Science
“The important thing is to never stop questioning” (Einstein)
At Olive School, 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 Olive School, we want Science, alongside STEAM, 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. 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.
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 take part in STEAM activities during the session
- Science Week is a yearly event at Olive School and is planned to address and develop the needs of our young scientists, alongside the national theme. In 2021, we focussed on science careers and invited PHD scientist Dr Hannah Baddock from Oxford University to talk about her involvement in creating the COVID-19 vaccine AstraZeneca.
To view our Science Curriculum Plan, Science Primary Curriculum Plan