Knowledge and Skills
Our knowledge and skills documents provide a framework for the comprehensive coverage of the National Curriculum objectives. Teachers use these documents to plan sequential, progressive lessons which ensure children learn and retain key facts (substantive knowledge) while also developing the skills of working scientifically. Lessons enable children to work as a scientist to observe and gather information about the natural and physical world around them (disciplinary knowledge). The curriculum is carefully mapped so that children are given the opportunity to carry out the five different types of enquiry approaches:
- comparative and fair testing
- research
- observation over time
- pattern seeking
- identifying, classifying and grouping
The curriculum is designed to reflect the intrinsic relationship between substantive and disciplinary knowledge and is developed simultaneously. Teachers use the documents to ensure clear progression and make links across both the science curriculum and with other subjects. Opportunities to use outdoor learning, within the extensive the school grounds, have been included in the knowledge and skill documents. They also provide a framework for assessment.