SCIPS

Science stimulates and excites pupils’ curiosity about phenomena and events in the world around them. It also satisfies this curiosity with knowledge. Because science links direct practical experience with ideas, it can engage learners at many levels.

(National Curriulum for England; Science Programme of Study)

At St Christopher’s our aim is to enthuse children to explore and investigate the world around them. We follow the English National Curriculum guidelines for science and select from a variety of schemes, texts and online resources to support the curriculum. The resources we use include the QCA schemes of the work and the Ginn Star Science Scheme.

In planning for learning in science, we aim for a balance between the development of:

• skills
• knowledge
• understanding

Science in Early Years

Through play and practical activities children in the Nursery and Reception classes begin to develop their knowledge and understanding of the world around them. They are given opportunities for exploration and investigation in order to learn about materials and their properties, learn about change and patterns, explore similarities and differences, and question how and why things work.

Science at Key Stage 1

Children observe, explore and ask questions about living things, materials and forces. They work together to collect evidence and information from simple reference sources and use these to help them answer questions linked to simple scientific ideas. They evaluate evidence and start to understand the concept of a ‘fair’ test. Children share their ideas using scientific language, drawings and simple charts and tables.

Science at Key Stage 2

Children build on their knowledge of living things, materials and physical processes. They begin to make links between ideas and to explain things using simple models and theories. Children begin to think about the positive and negative impacts of scientific developments on the environment and human societies. They continue to explore and investigate and are able to design and carry out fair experiments, and to communicate the results of these using a range of scientific language and conventional charts, graphs and diagrams.