Science

Science at Harris 

At Harris Primary School, our aim is for every child to receive a high-quality science education providing the foundations for understanding the world.  

We want pupils to recognise the power of rational explanation and develop a sense of excitement and curiosity about natural phenomena.  

At Harris, we believe that a high-quality science education provides the foundation for understanding the world. Science is vital to the world’s future prosperity, and our pupils are taught the essential knowledge, methods, processes, and applications of science. They build a body of key foundational knowledge and concepts, and are encouraged to recognise the power of rational explanation and to develop a sense of excitement and curiosity about natural phenomena. We want them to understand how science can be used to explain what is occurring, predict how things will behave, and analyse causes. 

How we do this 

We want pupils at Harris to develop inquisitive minds. Each unit begins with a point of interest to engage the children and ignite their curiosity. From here, children ask their own questions that they want answered throughout the topic. Due to this approach, while the topics remain the same each year, the teaching is slightly different as it is tailored to the interests of the cohort at the time. 

The topics for each year are prescribed by the National Curriculum; however, they have been organised across the year to fit around other subjects and seasonal changes. The knowledge and skills we want the children to acquire are built up year on year and are regularly revisited. We have a planned progression in place to ensure that teachers know pupils’ starting points for each topic, and we make sure to recap these before moving on. Throughout a topic, we also use questioning to ensure that learning is secure, and over the year pupils are continually questioned so that learning is not lost. We call this ‘sticky learning’. 

We want all our pupils to access science, and much of the learning is done through practical work and observation. We build the children up to be able to record scientific enquiry so that, by the end of Key Stage Two, they have the skills they need to move on to Key Stage 3. We also encourage a range of ways of recording information beyond writing alone. 

Scientific Enquire  

Throughout the topic pupils will work scientifically including: observing over time; pattern seeking; identifying, classifying and grouping; comparative and fair testing (controlled investigations); and researching using secondary sources. 

Oracy  

Our pupils are encouraged to articulate scientific concepts clearly and precisely. We do this by immersing them in the necessary vocabulary, encouraging discussion—including the challenging of misconceptions—and supporting them throughout this process. 

Assessment and feedback  

Planned progression allows teachers to know what knowledge pupils should have prior to each topic. This prior knowledge should be the starting point for any new learning. It ensures that pupils are building on solid foundations and that any misconceptions or gaps can be addressed before moving on. 

Due to the systems we have in place, where children are questioned about their learning over the course of the topic and throughout the year, we minimise the chance of these gaps occurring. This formative assessment is the main way in which we assess children and adapt teaching or intervene accordingly. We formalise this using an online assessment tool, which informs our end-of-year summative assessment.