STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths) is one of our key curriculum drivers. In our local area there are a wealth of employment opportunities in this field and we aim to foster a love of Science in all our children so that they may go on to study and even work in this field in later life.

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. Through building up a body of key foundational knowledge and concepts, pupils should be encouraged to recognise the power of rational explanation and develop a sense of excitement and curiosity about natural phenomena. They should be encouraged to understand how science can be used to explain what is occurring, predict how things will behave, and analyse causes.

At Ormsgill, We aim to make Science as fun, exciting and practical as possible.

We teach Science in cross-curricular Topics, covering Scientific Investigation and the requirements of the National Curriculum Programmes of Study:

• Life and Living Processes

• Materials and their Properties

• Physical Processes

Aims

The national curriculum for science aims to ensure that all pupils:

• develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics
• develop understanding of the nature, processes and methods of science through different types of science enquiries that help them to answer scientific questions about the world around them
• are equipped with the scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of science, today and for the future.

We also aim to:

• Develop enquiring minds who question the world around them and adopt a scientific approach to problem solving.
• Foster the necessary growth of scientific skills through the provision of a wide variety of differentiated activities which match the children’s needs.
• Encourage a positive attitude towards science.
• Link science to children’s experience and to everyday life in the community (and beyond), preparing children for life in the ever-changing technological world.
• Foster a sense of appreciation of the planet and an awareness of each child’s responsibility towards it.
• Encourage children to use scientific language throughout their work.
• Help the children appreciate the need for fair testing and apply this knowledge to their own investigations.
• Develop each child’s scientific skills such as measuring, observing, identifying, recoding, presenting, hypothesising, predicting, planning, fair testing, concluding, communicating and interpreting.