Science

At St. Edward’s CofE, we aim to develop our learners to have an in-depth understanding of the world around them and an understanding of how major scientific ideas have played a vital role in society, preparing them for life in an increasingly scientific and technological world.

We believe that pupils should learn that science is a body of established knowledge but also a discipline of enquiry. As pupils learn about science, they also learn about its uses and significance to society and their own lives and will highlight the significant contribution that science has made in the past. Pupils will also learn about the continuing importance of science in solving global challenges.

Our curriculum builds upon prior knowledge and a progression of skills to ensure all children have a secure understanding and knowledge of key science concepts. We aim to develop aspirational learners with an awareness of the key role that science plays within our community and the world and the opportunities that this creates for future careers. We intend on encouraging our children to be self-motivated, independent, curious and resilient learners by developing inquiry-based skills and sessions, and to develop a love of science. We want to make learning purposeful, ensuring learners experience ‘real life’ concepts that are relevant to their lives in order to develop children’s aspirations of potential careers in science and through talking about the work of scientists and how they have made a difference to society.

Our science curriculum is based on the National Curriculum objectives of each year group. Science is taught on a one year rolling program in order to ensure progression across year groups. As part of St Christopher’s Multi Academy Trust we use a scheme of work to support planning in the subject. This was a part of a collaboration project of teachers and experts in science education. Using this and their own knowledge, teachers at St Edward’s have the freedom to use and adapt the scheme in order to obtain the best outcomes for the children in their classes. Science is taught through the disciplines of Physics, Chemistry and Biology where they are taught essential aspects of the knowledge, methods, processes and uses of science; building up a body of disciplinary and substantive knowledge. Each year, learners will be taught different topics building upon the knowledge they have learnt previously. Teachers know that retrieving prior knowledge is essential when teaching and embedding learning.