At the James Cambell Primary School, we want our pupils to be inquisitive about the world that is around them. Through a practical, engaging and high-quality curriculum, we aim to equip all our pupils with a strong foundation of scientific knowledge that they can then apply in everyday life. An integral part of our science curriculum is learning through scientific experiments where relevant to give children the opportunity to learn and apply their scientific knowledge in practice. We believe it is important for science learning to be fun and engaging for children.
At James Cambell, we follow the White Rose Science scheme of work. By following this scheme, we aim to encourage an intrinsic interest and curiosity about science. This is carried out through both full coverage of the national curriculum for science and a focus on scientific questions and enquiry skills. Alongside the national curriculum, Key Stage 1 and 2 follow a content, enquiry types and vocabulary progression document. These documents ensure children’s knowledge, vocabulary and scientific skills are gradually built on every year. In Early Years, there is a focus on learning science through carefully planned and thought-out play and exploration activities and story books.
Each unit of study includes an overarching enquiry question that is accompanied by relevant scientific experiments. Whilst some children may be naturally interested in science, we believe the schemes’ small steps approach is effective in systematically introducing new scientific information and key vocabulary for children of all abilities. Mini-leads from each year group work with the Science coordinator to adapt lessons and refine the plans further for all pupils to access them. As cross-curricular links are paramount to scientific success, opportunities for practising and applying mathematical skills are embedded into the units of study. At the end of every unit, children are assessed through an end of unit assessment and scientific knowledge learned is systematically recapped in future lessons.
Through White Rose Science, we aim to support children in becoming confident scientists in and out of the classroom. The White Rose Science scheme of work includes sustainability units, that go beyond the remits of the national curriculum, where children have the exciting opportunity to apply their learning to real-world contexts. These encourage children to think scientifically beyond the walls of the classroom and prepare them to think like scientists. By implementing these sustainability units into our curriculum, we aim to uplift children and equip them with the essential skills to contribute to the world. Every year, we host a science fair where all children have the opportunity to take part in a science project and present them at the fair. Children also take part in a range of external visits, learn about and meet visitors working in science. These opportunities seek broaden children’s science learning and involve the wider community.