Intent

At Drybrook Primary School, our curriculum is rooted in ‘working scientifically’, offering students weekly hands-on, practical lessons. Our objective is for our students to acquire, use, and remember the high-level vocabulary associated with each topic. Through consistent hands-on experiences and investigations, we aim to amplify their innate curiosity, reasoning, and investigative prowess. By the close of Year 2, our aspiration is for students to autonomously plan, execute, and appraise experiments with confidence. Our foundational stages and Key Stage 1 are instrumental in laying the groundwork, empowering students to judiciously select resources and articulate their scientific rationale. We're committed to nurturing enthusiastic scientists who are primed for the adventures of Year 3 and subsequent years. Throughout their tenure at Drybrook Primary School, our intent is to cultivate their curiosity, joy, adeptness, and a deep-seated understanding of science, motivating them to raise questions and delve into the wonders of their environment.

Implementation

Our Science curriculum at Drybrook Primary School adheres to the National Curriculum Programme of Study and is structured with a cyclical emphasis, guided by the progression document. The commitment to weekly science lessons ensures students not only amass new knowledge but also revisit and integrate prior learnings, drawing connections among diverse topics. Each lesson starts by revisiting antecedent knowledge and vocabulary, ensuring continuity in learning. This knowledge is consistently available on learning walls for students. Starting from Year 1, students document their scientific exploration in dedicated books. Every topic commences with a knowledge web, which is periodically revisited and expanded as lessons progress. Central to our planning is scientific inquiry, allowing for the concurrent evolution of skills and knowledge. We harness various forms of formative assessment to tailor the next steps for individual students. While we teach science as a distinct subject, it often seamlessly integrates with broader thematic units, like our "Frozen planet" topic which converges ideas of habitats, adaptation, and survival.

Impact

To ascertain student comprehension, we use diverse assessment strategies. Observational insights during independent tasks shed light on vocabulary adoption and depth of understanding. Engaging students in class dialogues, group activities, and paired tasks further enhances their verbal expression of acquired knowledge. Pupil feedback is periodically gathered and integrated into our instructional design, enriched by our working walls.

Assessment leans on queries rooted in the National Curriculum Programme of Study. As we traverse through units, we intensify our focus on the intended learning, presenting more challenging queries to deepen understanding.

At Drybrook Primary School, we conduct summative assessments for science three times a year, providing a comprehensive evaluation of students' understanding and progress. This systematic assessment approach aids in identifying areas of strength and areas requiring further attention.

Our evaluative methods at Drybrook Primary School include workbook inspections, lesson observations, and student feedback. These feedback loops play a pivotal role in refining our curriculum, ensuring pedagogical excellence, and igniting a lasting passion for science amongst our students.