Welcome to our Science pages

Our Visions and Principles for the teaching and learning of Science at Hampton Hargate are: 

Our team:

Science Subject Lead:  Clare Bayliss and Jade Griffin

Governor Science Link: Kwaku Adjepong

National Curriculum Science

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.

Science – Curriculum intent

Why we believe Science is important

Science is everywhere, we are surrounded by technology, and we all exist in a complex natural world both of which illustrates infinite scientific concepts. As children grow up in an increasingly technologically and scientifically advanced world, they need to be scientifically literate to succeed. We believe by providing a high quality science education,  provides the foundations for understanding the world through the disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics. Science in our school is about developing children’s ideas and ways of working that enable them to make sense of the world in which they live through investigation. We want children at Hampton Hargate to leave us capable, curious, inquisitive, analytical and enquiring individuals. We aim to do this by providing a curriculum that is broad, challenging and fun, and thus we can commit to increasing our children’s science capital, encouraging all children to see that science is relevant in their lives now and in the future. Teaching science to students is teaching them how to think, learn, solve problems and make informed decisions. These skills are integral to every aspect of a student’s education and life, from school and beyond.

Intent - what we aim for our pupils to be

• Curious and inquisitive thinkers who are keen to explore the world around them and to question the unknown.
• Curious about the world in which we live and understand how their learning links to real life situations eg; Farm to Fork Topic.
• Able to draw upon and build on their prior scientific knowledge in order to make effective predictions, explaining their reasoning.
• Equipped with accurate and appropriate scientific vocabulary so that they are able to communicate and contribute to scientific discussions, explaining their learning and different concepts.
• Able to plan and carry out a scientific investigation, thinking carefully about what equipment they will require and what recordings they could make, always developing their scientific enquiry knowledge and working scientifically skills.
• Reflective learners who can consider the science behind different concepts, able to articulate what they have learnt, not just what they have done.
• Able to evaluate their practice, considering what has worked well and how they would improve in the future.
• Effective communicators who can communicate their ideas, opinions, questions and scientific findings to others through both the written and spoken word using the key vocabulary where necessary.
• Involved in whole-school science weeks, cross-curricular enrichment activities where they can share their learning with other learners, parents and governors.
• Have the opportunity to find out about a diverse cross-section of famous scientists who have made, and continue to make, a huge difference to our world today.
• Positive and enthusiastic about their learning.

Science Ambassadors 

There is a science ambassador in each class from Year 1 to Year 6. The children nominated all have a love for science. Each class votes for the person that they think is best suited as a science ambassador for their class. The ambassador helps the teacher with anything science related, handing books out, getting resources, and also providing a great piece of science work which is displayed on the whole school science display. The older science ambassadors organise the use of the playground science bags as well as helping Mrs Bayliss and Miss Griffin run the 'Gadget Shop' during Science week! 

The science ambassadors  are a pupil voice for their class.

Our Science Curriculum

At Hampton Hargate Primary School wherever possible, Science links to topic work or other areas of the curriculum. Teachers have the professional flexibility to plan from a variety of resources, but the core of each unit is from the PLAN documents. The PLAN primary science assessment resources – www.planassessment.com – have been produced to help schools plan and assess effectively the science National Curriculum (England).

At Hampton Hargate we use the Teacher Assessment in Primary Science (TAPS) project from Bath Spa University to assess our Working Scientifically strands.

Full scientific enquiry, involving the concept of fair testing, will occur in each unit of work where appropriate. There will be many other lessons where aspects of investigations are reinforced. As the children progress through the school a greater emphasis is placed on investigative work. Scientific ideas should be developed through practical investigation wherever possible.

Investigations will always be followed by thorough reinforcement of the knowledge and understanding gained from the experience. Children will be given the opportunity to devise and implement their own investigations.

At Hampton Hargate we provide a range of opportunities to enrich pupils’ cultural capital. We believe that exposure, not only to culture but also to situations in which the children might not have previous experiences of, is of paramount importance to their ongoing successes.