Dalton School Junior Infant And Nursery

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Intent

At Dalton School we believe that a high quality science education provides the foundations for understanding the world.  Science has changed the lives of human beings and is vital to the world’s future prosperity.  Therefore, all pupils should be taught essential aspects of the knowledge, methods, processes and uses of science. Through building up a body of key foundational knowledge and concepts, pupils should be encouraged to recognise the power of rational explanation and develop a sense of excitement and curiosity 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 in our 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. The staff at Dalton School ensure that all children are exposed to high quality teaching and learning experiences, which allow children to explore their outdoor environment and locality, thus developing their scientific enquiry and investigative skills. They are immersed in scientific vocabulary, which aids children’s knowledge and understanding not only of the topic they are studying, but of the world around them. We intend to provide all children regardless of ethnic origin, gender, class, aptitude or disability, with a broad and balanced science curriculum.

Implementation

In ensuring high standards of teaching and learning in science, we implement a curriculum that is progressive throughout the whole school.

Planning for science is a process in which all teachers are involved to ensure that the school gives full coverage of, ‘The National Curriculum programmes of study for Science 2014’ and, ‘Understanding of the World’ in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Science teaching at Dalton School involves adapting and extending the curriculum to match all pupils’ needs. When relevant, Science is linked to class topics but is also taught as discrete units and lessons to ensure coverage. Teachers are encouraged to plan to suit their children’s interests, current events, their own teaching style, the use of any support staff and the resources available.  This is how we create’ Dalton sparkle’ within our Science lessons.

We ensure that all children are provided with rich learning experiences that aim to:

• Prepare our children for life in an increasingly scientific and technological world today and in the future.
• Help our children acquire a growing understanding of the nature, processes and methods of scientific ideas.
• Help develop and extend our children’s scientific concept of their world.
• Build on our children’s natural curiosity and developing a scientific approach to problems.
• Encouraging open-mindedness, self-assessment, perseverance and developing the skills of investigation – including: observing, measuring, predicting, hypothesising, experimenting, communicating, interpreting, explaining and evaluating.
• Develop the use of scientific language, recording and techniques.
• Develop the use of computing in investigating and recording.
• Make links between science and other subjects.

Science is taught consistently, once a week for up to two hours, but is discretely taught in many different contexts throughout all areas of the curriculum.

Impact

The impact of the Science curriculum at Dalton School is to ensure children not only acquire the appropriate age related knowledge linked to the science curriculum, but also to acquire skills which equip them to progress from their starting points, and within their everyday lives.

All children will have:

• A wider variety of skills linked to both scientific knowledge and understanding, and scientific enquiry/investigative skills
• A richer vocabulary which will enable them to articulate their understanding of taught concepts
• High aspirations, which will see them through to further study, work and a successful adult life

Pupil voice is an important indicator of the knowledge and skills obtained by the children and the implementation of memorable investigative experiences that provoke thought and curiosity will ensure that knowledge is retained and the skills transferred across the curriculum.