Yeo Moor Primary School

Yeo Moor Primary School

YM Science

At Yeo Moor, we recognise the importance that Science plays in our lives both in and out of school. Science can add depth and real-life links to all areas of the curriculum. It is what we are, where we came from and at the heart of a sustainable future. Children will see how science is a part of their daily lives and affects them visibly and invisibly so every child at Yeo Moor will be given the skills and knowledge that they need to independently explore, answer, check and prove questions about the world they live in. Through careful investigating, they will find out the answers they seek. By studying the history of science, they learn how our view of the world has changed and how we can use what we know to create a safe, happy and equal future for all.

We hope that, through their learning of science, children will become more responsible, more thoughtful about the way they treat and see their environment, the community and the people within it including themselves.

Every Yeo Moor Scientist will:

Key Stage 1:

  • experience and observe phenomena, looking more closely at the natural and humanly-constructed world around them.
  • be encouraged to be curious and ask questions about what they notice.
  • be helped to develop their understanding of scientific ideas by using different types of scientific enquiry to answer their own questions, including observing changes over a period of time, noticing patterns, grouping and classifying things, carrying out simple comparative tests, and finding things out using secondary sources of information.
  • begin to use simple scientific language to talk about what they have found out and communicate their ideas to a range of audiences in a variety of ways. Most of the learning about science should be done through the use of first-hand practical experiences, but there should also be some use of appropriate secondary sources, such as books, photographs and videos.
  • read and spell scientific vocabulary at a level consistent with their increasing word reading and spelling knowledge at key stage 1.

Lower Key Stage 2:

  • broaden their scientific view of the world around them. They should do this through exploring, talking about, testing and developing ideas about everyday phenomena and the relationships between living things and familiar environments, and by beginning to develop their ideas about functions, relationships and interactions.
  • ask their own questions about what they observe and make some decisions about which types of scientific enquiry are likely to be the best ways of answering them, including observing changes over time, noticing patterns, grouping and classifying things, carrying out simple comparative and fair tests and finding things out using secondary sources of information.
  • draw simple conclusions and use some scientific language, first, to talk about and, later, to write about what they have found out.
  • read and spell scientific vocabulary correctly and with confidence, using their growing word reading and spelling knowledge.

Upper Key Stage 2:

  • develop a deeper understanding of a wide range of scientific ideas. They should do this through exploring and talking about their ideas; asking their own questions about scientific phenomena; and analysing functions, relationships and interactions more systematically.
  • encounter more abstract ideas and begin to recognise how these ideas help them to understand and predict how the world operates.
  • begin to recognise that scientific ideas change and develop over time.
  • select the most appropriate ways to answer science questions using different types of scientific enquiry, including observing changes over different periods of time, noticing patterns, grouping and classifying things, carrying out comparative and fair tests and finding things out using a wide range of secondary sources of information.
  • draw conclusions based on their data and observations, use evidence to justify their ideas, and use their scientific knowledge and understanding to explain their findings.
  • read, spell and pronounce scientific vocabulary correctly.

Rationale:

A high-quality science education provides the foundations for understanding the world through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics. Science has changed our lives and is vital to the world’s future prosperity, and all pupils should be taught essential aspects of the knowledge, methods, processes and uses of science. Through building up a body of key foundational knowledge and concepts, pupils should be encouraged to recognise the power of rational explanation and develop a sense of excitement and curiosity about natural phenomena. They should be encouraged to understand how science can be used to explain what is occurring, predict how things will behave, and analyse causes.

Knowledge Choice:

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. 

End Points:

Inspiration: