Science

"Nothing in life is to be feared; it is only to be understood."

Marie Curie

At Bickerton Holy Trinity CE Primary school we believe that a high quality science education provides the foundations for understanding the world through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics. Science has changed our lives and is vital to the world’s future prosperity, and all pupils should be taught essential aspects of the knowledge, methods, processes and uses of science. We intend to increase pupil’s scientific knowledge, develop pupil’s working scientifically skills and enable pupils to build on and link prior learning with new learning whilst promoting a love of science. At Bickerton we aim to enthuse the children’s curiosity about natural phenomena and events around them. We encourage children to explore confidently and have enquiring minds in order to develop and deepen their understanding of the world in which they live, explaining what is occurring, predicting how things will behave and analysing causes. They learn to question and discuss science-based issues that may affect their own lives, the directions of society and the future of the world, encouraging and supporting the development of science capital. We want our children to appreciate how science has changed the livesof human beings and know that it is vital to the world’s future prosperity.

By implementing an inclusive, progressive and inspiring curriculum with real-life links, we ensure children have a meaningful conceptual understanding of the essential aspects of the knowledge, methods, processes and uses of science. We encourage children to raise their own questions for exploration and develop transferable skills such as observation, communication, teamwork and respecting the opinion of others.

By working scientifically, through investigations involving planning, testing, recording and analysing results, children come to appreciate the nature of the learning process and its practical application to everyday experiences. We aim for our children to have high aspirations for themselves and teach them about diversity in science including important scientists whose discoveries have impacted on the way we live. The staff at Bickerton ensure that all children are exposed to high quality teaching and learning experiences, this includes allowing them to explore our unique outdoor environment and geographical location which enhances the children’s knowledge and understanding of science.

Communication is key and we value the importance of developing spoken language during science lessons. The children are immersed in subject specific language to enable development and confidence in using scientific vocabulary to articulate concepts clearly. Teachers build the children’s foundations securely with discussion to iron out misconceptions. We aim to develop children’s sense of global and local citizenship through understanding the value and importance of making responsible, informed and more sustainable lifestyle choices that minimise our impact on the environment. By the time they move to secondary school, we expect our children to have a good knowledge of physics, chemistry and biology and to be confident in their ability to work scientifically, to think of and investigate scientific questions, and to possess the scientific enquiry skills which they will then be able to build upon as they progress through the next stage of their education.