they are learning in relation to real world concepts. Children have a positive view of science due to learning in an environment where science is promoted as being an exciting and enjoyable subject in which they can investigate and ask questions. At Oliver’s Battery Primary and Nursery School, pupil voice is also used to further develop the science curriculum, through questioning of pupils’ views and attitudes towards science, to assess the children’s enjoyment of science, and to motivate learners.

By the end of their learning journey at Oliver’s Battery Primary and Nursey School, it is our mission to create a generation of aspiring scientists who want to take their scientific thinking further and help to protect the world around us for generations to come.