SCIENCE
Science teaches an understanding of world around us. At St. Joseph's we aim to stimulate a child’s curiosity in finding out why things happen in the way that they do. We teach methods of enquiry and investigation to stimulate thought and ways to communicate their investigations and ideas. Children learn to ask scientific questions and begin to reflect upon and appreciate the relevance of their discoveries to the world in which they live.
Aims
As a Catholic school, our aim at St Joseph's is to develop a caring child who respects God’s creations. We hope to do this through the following aims:
- Encourage children to develop favourable attitudes towards Science and a respect for all the world in which they live.
- Encourage children to develop their natural curiosity by experiencing science in an exciting way.
- Helping children to acquire and develop scientific knowledge and develop basic scientific concepts.
- Allowing children to develop their skills in thinking and working scientifically through observing, predicting, investigating and applying.
- Present materials and ideas with which children can identify to promote a sense of excitement and wonder about the world.
EYFS
Science in the EYFS is part of the topic work covered during the year. As the reception class are part of the foundation stage curriculum we relate the scientific aspects of the children’s work to the objectives set out in the EYFS Development Matters and Early Learning goals. These underpin the curriculum planning for children aged three to five in developing their knowledge and understanding of the world.
Please also refer to the EYFS Development Matters and our EYFS Curriculum Policy
Key Stage 1 and 2
We use a balance of teaching and learning methods in our science lessons. This is done through:
- Whole class teaching where teachers encourage and lead the children in the correct use of scientific terminology and concepts.
- Group work where children have the opportunity to work together to investigate and explain the results of their investigations through scientific based research activities.
- Children have the opportunity to use a variety of data such as statistics, graphs, pictures and photographs.
- Children are encouraged to communicate their findings using a variety of methods including verbal and written reports the use of graphs and tables, and ICT (digital cameras and video recorders) as appropriate to their age and ability.
We plan on a long and medium term basis. Planning is used to:
- Set clear, learning objectives and achievable goals
- Ensure work is matched to pupil’s abilities, experience and interests.
- Ensure progression, continuity and subject coverage throughout the school. To ensure that all pupils have equal access to the science curriculum.
- Ensure safety is taken into account.
Long Term Overview Science
Useful Links
Knowledge and Skills Progression
Discovery Education Espresso Primary
What we say about Science at St Joseph's.....
I love science because I love experiments and I love it.
It is fun and exciting.
I like doing the experiments and finding out new things that I have never noticed before.
I enjoy how we learn new things.
I like how we study various interesting topics such as electricity and physics
I really like the experiments we do. We learn how things work, like volcanoes. We can make ice cream without a fridge.
British Science Week 2022
Silly Science Workshop
To celebrate the start of British Science Week 2022, St Joseph's enjoyed a fantastic workshop, showing the children a range of exciting experiments. They learnt lots about gravity, energy and fire safety!
