At Woodlands, we want our children to develop a sense of excitement and curiosity about the world around them and how it works. We intend to provide all children with a broad and balanced science curriculum. Our curriculum provides the foundations for understanding the world (through the disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics), whilst acquiring specific skills and knowledge which will help them think scientifically, gain an understanding of scientific processes and also an understanding of the uses and implications of Science, today and for the future.
Scientific enquiry skills (observing over time, pattern seeking, identifying, classifying and grouping, comparative and fair testing, researching using secondary sources) are promoted and embedded in each science unit of work, so that children learn to use a variety of approaches to answer relevant scientific questions. These units are revisited and developed throughout their time at school. Topics, such as Plants, are taught in Key Stage One (Year 1 and Year 2) and studied again in further detail during Key Stage Two (Year 3). This model allows children to build upon their prior knowledge and increases their enthusiasm for the topics whilst embedding this procedural knowledge into the long-term memory.
We want our children to have a broad scientific vocabulary so they can answer scientific questions precisely and explain key concepts accurately in both their written and spoken work. Technical terminology is taught and built upon as topics are revisited in different year groups and across key stages.
All children are exposed to high quality teaching and learning experiences, in weekly science lessons, which also allow opportunities for children to explore their outdoor environment and locality, thus developing their scientific enquiry and investigative skills even further.