Science

Science at Aston St Mary’s is a vital part in our school curriculum to prepare children for a world that is rapidly evolving. It excites and promotes children’s natural curiosity whilst fostering awe and wonder within every child about the phenomena and events in world around them. We aim for every child to develop a key set of skills throughout the school to allow them to plan, work and think scientifically through practical investigations as well as allowing them to build on their knowledge and understanding of different scientific concepts of their world. We aim for our children to have the confidence and knowledge to question and discuss science-based issues that may affect their own lives, the direction of society and the future of the world whilst thinking critically and reflecting on their learning to fulfil their full potential and preparing them for life in an increasingly scientific and technological world. Children show active care and concern for our environment and all that we do, is underpinned by our Christian ethos and values.

By understanding and building on what children already know, children are inspired through passionate and excellent teaching. Teachers create a positive attitude to science learning within their classrooms and reinforce an expectation that all children are capable of achieving high standards in science by continuously adapting and extending the curriculum to match all pupils’ needs.  Children are provided with first hand experiences to bring a varied and rich curriculum to life through imaginative, purposeful and enjoyable ways. We encourage the use of outdoor learning in the local and wider environment and during ‘Forest School’ which enables children to have first-hand experience with the world.  Teachers are well skilled to give clear and accurate explanations, offering skilful and higher thinking questioning, whilst making links with other subjects, including reading, writing, mathematics and computing, whilst continuously reinforcing our Christian values and morals.

Our mixed classed are split into individual year groups to teach discrete science lessons weekly, allowing for clear progression in knowledge, skills and curriculum coverage throughout the school following the ‘The National Curriculum programmes of study for Science’ and ‘Understanding of the World’ in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Science is taught, planned and arranged in topic units by the class teacher which is taught every week. KS1 – 1.5hours per week and KS2 – 2.0 hours per week.

A ‘Child-Led Enquiry’ approach encourages children to ask their own questions and be given opportunities to use their scientific skills and research to discover the answers for themselves in a range of different contexts including observing, measuring, predicting, experimenting, communicating, interpreting, explaining and evaluating. Each lesson begins with a ‘learning question’, often generated by the children themselves, which they should be able to answer by the end of the lesson or sequence of lessons. To ensure a consistent approach to working scientifically across the school, we have developed the differentiated  PPPOP approach (Plan, predict, prepare, observe and record and prove it)

The successful approach at Aston St Mary’s results in a fun, engaging, high-quality science education, that provides children with the foundations for understanding the world around them and equipping them with the foundations to progress into secondary education with an extensive knowledge of Science. Children will develop an understanding that science has changed history and will continue to do so in the future; a subject that is vital in everyday life.