New National Curriculum science: Beyond the classroom Nicola Beverley Independent Primary Science Consultant

..\Osiris\David Attenborough - Wonderful World - BBC.mp4 Where’s the science?

The story so far… Original consultation document in 2012 First re-draft in February 2013, significantly changed as a result of work done by ASE and influenced by ‘It’s Not Fair’ ASE / Millgate House publication Second consultation on February version July 2013, almost final version September 2013 – final, final version!! September 2014 – full implementation in maintained schools.

DfE: New curriculum ‘ In reviewing the national curriculum the government has sought to give all children, regardless of their background, access to a high- quality curriculum, benchmarked against the best- performing nations in the world.’ ‘The National Curriculum is just one element in the education of every child. There is time and space in the school day and in each week, term and year to range beyond the National Curriculum specifications.’

DfE: New curriculum Aims 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.’

Principal focus of science teaching, across the Key Stages Key Stage 1 …is to enable pupils to experience and observe phenomena, looking more closely at the natural and humanly-constructed world around them… Lower Key Stage 2 …is to enable pupils to broaden their scientific view of the world around them…through exploring, talking about, testing and developing ideas about everyday phenomena and the relationships between living things and familiar environments… Upper Key Stage 2 …is to enable pupils to develop a deeper understanding of a wide range of scientific ideas…through exploring and talking about their ideas….

Science beyond the classroom ‘We must challenge people to think: Why learn indoors?’ Robert Brown MSP 2010 Tricky for some schools – and that’s where other providers can help support development by: Identifying the potential for outdoor learning in your setting Developing resources that might support children to learn outdoors when they visit your setting Link with, and listen to, schools, teachers and children’s as you develop creative and innovative starting points for learning. 7

O pportunities for learning, beyond the classroom 9 Highlight any references you can see to opportunities that potentially take children beyond the classroom…

The scientific enquiry process… Ask questions based on the exploration Consider how you could find out the answer to your question. Collect evidence to answer the question and consider how good it is Answer the question (if possible) Explain the findings Experience and explore the world around them.

Working Scientifically ‘Working and thinking scientifically’ is described separately at the beginning of the programmes of study, but must always be taught through and clearly related to substantive science content in the programmes of study. The notes and guidance give examples of how ‘working scientifically’ might be embedded within the content of biology, chemistry and physics, focussing on the key features of science enquiry, so that pupils learn to use a variety of approaches to answer relevant scientific questions.

Developing science enquiry Science enquiry...is what children do in order to answer scientific questions about the world around them Surveys show that in many primary schools science enquiry generally means ‘doing a fair test’ ‘It’s Not Fair’ – Turner et al, ASE and Millgate House Publications

Developing science enquiry Fair tests are the best way to answer questions like Does sugar dissolve faster in hot tea? Which is the best paper for wrapping fish and chips? How warm does it have to be before our lettuce seeds start to germinate? But sometimes fair tests are not appropriate When investigating things that can’t be changed or controlled, such as where daisies grow in the school field Or monitoring changes over time, such as how a puddle evaporates Or finding out about complex systems such as the water cycle or circulatory system

Working scientifically The Working Scientifically programmes of study identify five main types of enquiry Observing over time – children observe or measure changes over time Noticing patterns – children observe and record phenomena, carry out surveys or collect data from secondary sources and then identify relationships between data in their findings Grouping and classifying – children identify features or tests that help them distinguish between different things Fair Testing – children identify the effect of changing one variable on another whilst attempting to keep other variables constant Research – children use secondary sources of evidence

Types of enquiry TASK: Question sort Your group has a selection of questions requiring different types of enquiry (potentially) to be used to answer them Sort the questions according to potential enquiry types

Science beyond the classroom 16 Identify opportunities for learning beyond the classroom that link to the five different enquiry types.

Science beyond the classroom In your setting: What opportunities are there? What do you already have in place? What might be added to the mix? How would children’s learning be supported? Could resources be provided for teachers and children? Practical and otherwise? Could support be provided within and across this group? 17