Science

Intent

At Keevil Church of England Academy we believe that science is a key part of a child’s education.  We aim to engender a curiosity about the world around us, and teach children how to find answers to their questions through a scientific process.  We follow the National Curriculum,  through our topics we cover a breadth of subject knowledge and concepts from all aspects of science – physics, chemistry and biology.  An important aspect of all science units of work is teaching the children how to ‘work scientifically’, and lessons across the school have a strong practical element. 

Our curriculum is organised as a progression which facilitates the re-visiting of learning through recurrent themes, such that knowledge and understanding becomes embedded in children’s long term memory.  For details of this see the document below ‘Keevil CofE Academy Science Knowledge and Skills Progression’.

We ensure our Science Curriculum is rooted in the vision and ethos of the school, through ensuring that as well as delivering scientific knowledge and skills lessons also develop the Keevil Characteristics:

Children learn the knowledge that helps them understand a range of scientific processes and concepts.  Problem-solving is an integral part of the scientific process, which is developed through an enquiry-based approach to learning the subject.  Diligence and resilience are required to execute investigations accurately and reliably, as is team-work as experiments, tests and research need to be conducted in collaboration with others.  Good communication skills are vital to present, share, discuss and explain findings and outcomes, as well as deepen understanding.

Implementation

Science is a core subject, and as such a unit of work is delivered each term in each class, following our school’s Teaching and Learning expectations and non-negotiables to ensure a high standard of provision.  The ‘Keevil CofE Academy Science Curriculum Overview’ below, shows how the units of work in the subject are mapped across our 2 year curriculum cycle.

Impact

Through the delivery of our curriculum children are enabled to develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics, that meets age-related expectations as specified in the National Curriculum.  They are equipped with the skills to ask and answer questions through scientific enquiries.  They understand the uses and impact of science in everyday life.  They are encouraged to be excited and curious about the world around them, and see science as the means through which to explore this.

May 2023
Year 5 and 6 took a visit to The Clarendon Academy today to further their Science learning. With the help of the staff and the resources available at Clarendon, the children were able to look in-depth at the heart circulatory system by dissecting it to look a little closer. What an amazing opportunity! Not for the faint hearted… 
June 2023
Here is Spring Class enjoying their school trip to Langford Lakes this week, where they did some learning to support their Science curriculum. They explored different habitats and had a go at classifying small creatures. Langford Lakes is a beautiful nature reserve which is free and open to the public. 
Human digestive system experiment.
Bowl- mouth Food - weetabix Scissors- incisors Water- saliva Fork/potato masher- molars Then mush and add in the Plastic bag - stomach. ...add enzymes and acid squeeze it together.
Then empty stomach into the small intestine (tights) to remove excess water...out comes faeces... Pupils should be taught to: describe the simple functions of the basic parts of the digestive system in humans.