'The important thing is to never stop questioning' - Albert Einstein
Key Principles - Our Intent
What makes a good Scientist?
The ability to think independently and raise questions about working scientifically and the knowledge and skills that it brings. Confidence and competence in the full range of practical skills, taking the initiative in, for example, planning and carrying out scientific investigations. Excellent scientific knowledge and understanding which is demonstrated in written and verbal explanations, solving challenging problems and reporting scientific findings. High levels of originality, imagination or innovation in the application of skills. The ability to undertake practical work in a variety of contexts, including fieldwork. A passion for science and its application in past, present and future technologies.
These are the principles in which we embed our scientific curriculum; enthusing our children in the wonderful world of Science.
Our scientific enquiry process -Implementation
Exploring, observing, discussing leads to….
Questions
Which leads to…
The 5 types of working scientifically
Fair testing
Observing changes over time
Pattern seeking
Research
Identification and classification
Which leads to evidence which leads to conclusions. And often more questions.
We work closely with the Science Learning Partnership
If you require any further information or paper copies, please contact Miss Allcock via the school office on 01925 266764 or email office@appletonthorn.tcat.uk.com
Our most recent Science review- TCAT Trust
Our most recent Science review conducted in November 2023, stated the following:
'The science curriculum at Appleton Thorn is mapped against the national curriculum and in many
places goes beyond the NC with additional activities such as the science club, external visitors and
visits.
The subject lead engages regularly with external CPD to ensure that her curriculum implementation
is evidence informed and effective.
Both teachers and the subject lead referred to the curriculum documents and how useful they were
for effective retrieval at the start of new units. Using them to check for understanding and gap
identification followed by reteach where necessary is good practise.
Good use of tier 3 vocabulary was seen throughout the school. It was displayed on walls and there
was some evidence seen in pupil work.
Teachers used questioning effectively in lessons for formative assessment.
The scientist of the month lab coat displays Tier 3 vocabulary, and the Developing Experts resources
have explicit links to careers and diverse role models in science to ensure that all children see a
future for themselves in this discipline.'
Curriculum Implementation
Learn more about how we teach Science here:
Our Science lessons at Appleton Thorn are sequenced using the school’s key concept overview. Moreover, pupils learn through scientific enquiry skills, with the utilisation of the Developing Experts scheme, as a vehicle for teaching science and adapted and adapts it for context. Explorify is also used alongside. The curriculum is mapped against the National Curriculum. External visitors and extracurricular activities, such as science club, enrich the children’s curriculum. At ATP, Teachers have the flexibility to teach whole afternoons/days on science rather than weekly timetabled slots. In addition, throughout the school year, science lab coats are used to further strengthen children’s use of scientific vocabulary across the whole school. This means that, key vocabulary can be added to the lab coat after each lesson, for children to refer to throughout the topic and throughout the school year. At the end of each school year, the lab coat is passed up to the next year group and the same process continues to happen. By the end of Year 6, children will have key scientific vocabulary from their school journey to refer back to, which will help cement their scientific knowledge.
Furthermore, each unit of science vocabulary is placed into children’s science books to start a new topic in the form of a knowledge mat. The aim is for the children to be able to read, understand and spell the words scientific vocabulary correctly, but also to refer to like the lab coats. Additionally, PLAN knowledge matrices are available to refer to on our G-Suite and staff use them to check prior learning and to identify any gaps in pupils’ learning
A weekly class certificate is dedicated to ‘scientist of the week’ and is shared on the learning platforms in Years R-6, to ensure science has a high profile.
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Scientific Vocabulary
Here are some examples of knowledge organisers/ mats that are used through the Developing experts scheme.