St Vincent's Catholic Primary School

“Caritas Christi Urget Nos –

The love of Christ urges us to care for each other and strive for excellence in everything we do.”

Science

Science Curriculum Intent

Our intention is that all young Vincentians will experience success as a scientist through using and developing their natural, explorative natures throughout their time in school and beyond.

They will do so through making new discoveries, increasing their sense of awe and wonder at the complexity of the world we live in. They will engage with a science curriculum that enables them to explore and discover the ever-changing world surrounding them, engaging in exciting lessons centred around inclusive, hands-on, enquiry-based experiences.

They will develop a deeper understanding and curiosity through the transferable skills of communication, teamwork and observation, embodying a key principle of the science curriculum – to demonstrate and promote respect for all living and non-living things in our universe. Young Vincentians will be open minded, collaborators who share ideas, questions and results with one another whilst becoming critical thinkers when observing and understanding the world around them. The principles of science are reflected through the Vincentian Values which are embodied by both the staff and students here at St Vincent’s Catholic Primary School.

Science National Curriculum Guidance

Click link above to see the Department of Education's Science national curriculum guidance.

Curriculum Intent

At St Vincent’s it is our INTENT is to enable ALL children to thrive through the opportunities we provide them with, in order to:

Curriculum Context

St Vincent’s is a 1.5 form entry school with 285 children ranging from 4 -11. Children come predominantly from the parishes of Sacred Heart in Mill Hill and St Anthony’s in Edgware.

Children come from a diverse range of socio-economic backgrounds, speak 17 different languages and hail from 26 different ethnic groups. The curriculum we present, and promote, to the children is an endeavour to reflect these differences by providing opportunities to explore the different countries, languages and customs our children are part of through the projects they investigate. We have looked closely at the context of our school, the backgrounds of the children and how life is for a child growing up in North London today. We have used the underlying principles of our Catholic Faith and the example of our namesake St Vincent to create a set of values which lie at the heart of our curriculum.

We are aware of the changing nature of society and the pressures faced by young children as they enter the next stage of their education. The rise in Mental Health related issues has been widely documented across the media. Therefore, issues such as internet safety and the enormous impact across society of social media are at the forefront of our minds when planning our curriculum. With the current worldwide concerns relating to Covid 19, racial justice, equality and diversity, as well as gender and economic background, we feel it is our duty to prepare the children through a concerted focus on building independence, resilience and communication skills linked to our Vincentian Values.