| Intent |
| At Springwood Heath we recognise the importance and impact of Science in every aspect of daily life and encourage children to be inquisitive throughout their time at our school and beyond. We provide a rich experience of Science that has both depth and breadth and is experienced by all pupils whatever their learning needs. The Science curriculum at Springwood Heath is knowledge and vocabulary rich, ensuring children develop a deep understanding of how to work scientifically. We enable children to ‘think like a scientist’ and gain key scientific knowledge and concepts through practical experiences; using equipment, conducting experiments, reasoning using current scientific knowledge and research and explaining scientific theories confidently.
We recognise that children are our future and need to be equipped with the necessary skills to take risks, become resourceful, innovative and questioning as they become adults during a time of rapid change and development in the wider world.
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| Implementation (Overviews) |
| Early Years |
| Science is under the umbrella of ‘Understanding the World’ within the Early Years Foundation stage curriculum. Children are required to:
Explore the natural world around them, making observations and drawing pictures of animals and plants. Know some similarities and differences between the natural world around them and contrasting environments, drawing on their experiences and what had been read in class. Understand some important processes and changes in the natural world around them, including the seasons and changing states of matter. |
| KS1 |
| In KS1 (Year 1 and 2) the children are taught: |
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Biology: understanding Plants |
Plants including trees |
| Biology:
understanding animals including humans |
Classifying animals. What animals need to live. How do humans stay healthy? |
| Biology:
investigating living things |
Comparing living things, dead things and things that have never been alive.
Animal habitats. Simple food chains. |
| Biology:
understanding evolution and inheritance |
Investigating how some animals look like their babies and others do not. |
| Chemistry:
Investigate materials |
Naming, comparing, describing and sorting materials.
How materials can be changed. |
| Physics:
understand movement, forces and magnets |
Compare how different things move. |
| Physics:
understand light and seeing |
Sources of light.
How we see things. |
| Physics:
investigating sound and hearing |
Sources of sound.
How we hear things |
| Physics:
understand electrical circuits |
Construct a simple circuit.
Common electrical appliances. |
| Physics:
understand the Earth’s movement in space |
How the Sun changes throughout the day.
How the Season’s change. How the weather changes. |
| Lower KS2
In lower KS2 (Year 3 and 4) the children are taught: |
| Biology: understanding Plants | To name and identify the function of the different parts of a flowering plant and their life cycle.
What plant require to live and thrive. Water transportation in plants. |
| Biology:
understanding animals including humans |
Food chains.
Human anatomy including the skeletal system, teeth and the digestive system. |
| Biology:
investigating living things |
Classification.
How changes in habitat can effect the animals that live there. |
| Biology:
understanding evolution and inheritance |
How living things have changed over time – looking at fossils.
Adaptation |
| Chemistry:
Investigate materials |
Rocks and soils.
States of matter. The water cycle. |
| Physics:
understand movement, forces and magnets |
Magnets and magnetic materials.
How things move on different surfaces. |
| Physics:
understand light and seeing |
Looking at light and how we need it to see.
Reflection. Sun and shadows. |
| Physics:
investigating sound and hearing |
How sound is a vibration that travels to our ear. |
| Physics:
understand electrical circuits |
Naming the parts of a circuit and making different types.
Conductors and insulators. |
| Physics:
understand the Earth’s movement in space |
How the Earth moves around the Sun.
How the Moon moves around the Earth. |
| Upper KS2
In upper KS2 (Year 5 and 6) the children are taught: |
| Biology: understanding Plants | Relate knowledge of plants from previous learning to studies of all living things and to evolution and inheritance. |
| Biology:
understanding animals including humans |
The life cycle of a human.
Name and describe the functions of the human circulatory system. How lifestyle effects how the human body functions. |
| Biology:
investigating living things |
Comparing lifecycles.
How and why animals and plants are classified using observable characteristics. |
| Biology:
understanding evolution and inheritance |
The fossil record and what is show us.
How offspring are similar, but not identical too their parents. Adaptation. |
| Chemistry:
Investigate materials |
How materials are grouped using hardness, solubility, conductivity and response to magnets.
Investigating separating solids, liquids and gases using filtering, sieving and evaporating. |
| Physics:
understand movement, forces and magnets |
Magnets.
Forces. |
| Physics:
understand light and seeing |
Investigating that light travels in straight lines.
How we see things. |
| Physics:
investigating sound and hearing |
Investigating patterns in sound and relationships between volume, vibration, distance and sound. |
| Physics:
understand electrical circuits |
How voltage cells effect a circuit.
Investigating how different components of a circuit can alter how that circuit acts. Recognise the symbol notation in a circuit. |
| Physics:
understand the Earth’s movement in space |
The solar system.
What causes day and night on Earth? |
| Working Scientifically |
| Lesson Design |
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CUSP Science at Springwood Heath. At Springwood Heath School, lessons are designed using a modular approach using the CUSP Curriculum. This means that the children are taught short modules of learning which are revisited across the year or throughout the key stage. Each module provides and in-depth insight into key scientific concepts and encourages our children to work scientifically, using technical vocabulary. Our lessons are carefully designed to build upon one another and to visit children’s prior learning ensuring a deeper understanding and retention of knowledge. |
| Knowledge Organisers | |||
Within the Science CUSP curriculum, learning is supported by the use of knowledge organisers. These are condensed fact files that support teaching and learning by:
Example of a knowledge organiser:
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| Vocabulary |
| Explicit teaching of vocabulary in CUSP Science strengthen cognitive connections and deepens knowledge and understanding of key words. |
| Impact
How do we know what children have learnt? |
| Assessment of learning takes many forms within the CUSP Science curriculum. Retrieval practice and quizzing are used with lessons as a learning and assessment tool. Word paths are used so the pupils can show what they know, and how it is connected. Pupils recap regularly and are asked to record what they know- ‘Remember two things – show what you know.’
Pupil book studies are carried out by subject and school leaders. They help to evaluate what effect the curriculum architecture is having, if long-term learning is evident, and if tasks are impactful? |
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