What does Science look like at North Cadbury?

Our aim at North Cadbury is to inspire and enable our pupils to become deductive, rational, lifelong learners:

* By understanding that we learn through challenging ourselves and allowing ourselves to be wrong, but through that process, we can then assess, modify and improve.

* By not being afraid to test our hypothesis and acknowledge when we held the wrong premise, we can encourage and support our pupils to become resilient, independent thinkers.

Starting in the Foundation Stage, our children are given opportunities to explore and investigate, through first-hand exploration. We aim to develop lively, enquiring minds through open ended tasks.  Science is taught through the areas of learning in accordance with the EYFS document in preparation for their learning journey with us and the National Curriculum for KS1 and KS2.

We design our Science lessons to help develop an understanding of the world that we live in and we aim to stimulate children’s curiosity to find out how and why things happen, in the way they do. We encourage methods of enquiry and investigation to inspire creative thought. Children learn to ask scientific questions and are encouraged to engage in questioning and discussion about science-based issues which affect their lives, the society in which they live and the world as a whole.

Teachers create a positive attitude to science learning within their classrooms and reinforce an expectation that all children are capable of achieving high standards in science.

The teaching objectives in Science at North Cadbury enable our children to:

• ask and answer scientific questions
• actively explore the environment
• plan and carry out scientific investigations
• evaluate evidence, and present their conclusions clearly and accurately
• build upon the learning and skill development of the previous years
• engage with problem solving activities that allow children to find things out for themselves

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 topics. We use precise questioning in class to test conceptual knowledge and skills.

Teachers also find opportunities to develop children’s understanding of their surroundings by accessing outdoor learning and workshops with experts. North Cadbury children also get the possibility of learning about careers in science through our local links and off-site visits.

The successful approach at North Cadbury results in a fun, engaging, high-quality science education, that provides our children with the foundations and knowledge for understanding the world we live in. 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 in and 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.