West Wycombe School’s science curriculum aims to give all children a strong understanding of the world around them whilst acquiring specific skills and knowledge to help them to think scientifically, to gain an understanding of scientific processes and also an understanding of the uses and implications of Science, today and for the future.
At West Wycombe School, scientific enquiry skills are embedded in each topic the children study and these topics are revisited and developed throughout their time at school. Topics, such as Plants, are taught in Key Stage One and studied again in further detail in Key Stage Two. This model allows children to build upon their prior knowledge and increases their enthusiasm for the topics whilst embedding this procedural knowledge into the long-term memory.
All children are encouraged to develop and use a range of skills including observations, planning and investigations, as well as being encouraged to question the world around them and become independent learners in exploring possible answers for their scientific based questions. Specialist vocabulary for topics is taught and built up, and effective questioning to communicate ideas is encouraged. Concepts taught are reinforced by focusing on the key features of scientific enquiry, so that pupils learn to use a variety of approaches to answer relevant scientific questions.
At West Wycombe School, pupils will develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics. Pupils will be equipped with the scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of science, today and for the future.
Pupils at West Wycombe School will develop an 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. These types of scientific enquiry include observing over time; pattern seeking; identifying, classifying and grouping; comparative and fair testing (controlled investigations), and researching using secondary sources. Pupils will develop spoken language cognitively, socially and linguistically. The quality and variety of language that pupils hear and speak are key factors in developing their scientific vocabulary and articulating scientific concepts clearly and precisely.