At Stamshaw Junior School, we recognise and value the importance of science in every aspect of daily life. We aim to provide children with the knowledge and skills to observe and understand what is happening around them, by creating awe and wonder and ultimately, curious, enthusiastic, and resourceful scientists.

Our intention is to do this by increasing pupils’ knowledge, experiences and understanding of our world, and by developing skills associated with science as a process of enquiry.

Science is taught weekly, with each half term focusing on one science strand. The knowledge and skills learned each year are revisited and explored in further depth as the children progress through the school. Teachers create a positive attitude to science learning within their classrooms and reinforce an expectation that all children can achieve high standards in the subject.

Due to our extensive school grounds, coastal location and other local facilities, children have plenty of opportunities for first-hand science. Opportunities to learn about living things and their habitats in their natural environment can be observed and investigated using the school nature trails and outdoor classroom, as well as our most recently refurbished pond area which supports and enhances the ‘animals, including humans’ and ‘living things and their habitats’ curriculum strands.

Furthermore, we provide interactions and experiences for our children with experts in the science field. These include Portsmouth University Cosmology department who support learning of the Solar System, Earth and Space.

Most recently, we have linked with UTC who provide outreach workshops and assemblies, including exploring volcanoes with Year 3, sound with Year 4, properties of materials with Year 5, and electricity with Year 6.

Our approach to the teaching and learning of Science includes the following:

• Science will be taught in topic strands by the class teacher.
• ‘Developing Experts’ is used as a resource to support and enhance children’s learning.
• Knowledge harvest is used at the start of each new strand to identify what children already know,  what they would like to find out and key questions they would like to know the answers to. Children are encouraged to ask their own questions and be given opportunities to use their scientific skills and research to discover the answers. This curiosity is celebrated within the classroom. New knowledge is added to their Knowledge Harvest regularly to demonstrate progress.
• Planning involves teachers creating engaging lessons, involving high-quality resources to aid understanding of conceptual knowledge.
• Teachers use questioning in class to test conceptual knowledge and skills and assess children regularly to identify those children with gaps in learning.
• We build upon the learning and skill development of the previous years, with National Curriculum strands being revisited as the children move through the school. As the children’s knowledge and understanding increases, and they become more proficient in selecting, using scientific equipment, collating and interpreting results, they become increasingly confident in their growing ability to come to conclusions based on real evidence.
• Working scientifically, skills are embedded into lessons to ensure these skills are being developed throughout the children’s school career and new vocabulary and challenging concepts are introduced through direct teaching. This is developed through the years, in-keeping with the strands.
• Teachers demonstrate how to use scientific equipment, and the various Working Scientifically skills to embed scientific understanding.

Teachers use a formative assessment each lesson to inform future learning and next steps, ensuring children are well-supported and/or challenged where required. End-of-unit summative assessments are completed each half-term to assess the children’s attainment and to identify where the children’s subject knowledge and working scientific skill levels stand when compared to national, age-related expectations.

The science subject leader monitors the effectiveness and impact of teaching and learning in the classroom through regular book looks, lesson walks and through pupil discussions and surveys.

The successful approach at Stamshaw Junior School results in a fun, engaging, high-quality science education that provides children with the foundations for understanding the world.

Our engagement with the local environment ensures that children learn through varied and first-hand experiences of the world around them. Through various science activities and interactions with experts, children have the understanding that science has changed our lives and that it is vital to the world’s future prosperity.