At Combs the children receive a high quality Science education which is taught in units with at least one lesson per week providing foundations for understanding the world. The science units cover the knowledge, skills and concepts that the children need to know and they are encouraged to understand how key knowledge and concepts can be used to explain what is occurring and predicting how things will behave.
Our science lessons involve a lot of practical, hands on learning whilst being taught how to represent their findings in a scientific way. Through building key foundational knowledge and concepts, pupils are encouraged to recognise the power of rational explanation and develop a sense of excitement and curiosity about natural phenomena. We encourage and support learning in the outside environment at Combs and we are very lucky to be in a rural setting with a Forest School on hand, therefore providing every opportunity for Science lessons to be extended from the classroom in to the outside environment.
In the Early Years Foundation Stage, Science is taught through Understanding of the World. Science is developed by building upon the children’s natural curiosity and fascination for their environment and the world around them. Children are encouraged to use all their senses to investigate, explore and make predictions.
In Year 1 and 2 the main focus of Science teaching is to enable pupils to experience and observe, looking more closely at the natural and humanly-constructed world around them. They are encouraged to be curious and ask questions about what they notice. They are provided with the opportunities to develop their understanding of scientific ideas by using different types of scientific enquiry to answer their own questions, including observing changes over a period of time, noticing patterns, grouping and classifying things, carrying out simple comparative tests and finding things out using secondary sources of information. They begin to use simple scientific language to talk about what they have found out and communicate their ideas to a range of audiences in a variety of ways. Most of the learning about Science is done through the use of first-hand practical experiences, but there should also be some use of appropriate secondary sources, such as books, photographs and videos. Pupils learn to read and spell scientific vocabulary at a level consistent with their reading and spelling knowledge at Key Stage 1.
The national curriculum for science aims to ensure that all pupils:
- develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics
-develop understanding of the nature, processes and methods of science through different types of science enquiries that help them to answer scientific questions about the world around them
-are equipped with the scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of science, today and for the future.