Science Curriculum Intent Statement
Our curriculum begins the moment children are welcomed into our school and is comprised of all the carefully crafted decisions we make that impact our learners. Our aim is to prepare our children for their futures, enabling them to use their God-given talents to achieve their full potential. Thus allowing them to live out our virtues and take advantage of every opportunity so that they are best-prepared for their life in an ever-changing world.
We instil self-belief, courage and ambition in our pupils with our mission that:
Growing in God’s Love
At St. John’s we follow the Bishop Konstant Catholic Academy Trust’s Curriculum design for core and foundation subjects. This falls in line with our National Curriculum for teaching Science.
At St. John the Baptist we believe our Science curriculum provides a range of opportunities and enhancements for all our pupils. Within Science, this includes elements such as:
Children will enjoy educational visits to a range of places:
– Eureka Children’s Museum
– Magna Science Centre
– Tropical World in Leeds
– Coal Mining Museum
We enjoy welcoming visitors who can tell us about Science in the real world:
– Ian’s Mobile Farm
– Lion Learners
– Mobile Planetarium
We follow our BKCAT Science curriculum and enhance our learning using online tools such as Explorify and Zooniverse.
With Christ at the centre, we consider Pope Francis’ Laudato Si when we care for our Common World through our Eco Council.
We have formulated links with our Trust High Schools to allow our children to participate in a Science Day visit before they leave St John’s.
We also collaborate with other schools on the Great Science Share Project.
We pride ourselves as Scientists in school and so are taking part in the Crest Star and Superstar award schemes. We also award our Scientist of the Month to our budding little Einsteins.
We encourage our extracurricular clubs:
– Young Scientist
– Mrs G’s Science Club
As a school we will:
Build a love of reading for all pupils, using a broad range of texts.
In Science, we have literacy links for each of our topic themes and encourage learning of Science through reading a range of Science-based fiction and non-fiction. Examples include Moth by Isabel Thomas for Evolution and Inheritance (Y6); Skellig by David Almond and Can I build another me? by Shinsuke Yoshitake for Animals including Humans (All years); You are light by Aaron Becker and On a beam of light by Jennifer Berne for Light (Y3/Y6); The Tine Forest by Helen Ward and The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle for Plants (Y1/2/3).Show our high-expectations for all our pupils through an ambitious and inclusive curriculum which allows children to engage with their substantive and disciplinary knowledge in the classroom as well as learning about Science through the world around them.
Provide a broad and balanced curriculum for every child, ensuring learning is correctly and progressively sequenced, according to the BKCAT curriculum.
Use creative learning opportunities wherever possible so that children can learn actively and in innovative ways. Children love to engage in science investigation work where they can test out their skills and put theories to the test. The messier the better! We use the wonderful tool, Explorify, to look deeper into our Scientific enquiry, build our substantive knowledge and explore deeper questioning of the world around us.
Ensure there are opportunities for links and connections across the three areas of Science (Biology, Chemistry and Physics) and real-world experiences so that all our pupils are able to know and remember more.
Give our children a thirst for learning and the confidence to use their unique talents to contribute to society as respectful and active citizens.
Build resilience and courage as we prepare them for a modern world in which they can adapt, flourish and thrive. We help them to know the value of Science in our world and we show them that any one of them can be a Scientist by engaging them with Scientists across a wide range of sectors.