Science

EYFS Development Matters

National Curriculum for Science

Science Curriculum Offer

Subject Intent

At St Edmund’s our Science curriculum nurtures children’s natural curiosity. Science enables children to explore and discover the world around them, confidently, so that they have a deeper understanding of the world we live in. Our exciting and stimulating lessons empower children to have practical and hands-on experiences which encourage and challenge their curiosity and questioning. Community involvement is an integral part of our curriculum, inviting families to celebrate learning new skills and sharing experiences. At St Edmund’s we want all children to communicate effectively, using their vocabulary and spoken skills, and work both as an independent thinker and collaboratively in Science to allow them to achieve to the best of their individual ability.

Here are some of the things we said about Science at St Edmund's:

"If you want to learn new things then Science is always there for you." "It helps us to learn and experiment." "It's very interesting." "It's fun because you learn new things."

EYFS

We have been learning about what happens in Autumn, by enjoying lots of Autumn related stories, such as, Shark in the Park on a Windy Day. We went on an Autumn walk, exploring Autumn objects too! We loved the spiky conker shells.

When Winter finally arrived, we loved exploring the frost, ice and snow outside. We have participated in a range of activities linked to winter and were amazed by making ice and watching it melt!

Key Stage One

Year 1 have been learning about Seasonal Change.

We explored Autumn in our playground, noticing the changes in the leaves. We talked about what we might see in Winter as the seasons change. Then we had a go at making our own snow... it was so much fun! We talked about how it is formed and what we need to wear.

Year 2 have been learning about Living Things and their Habitats.

We investigated micro habitats using a magnifying glass and sieves to observe mini beasts. We recorded and compared our results and then used our results to identify patterns. We researched what different animals like to eat, some of us found out that panthers like to eat rabbits, monkeys and lizards. Others found out that sloths like to eat leaves, buds and twigs.

Lower Key Stage Two

In Science this half term, we are learning about Living Things and their Habitats. We have learned to use simple classification keys to identify animals (and liquorice allsorts!)

We went on a 'Bug Hunt' around the school grounds. We discovered that most self-respecting minibeasts hide away during the winter months, but we found a few hardy creatures in the school allotment.

We finished our Science topic with an amazing interactive investigation into the effects of global warming and pollution on the natural habitats around our world. We were fascinated to see how these factors can affect habitats.

Upper Key Stage Two

Our topic this half term is Forces. We did experiments to investigate Gravity using newton metres, and compared the 'weight' of a Pringles tube on different planets with differing gravity.

When learning about Galileo Galilei's research, we created Pendulums and analysed their accuracy in timing an excerpt of music.

To investigate Friction, we compared the force needed to move different types of shoes. Using different materials, we compared the Air Resistance of parachutes, dropping them from LK2's balcony.

After a Water Resistance experiment comparing the time for different shapes of plasticine to sink, we created our own boats for a class race. Finally, we experienced how levers, pulleys and gears make a smaller force have a greater effect.