Curriculum Intent

At Istead Rise, we encourage children to become confident and inquisitive learners in science lessons. We aim for the children to develop an understanding of science at an age appropriate level through various scientific enquiries which require children to work collaboratively, to ask questions and as a result, help them gain the skills they need to answer those questions. Through a mixture of theory and practical work, our children are able to gain a deeper understanding of the world around them. 

We recognise how important science is in the context of the wider world and therefore deliver engaging and thought-provoking science lessons which will inspire children to try to discover more about the world around them. We aim for our children to approach their scientific enquiries with an open-minded attitude and to seek evidence for their hypothesis with the support of their teachers. We feel it is essential to develop skills such as: observation, prediction, experimentation, communication and self-assessment. Children are encouraged to use scientific terminology to clearly explain what they see is happening and analyse the reasons why.

We work hard to inspire children’s natural curiosity and aim to gain the confidence and motivation to maintain a passion for science into the next stage of their education and beyond. 

The national curriculum for science aims to ensure that all pupils:

• develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics

• develop understanding of the nature, processes and methods of science through different types of science enquiries that help them to answer scientific questions about the world around them

• are equipped with the scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of science, today and for the future.

Curriculum Implementation

At Istead Rise, science is taught weekly across the school. We have designed a rigorous scheme of work in accordance with the National Curriculum which allows children to learn new skills and knowledge each year, and to also revisit topics and information that they would have been taught as they move through the school. Teachers provide all children with engaging, practical and theoretical sessions which give every child the opportunity to engage in scientific theory and gain deeper knowledge and skills at all stages. 

We provide children with Knowledge Organisers for each unit, which contain clear diagrams, explanations and key terms that can be beneficial for students to refer to during lessons to support their learning. 

All lessons are taught in a sequential fashion, allowing children to build upon previously learnt skills and knowledge and we use ‘Target Memories’ at the start of each lesson to aid knowledge retention. At the end of each unit children complete a quiz and the results help the teacher to assess children’s attainment in science. The children also answer an ‘Enquiry Question’ during their end of unit quiz, which allows them to answer or explain, in their own words, a scientific concept that they have been learning about throughout the term. Examples of these can be seen in the progression document for science (see below).

During the year, we offer children the opportunity to attend STEM clubs.  We offer a Lego lunchtime club and an after school STEM club which is run in a termly block. This offers children the chance to experience learning in an alternative way. With the focus being on practical and experimental based learning, our Lego and STEM club aims to excite and inspire the children to take their learning beyond the classroom, back into their homes or out to the wider school and local community.