Science
The science curriculum is led by Zamiya Shire. We work hard to ensure that the children have a range of exciting science opportunities whilst at Vittoria, so that children develop into confident scientists with questioning minds.
Our Science Principles
At Vittoria we have drawn up a set of principles that guide our science. Staff, pupils and governors were involved in discussions about these principles:
Science helps us understand the world; how things work, why things happen and how we can change things. At Vittoria our science is interactive, practical and child-led, encouraging curiosity, responsibility and independence. We live in a fast changing world without borders, where it is important that our pupils are equipped for the science related jobs of the future and the challenges they will face.
At Vittoria:
- Science inspires and develops curiosity about the world, encouraging children to ask questions and think of themselves as capable scientists.
- Science develops children’s independence in investigation skills, promoting good team work and scientific reasoning.
- Children’s learning is related to real life situations and experiences, taking place outside as well as inside, including meeting scientists and going on science related visits.
- Science is fun and hands on, developing a love of science.
- Staff feel secure in their subject knowledge and can pass their enthusiasm onto the children.
How we implement this at Vittoria
We follow the National Science Curriculum objectives and have over time developed our own scheme of work to meet the needs of our pupils. We benefit from having a specialist Science teacher, who has taught all year groups. This has allowed us to have a clear overview of progression and ensures that Science topics are sequenced in an order that helps children develop a deeper understanding of the key concepts and enables them to, over time, make links between concepts.
We firmly believe that children learn through practical experiences, so they can observe phenomena, acquire new vocabulary, experience using scientific equipment and carry out different types of investigations. We choose these experiences carefully, to ensure the learning is purposeful and directly linked to the curriculum objectives.
We have participated in a research project run by UCL/Kings developing a Science Capital approach for primary schools. This has helped us adapt our teaching to ensure we start with the children and their experiences, which in turn develops their curiosity and engagement. Watch here to see the impact it has had on teaching at our school. We seek to develop the science capital of our children and families through the way we plan and implement our curriculum, and through the enrichment activities we offer.
Pupils in KS2 have a minimum of two hours science a week and KS1 one and half hours.
We have been awarded two quality marks for science: the Primary Science Quality Mark Outreach and the Space Education Gold Quality Mark. These demonstrate that not only is science a strength of the school, but also that we support other schools in sharing our best practice.
What is the impact of this?
The impact of this curriculum design will lead to outstanding progress over time, across key stages, relative to a child’s individual starting point and their progression of knowledge and skills. We want them to not only have acquired the appropriate age related knowledge linked to the science curriculum, but also skills which equip them to progress from their starting points and within their everyday lives.
You can follow what the children are doing in Science on Twitter @ScienceVittoria
