Intent

At Yorkswood Primary School we believe that a high-quality science education provides the foundations for understanding the world through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics. We hope to develop and nurture our children’s curiosity by not only following the National Curriculum, but also by following their questions and interests to hopefully develop a love, passion and appreciation for Science. Through building up a body of key foundational knowledge and concepts, pupils should be encouraged to recognise the power of independent thinking and rational explanation to develop a sense of excitement and inquisitiveness 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.

Science at Yorkswood Primary School is about developing children’s ideas and ways of working that enable them to make sense of the world in which they live through investigation, as well as using and applying process skills. Our intention throughout school is to develop their understanding of scientific ideas by using different types of scientific enquiry to answer their own questions: 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. This variety of approaches to working scientifically allows for the inclusion of each child, ensuring that all Yorkswood children have the chance to show their understanding and reach high levels of achievement.

The staff at Yorkswood Primary School ensure that all children are exposed to high-quality teaching and first-hand learning experiences. We recognise the need for our children to develop self-confidence, resilience and resourcefulness and therefore strive to promote a positive and safe learning environment. To allow these qualities to develop, it is important that we build on their ‘working scientifically’ skills to strengthen their retention of key knowledge and processes.

Yorkswood children are immersed in transferrable scientific vocabulary, which aids children’s knowledge and understanding of not only the topic they are studying, but of the world around them. Science is also an important subject in which to embed key skills from other areas of the curriculum to allow all Yorkswood children (regardless of ethnic origin, gender, aptitude or disability) to become a well-rounded, aspirational member of society.