Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School

At Corpus Christi, the Science curriculum is taught at least weekly with lessons a minimum of one hour. The curriculum has been designed so that each scientific area is taught in a four week cycle. This is to ensure that the children recap the previous information that they have been given but also for them to retrieve more information to help them with their scientific development. As the children progress through the school, learning is often revisited from previous groups for two reasons. Firstly, it allows the teacher to plug any misconceptions or any gaps in learning that the pupils may have. Secondly, it allows a smooth transition between the previous learning and the children being exposed to new learning. Science is the perfect subject to demonstrate retrieval skills and children are given the opportunity to do this in a planned spaced way in order for them to know more and remember more.

The Science progression of skills map also accounts for children’s opportunities to be ‘working scientifically’. This encourages and motivates the children to understand and practise how scientists work and how this is bespoke to a Science lesson.

Furthermore, Science is exposed to the children in other ways. Firstly, Science week is always celebrated in school with activities and workshops designed to ‘wow’ the children and instil a love of Science among them. Blooms questions have been used in order to get the children thinking about the world around them and the children have researched key scientists who have made a great impact on the world as we know it. Also, the children’s cultural capital studies have allowed them to focus on different scientists and different inventions that have revolutionised or changed the world for the better.

The intent of the Science curriculum at Corpus Christi is to challenge pupils to think thoughtfully about the world around them and attempting to understand why things happen the way that they do. Staff will endeavour to make sure all pupils ‘are equipped with scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of science, today and for the future’ (National Curriculum for Science). All pupils at Corpus Christi will be exposed to the knowledge and understanding of scientific concepts that are required for them to continue through secondary school and into adult life. All pupils will be given the opportunity to participate in scientific investigations to ascertain how the world around them works. In this regard, SEND children will be exposed to the Science curriculum alongside their peers and are encouraged to access as much as possible through Quality First Teaching. The children will be taught in a sequential and coherent way with the emphasis on using scientific vocabulary correctly orally and through their writing. Topics will be revisited in various year groups to ensure they can recall and retain the knowledge learnt in previous year groups.