Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less. ― Marie Curie

Marie Curie (1867 - 1934) was the first woman to be awarded a Nobel Prize in 1903 for her contributions to physics. She was again awarded the 1911 Nobel Prize for her contributions to chemistry. Although we may fear the unknown, it should not limit our desire to understand the unknown.

Intent: What are we trying to achieve? 

At Crane Park Primary School, our aim is to provide a high-quality, broad, and balanced science education to all our students. We strive to secure and extend scientific knowledge, develop working scientifically skills, promote a love of science, and inspire pupils to consider a future career in science. Our goal is to equip pupils not only with the minimum statutory requirements of the science National Curriculum but also to prepare them for the opportunities, responsibilities, and experiences of later life.

Implementation: How is the curriculum being delivered? 

In order to achieve our intent, every year group at Crane Park Primary School will build upon the learning from prior year groups, thereby developing a depth of understanding and progression of skills. Our teachers promote enjoyment and interest in the scientific disciplines of Biology, Chemistry, and Physics, as well as introduce key scientists within each field. Children will have opportunities to explore, question, predict, plan, carry out investigations and observations, and conclude their findings using science-specific language, observations, and diagrams.

To support our students in their ability to ‘know more and remember more’, there will be regular opportunities to review the learning taken place in previous topics and lessons. Prior to starting each Unit of Work, children will review previous learning and share what they already know. Effective CPD and standardisation opportunities are available to staff to maintain high levels of confidence and knowledge.

Teachers at Crane Park Primary School will access a range of resources and planning from The Learning Challenge Curriculum to support their teaching. Educational visits and visitors will be utilised to enrich and enhance learning experiences. Highly effective assessment for learning will be conducted in each lesson to ensure that misconceptions are highlighted and addressed. Pupils will regularly engage in self or peer assessment, which will inform planning, preparation, differentiation, and address misconceptions for current or future lessons. Effective modelling by teachers will ensure that children can achieve their learning intentions, with misconceptions addressed within the lesson. Differentiation will cater to the needs of all pupils to ensure the access to the Science curriculum.

Assessment will be informed by multiple choice quizzes, observations during lessons, verbal feedback, pupil voice, and work scrutiny. Summative judgements (Working Towards/Working At/Working Above age-related Expectations) will be recorded in end-of-year reports for all KS1 and KS2 pupils.

Cross-curricular links with other subjects such as Maths, English, and Computing will be planned to enhance the learning experience.

Impact: What difference is the curriculum making? 

The impact of our science teaching at Crane Park Primary School will be measured by a wider variety of skills linked to both scientific knowledge and understanding, as well as scientific inquiry and investigative skills. Students will engage in meaningful, memorable learning experiences that will last a lifetime, gain an understanding of their local area, science-related industry, and careers, and have the opportunity to meet and work with scientists from universities and local industry. They will collaborate with children from other schools in our local area.

Furthermore, students will develop a richer vocabulary that will enable them to articulate their understanding of taught concepts, have high aspirations that will guide them towards further study, work, and a successful adult life.

If you visited a Science lesson at Crane Park you would see:

Pupils exhibiting a genuine enthusiasm for science, actively participating in lessons and showing curiosity in exploring the natural world. Pupils would be demonstrating positive attitudes towards scientific enquiry, taking calculated risks and learning from their mistakes. They display resilience, perseverance, and adaptability in solving problems and seek opportunities to apply their scientific knowledge. Our pupils understand the relevance of science to their everyday lives, whilst they develop a love for learning, and are motivated to pursue science-related careers or further study.

Pupil Voice: Pupils articulate their scientific ideas and explanations confidently, demonstrating a secure grasp of subject knowledge. They engage in scientific discussions, actively participate in debates, and ask insightful questions as they develop their scientific thinking and communication skills.

Year 2 pupil – ‘I enjoy exploring in my science lessons and solving problems. We recently really found out a lot about trees, leaves and berries.’

Year 3 pupil – ‘We can use search engines like Google to find out amazing science facts and information’.

Year 4 pupil – ‘I loved it when the light bulb came on when I managed to connect the wires together.’

Year 5 pupil- ‘My understanding of how the Earth moves in relation to the moon has really increased. We enjoyed acting out the solar system! I was the sun and didn’t move! Do you know how all the planets rotate?’

Cultural capital

As a school, we ensure our children are provided with extra-curricular experiences to enhance their knowledge across the science curriculum through workshops, off-site trips and themed days/weeks. These opportunities are carefully selected each year to provide diversity, promote scientific enquiry knowledge and to celebrate science museums and sites in and around London. 

How do the pupils at Crane Park Primary School develop the school values through Science:

We have created a set of values that we feel are critical to becoming effective learners. We want to enable our children to be ‘lifelong learners’ by following our lifelong values:

Aspirational - develop higher order thinking skills and question the way in which the world works, promoting their understanding and problem-solving skills to become future scientists and innovators.

Respectful - challenge themselves through the use of critical thinking and develop effective approaches to apply this thinking to make sense of the world.

Integrity - take risks, be honest and challenge their scientific thinking. We develop a classroom culture where we are here to learn and that mistakes are expected and corrected. 

Responsible - Call upon their prior learning and classroom support to embrace tasks.

Co-operative - confidently share their thoughts and approaches, instilling within themselves that they are valued members of the class.

Kind - show empathy towards their peers, establishing a safe and supportive learning environment.

'It is important to view knowledge as sort of a semantic tree - make sure you understand the fundamental principles, i.e. the trunk and big branches, before you get into the leaves/details or there is nothing for them to hang on to.'

Elon Musk