Science

“The important thing is to never stop questioning” (Einstein)

At Thornbury, our vision for science is ambitious, challenging and aimed at developing our children’s Science capital.  Science has the power to change the world!  At Thornbury, we want Science, alongside STEM, to excite and inspire our pupils.  We want children to make connections, take risks and have a go.

By planning and delivering interesting, impactful lessons and investigations, children will be enthused to find out more and inspired to follow a scientific career path. They will be able to explore and discover the world around them.  Children, becoming more curious and passionate about learning, will enjoy lessons in our very own  lab, full of new and exciting resources as well as a large library of scientific books. Through hands-on and inquiry-based learning, they will develop the joy of having ideas, exploration, and investigation.  Throughout their time in school, children will be introduced to a range of focus scientists from different ethnicities, countries, genders and backgrounds, allowing children to see that a career in science can be for everyone. We recognise that in an increasingly scientific and technological age, children need to acquire knowledge, skills and attitudes to better prepare them for modern life. It is vital to ensure our children become scientifically literate adults, who are equipped to cope in a world increasingly shaped by science and technology.

Our science curriculum is cumulative and progressive.  It focuses on the sequential development of essential knowledge underpinning biology, chemistry and physics, as per the science progression map below.  Over time, these building blocks of component learning are transformed into a deep understanding of the real world.  Each year group deepens their understanding of key concepts, adding new core knowledge to existing schema.  For example, the biology strand of ‘plants’ is revisited multiple times throughout the year groups, with the component learning of basic plant structure in Year 1 transforming into the composite learning of water transportation within plants in Year 3.

Science is taught discretely, with a focus on knowledge-rich content and the development of essential science enquiry skills.  The National Curriculum programmes of study and Early Years Foundation Stage framework are fully adhered to and then supplemented with additional knowledge-rich content.  This provides a coherent science curriculum that both prepares children extremely well for future learning and gives them the tools to independently investigate and explore the world further.  The science curriculum encourages children to be curious about natural phenomena and to be excited by the process of understanding the world around them.  We want our children to remember the concepts they learn. 

Procedures and concepts that underpin scientific methods are developed.  Every unit of work contains opportunities to develop the skills of asking questions, predicting, observing, measuring, fair testing, classifying, thinking critically and drawing conclusions, according to the progression in these skills as per the science progression map.  Thus, essential science concepts are developed whilst children investigate the world around them.

Key science concepts and working scientifically skills are taught according to the following whole school long term plan:

Title
Science Long Term Plan 2023-2024
Science Primary Curriculum Plan 2023-2024
Science Roadmap Years R-6 2023-2024

    These units are planned in conjunction with the science progression map, which signposts essential prior knowledge and ensures the careful sequencing of learning, in adherence to the National Curriculum.

    Pupils have access to the following Science opportunities to develop their love of Science:

    • Weekly science club to develop Science capital. Through attending the club, children are trained in their roles as Science Ambassadors and these children help maintain the lab, promote Science, talk to visitors and represent the school;
    • Science Week is a yearly event at Thornbury and is planned to address and developed the needs of our young scientists, alongside the national theme. In 2021, we focussed on science careers and the impact of Covid on the work of people who work in Science or Science related careers.
    • A fully resourced science lab, which is used to teach science and prepare children for their next step in their Science educational journey.
    Autumn 1 Autumn 2 Spring 1 Spring 2 Summer 1 Summer 2
    Year 1

    Animals including Humans (NC)

    Seasonal Changes NC)

    Use of Everyday Materials (NC)

    Seasonal Changes (NC)

    Plants (NC)

    Seasonal Changes (NC)

    Year 2 Living Things and their Habitats (NC) Animals including Humans (NC) Use of Everyday Materials (NC) Plants (NC)
    Year 3 Animals including Humans (NC) Forces and Magnets (NC) Rocks (NC) Light (NC) Plants (NC) Insects (CKS)
    Year 4 States of Matter (NC) Sound (NC) Living Things and Their Habitats NC) Animals including Humans (NC) Electricity (NC) The Human body systems (CKS)

    Year 5

     

    Forces (NC) Properties and changes of materials (NC) Earth and Space (NC) Living Things and their Habitats (NC) Geology (CKS)
    Meteorology
    Year 6 Electricity (NC) Animals including Humans (NC) Living Things and their Habitats (NC) Evolution and Inheritance (NC) Light (NC) Matter and Change (CKS)