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 Clydach Junior SchoolA Curriculum Policy for Science Introduction
This policy outlines provision for science in our school.
The school policy for this provision reflects the consensus of opinion of the whole teaching staff. It has been drawn up as a result of staff discussion and has the agreement of the Governing Body and teachers.
The implementation of this policy is the responsibility of all staff,
The Nature of Science
It is our aim that the teaching of science at Clydach Junior will enable children to adopt an enquiry approach in order to develop their scientific skills, whilst broadening and deepening their knowledge and understanding of the science in their everyday experiences. It includes knowledge about living things, materials, energy and the solar system. Wherever possible children will be encouraged to investigate i.e. to find out what happens. As investigations become more complex, teachers will encourage and prompt the children to ask key questions if the pupil finds difficulty in asking these questions independantly.
All the science activities will build on the scientific skills already aquired at Key Stage 1. Such skills include observing, predicting, hypothesising, recording and drawing conclusions.
Entitlement
In the national curriculum science is set down under four Attainment Targets. These are Scientific Enquiry (Sc.1), Life Processes and Living Things (Sc.2), Materials and their Properties (Sc.3), Physical Processes (Sc.4).
Sc.1 – Scientific Enquiry states the way in which children will learn about the processes involved in making scientific investigations.
At Clydach, we recognise five main groups of skills which are integral in the teaching of the content component of the curriculum.
In observing the behaviour of living things, materials and processes in their environment, pupils are encouraged to develop a scientific vocabulary which will enable them to communicate their observations. Pupils will be taught to systematically record their observations in a variety of ways e.g. diagrams, graphs and tables.
Investigating means finding out what happens. It is our aim that as pupils become more familiar with the investigative approach, they will need less teacher input in order to ask key questions. As the child develops this skill, the investigations we demand of them are more complex.
Interpreting is a skill concerned with how a child uses information once he has aquired it, how he makes sense of it and how he fits it into previously aquired understanding.
Hypothesizing is when a child suggest an explanation for events, which idealistically should lead to further investigations and further evidence being accumulated.
Applying is a skill which involves taking the understanding gained through investigating, observing, interpreting and hypothesizing and applying them to situations in the real world.
Sc.2 - Life Processes and Living Things concerns the biology of plants and animals, focussing on Humans. Pupils will be taught about how living things are adapted to a particular habitat and that living things in an environment are interdependent.
Sc.3 - Materials and their Properties is a study in which pupils should develop their understanding of the properties of materials. Each science activity is planned in order to develop specific scientific skills ensuring the child experiences the whole range of processes in order to carry out investigations.
The six science units will be incorporated into the school's two year curriculum framework. The science will be taught as an integral part of a theme linked with other curriculum areas.
The study of the changing season will be ongoing in order to identify patterns. This will link closely with the programmes of study in the geography national curriculum, especially the study of weather..
Activities are planned in such a way as to encourage full and active participation by all children irrespective of ability.
Pupils should experience working in a variety of group situations.
Wherever applicable, children will use I.T. to support their work in Science.
Classification of materials and the ways in which materials can be changed.
Sc.4 - Physical Processes involves a study of electric circuits, forces and motion, sound, light and the Earth's place in the solar system.
All pupils will undertake a science investigation as part of a scheme of work, at least once each term.
Special Educational Needs/Equal Access
It is a policy of the school to help pupils with SEN to gain access to all Science activities where possible. Where appropriate pupils with learning difficulties will gain access to the curriculum using ICT. Access is the same for both boys and girls.
Implementation
The school has a statutory responsibility to cover all the programmes of study for Key Stage Two. The three Attainment Targets namely Sc.2, Sc.3 and Sc.4 carry the content component set out in the programmes of study. At Clydach Junior we have decided that this content component should be divided into six science teaching units. These are:-
(i) Living Things (ii) Materials (iii) The Earth (iv) Forces
(v) Light and Sound and (vi) Energy.
At Key Stage 2 the great majority of pupils should be working at Levels 2 to 5.
We decided that three of the above units are employed in the first year, followed by the remaining units in the second year. This pattern was then repeated in Years five and six For example, a child studying Materials in his first year at the school would then experience Materials in his third year, ideally building on his previously acquired skills and knowledge and working towards a higher level of attainment. This pattern of revisiting areas within the science curriculum ensures continuity and progression in a pupils learning experiences.
The skills defined in Sc.1 are incorporated into the six.
In our topics we use a variety of starting points which appeal to both boys and girls.
Health Education is integrated when working with Sc.2. All children will be made aware of the relevance of health and safety when undertaking work in science.
Pupils should develop a caring attitude to their planet.
Assessment
Each term the work covered will be assessed by the class teacher. Each child's progress in science will be recorded in the annual report to the parent. A selection of work will be kept from each class by the coordinator. |
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