Intent 

We have high ambitions for all pupils at Roman Hill to become skilled and knowledgeable scientists 

Science is a body of knowledge built up through the experimental testing of ideas. Science is also methodology, a practical way of finding reliable answers to questions we may ask. Science at Roman Hill is about developing children’s skills, knowledge and understanding they need to question and understand concepts and phenomena that occur in the world around them. 

Children will learn the skills required for scientific enquiry and they will begin to appreciate the way science will affect their future on a personal, national and global level. We believe that a broad and balanced science education is the entitlement of all children, regardless of ethnic origin, gender, class, aptitude or disability. 

Our aims in teaching science include the following: 

▪ Preparing our children for life in an increasingly scientific and technological world. 

▪ Fostering concern about, and active care for, our environment. 

▪ Helping our children acquire a growing understanding of scientific ideas, processes and skills and ensure they have the vocabulary to explain them. 

▪ Helping to develop and extend our children’s scientific concept of their world, and the people who have shaped scientific understanding 

▪ Developing our children’s understanding of the international and collaborative nature of science. 

Implementation 

At Roman Hill we use CUSP (Curriculum for Unity Schools Partnership) to guide our science modules. More information can be found here Science | CUSP (unity-curriculum.co.uk) This pays close attention to guidance provided by the National Curriculum sequence and content. It is infused with evidence-led practice and enriched with retrieval studies to ensure long-term retention of foundational knowledge. The foundations of CUSP science are cemented in the EYFS through learning within the Natural World, and People, Culture and Communities. 

By using CUSP’s ambitious interpretation of the National Curriculum, we place knowledge, vocabulary, working and thinking scientifically at the heart of our principles, structure and practice. Through studying CUSP science, pupils become more expert as they progress through the curriculum, accumulating, connecting and making sense of the rich substantive and disciplinary knowledge. 

We use knowledge notes in every Science lesson to set the key learning points. These support teachers' planning but are also a visual aid for children to refer to during, and after the lesson. Children additionally benefit from Knowledge organisers in their books and a copy at home. 

We ensure children are given enough time to study the four primary areas of the science curriculum – Scientific enquiry, life and living processes, materials and their properties 3 and physical processes. When planning the learning experiences, the pupils’ previous experiences and present understanding are considered and we offer ample opportunity for practical investigation and enquiry, in and out of the classroom, and encouraging all children to ask and answer scientific questions. Our ‘Thinking Scientifically’ elements of CUSP knowledge notes support this. SEND learners access the same curriculum as their peers and are scaffolded through the use of widget, sentence stems, peer and group work.  

Skills  

• Giving our children an understanding of scientific processes.  

• Helping our children to acquire practical scientific skills.  

• Developing the skills of investigation - including observing, measuring, predicting, hypothesising, experimenting, communicating, interpreting, explaining and evaluating.  

• Developing the use of scientific language, recording and techniques.  

• Developing the use of ICT in investigating and recording.  

• Enabling our children to become effective communicators of scientific ideas, facts and data. 

Impact 

At Roman Hill, we recognise the importance of our science lessons and the impact it can have on our pupils for the rest of their lives. We want every pupil to leave us working, thinking and aspiring to be scientists, who are curious about the world. Through our learning, our scientific content and context needs to be relevant to the everyday lives of our children. 

Through great teaching of science, we must encourage pupils to be curious learners who are inquisitive, ask questions and think hard. Our lessons enable pupils to ask relevant scientific questions, as well as begin to answer them using their knowledge and enquiry skills. 

Assessment is essential to ensuring the success of pupils in their science learning. Teacher assessment, cumulative quizzing, vocabulary assessments, self and peer assessment all form part of the picture to ensure that pupils have been successful in their learning. This allows teachers to effectively work to close any gaps in learning before the next unit, supported through the cyclical retrieval-based curriculum.