Ambition

At Brooke Primary Academy, we encourage children to be inquisitive throughout their time at the school and beyond whilst also developing a love for science. We believe science encompasses the acquisition of knowledge, concepts, skills and positive attitudes.  

Throughout the programmes of study, the children will acquire and develop the key knowledge that has been identified within each unit and across each year group, as well as the application of scientific skills. Teachers aim to increase children’s scientific vocabulary and the language of science through the teaching of new knowledge.  

We ensure that the Working Scientifically skills are built-on and developed throughout children’s time at the school so that they can apply their knowledge of science when using equipment, conducting experiments, building arguments and explaining concepts confidently and continue to ask questions and be curious about their surroundings.  

Children need to be exposed to all six types of scientific enquiry: observation over time, research, pattern seeking, classifying and identifying, comparative/fair testing and problem solving. By exposing children to Science in the wider world, we aim to develop children’s aspirations of potential careers in science through talking about the work of scientists and how they can make a difference to others. 

Implementation 
Our whole school approach to the teaching and learning of science involves the following; 

• Science will be taught in planned and arranged topic blocks across the year, with opportunities for cross curricular links within topics where possible.  
• Existing knowledge is checked at the beginning of each topic. This ensures that teaching is informed by the children’s starting points.
• Through our planning, we involve problem solving opportunities that allow children to apply their knowledge and find out answers for themselves. Children are encouraged to ask their own questions and be given opportunities to use their scientific skills and research to discover the answers. Planning involves teachers creating engaging lessons, often involving high-quality resources to aid understanding of conceptual knowledge.  
• Working Scientifically skills are embedded into lessons to ensure that skills are systematically developed throughout the children’s school career and new vocabulary and challenging concepts are introduced through direct teaching.  
• Teachers demonstrate how to use scientific equipment, and the various Working Scientifically skills in order to embed scientific understanding.  

Impact  

The successful approach at Brooke Primary Academy results in a fun, engaging, high-quality science education, that provides children with the foundations and knowledge 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. Frequent, continuous and progressive learning outside the classroom is embedded throughout the science curriculum. Through various workshops, trips and interactions with experts, children have the understanding that science has changed our lives and that it is vital to the world’s future and are given the exposure to possibilities of their future careers and aspirations.  

Further information and resources