Science

In Science, we aim to give children the experience of a wide range of practical work as well as developing scientific skills and attitudes to promote the enjoyment of learning about Science.

We promote critical questioning to develop children’s confidence to ask ‘Why? What if? How?’   We then give them the experiences to see if they can answer these questions and give them time to plan an investigation of their own, that they wish to find more about ‘What if I….?

Practical activities are supported by prediction, recording and reporting results through drawing, writing and talking. Results and findings are recorded in a variety of ways including written accounts, mathematical means and graphic representation using data-processing computer programs.

Children are given an awareness of the role and importance of science in everyday life, together with a consideration of the part that science plays in healthy eating and lifestyles. Science helps children to understand more about the world around them and encourages them to question aspects that they do not understand. We promote science by visiting farms, having guest speakers, visiting the Scott Polar institute, Zoology museum and other scientific museums based in Cambridge, having people from the NSPC teach us on how to care for birds and visits to scientific businesses.  We have enjoyed having science clubs after school and each year we have science days in all year groups to celebrate Science week.

The Scientific skills are highlighted in the units of work by each year group and science is taught through practical investigation and experiments. The school is guided by the National Curriculum. Areas of study include: (a) life processes, in which we can investigate the plants and animals in the school grounds and school’s environmental garden. The six school chickens have added another dimension to understanding life processes (b) materials and their properties by planning experiments and testing them in the classroom and the children’s kitchen and  (c) physical science creating circuits and recording with sensors.