At Thurnby Mead Primary Academy, we believe that science is about developing our understanding, enjoyment and interest in science so that we appreciate the impact it has on our lives and the world in which we live. We believe science is for EVERYONE and seek to encourage our children to make links to science inside and outside the classroom.
At our school, staff and children believe that great science happens when…
• It is fun and engaging, and linked to the real world
• Learning is practical and hands-on
• We are all involved in discovering, exploring and investigating
• Lessons are well organised with enough resources
• We are challenged to ask our own questions, experiment and make our own predictions and investigations
• We celebrate our learning and achievements and learn from our marvellous mistakes!
Our Impact In Science
Science at Foundation Stage is covered in the ‘Understanding the World’ area of the EYFS Curriculum. It is introduced indirectly through activities that encourage every child to explore, problem solve, observe, predict, think, make decisions, and talk about the world around them.
In EYFS, our children explore creatures, people, plants and objects in their natural environments. They observe and manipulate objects and materials to identify difference and similarities, and also learn to use their senses by feeling different materials including play dough, sand, water and soil. They make observations of animals, plants and the environment around them. They also begin to explain why some things occur and talk about the changes they see. Our children are encouraged to ask questions about why things happen and how things work.
During Year One, children develop their observation skills by planting seeds and by examining animals and processes closely. They are given opportunities to ask questions about what is happening and share their own knowledge with their peers and teachers. They are encouraged to present and share their scientific findings with their peers, and to make predictions about what they think will happen next.
Our children are also encouraged to identify and name a variety of common animals including pets, birds and marine creatures, and can explain what foods they might eat and whether that makes them a carnivore, herbivore or omnivore.
In Year Two, our students are encouraged to ask questions about their observations and share their understanding with each other. They use their prior knowledge and observation skills to help them explain which is the ‘odd one out’, and use their oracy skills to challenge or support others’ ideas.
Our children explore science through practical experiments and investigations. For example, Year Two students investigate how the shapes of solid objects made from certain types of materials can be changed by squashing, bending, twisting and stretching.
During Year Three, children are supported in developing testable questions and learn how to plan their own enquiries, for example; ‘What happens to shadows when the light source moves?’ Children are then able to draw simple conclusions based on their results.
Our children are encouraged to develop their scientific vocabulary further and seek to use scientific word banks in their oracy sessions and written pieces. Year Three children also develop their understanding of the human skeleton and learn the scientific names of the different bones in our body.
In Year Four, the children are able to build upon their prior knowledge to help them understand different processes in topics such as states of matter, animals including humans, and living things and their habitats.
Children work to understand and explain how the human body’s digestive system and teeth work, and can create their own diagrams and presentations to explain the processes.
Year Four students have opportunities to work practically and independently to explore their topics. They use their IT and oracy skills to present their findings for other year groups to learn from.
In Year Five, children work practically on inquiries, such as investigating the effects of air resistance, water resistance and friction that act between moving surfaces. Our children then use their mathematical skills to present their findings using graphs and tables. Children also learn how to write more detailed conclusions supported by the evidence they have collected.
Year Five students are able to utilise their IT and Literacy talents to research, plan and present podcasts and videos to share their learning with their peers.
Our Year Six students continue to build upon their knowledge on topics including light, the human body and its functions, and electricity. Our students learn to identify situations in which taking repeat readings will improve the quality of evidence, for example investigating the behaviour of components in a circuit.
Our children progress their scientific skills by learning how to use labelled diagrams to show complex outcomes, and are able to use their excellent oracy skills to explain outcomes and pose their own scientific questions. They also develop their abilities to identify and manage variables, and independently use appropriate equipment to take measurements.
In our DSP unit, our children learn a comprehensive, engaging and practical science curriculum.
Our children use a range of science equipment to conduct simple tests to answer enquiry questions. They are supported in asking their own scientific questions and ‘wondering’ about the world around them.
Our children also use their literacy, numeracy, art and IT skills to help them present and explain their understanding.
Subject Leader/s
Mr Harvey as Interim Science Lead