At Distington Community School, we want to continually grow children's enthusiasm for science, particularly when exploring many abstract concepts to illustrate how and why things in the world work the way they do. We do this by ensuring that children have many opportunities to engage with practical experiences, bringing learning to life in front of their eyes.
As scientists at Distington Community School, we aim for our children to leave with:
At DCS, we follow the Learning Challenge Curriculum for science (this is a question-based approach to learning) in conjunction with the SLS assessment board to ensure skills coverage. This creates a comprehensive knowledge and skills-based curriculum for science.
Our progression of skills and knowledge document identifies the units of work taught in each year group to ensure progression across the primary curriculum. It outlines the skills taught within each year group and how these develop to ensure that attainment targets are securely met by the end of each key stage.
Science is taught explicitly and each class receives a minimum of 1 afternoon of science teaching per week. (5 units per academic year.)
Our Curriculum Map documents shows which topic is being taught when.
Science at Distington Community School
Our curriculum is carefully designed to ensure coverage and progression. It provides pupils with memorable experiences, in addition to diverse and rich opportunities from which children can learn and develop a range of transferable skills. The Science curriculum is designed to ensure that key topics are revisited in greater depth children progress through different stages of their learning.
Topics are blocked to allow children to focus on developing their knowledge and skills, studying each topic in depth. We have developed a progression of skills with each year group, which enables pupils to build on and develop their skills each year.
In the EYFS, children explore science through a wide range of practical experiences and continuous provision. They investigate through investigating and asking questions. Activities promote awe and wonder and aim to excite children's natural curiosity.
In KS1, abstract concepts are introduced at a simple level, with the emphasis placed on the importance of engaging children with practical experiences. Aiming to ensure that children are beginning to form an understanding of how things in the world around them work.
In KS2, there is a continued emphasis placed on the importance and use of practical experiences to illustrate scientific concepts and support learning. Many scientific concepts a explored at a more developed level during LKS2, drawing on the children's initial understanding gained in KS1 and aiming to further develop their understanding of the world. During UKS2, children develop a more comprehensive understanding of the world around them and explore the skills required to become a young scientist.
In order to support children in their ability to know more and remember more, there are regular opportunities to review the learning that has taken place in previous topics as well as previous lessons. At the start of each topic children will review previous learning and will have the opportunity to share what they already know about a current topic. Teachers use highly effective Assessment for Learning at different points in each lesson to ensure misconceptions are highlighted and addressed. Effective modelling by teachers ensures that children are able to achieve their learning intentions, with misconceptions addressed within it. We also plan for effective use of educational visits and visitors, to enrich and enhance the pupil’s learning experience and the History curriculum.
How is Science assessed at DCS?
We measure the impact of our curriculum through checkpoints using the following methods: