Science

Through an enquiry-based approach, teachers pose scientific questions for children to explore, investigate and reflect upon. Science is taught progressively, in line with the National Curriculum and end of year expectations. Across the year, children also take part in STEM week to further enhance their scientific knowledge and enquiry skills through working with outside educational agencies.

We are very proud to have gained the Silver Award Primary Science Quality Mark for another year and are dedicated to maintaining an effective, confident science leadership for whole school impact on standards in the teaching and learning of Science.

Please see below for our Science Overviews.

For each unit within our Science curriculum, we have created Knowledge Organisers to highlight the key scientific concepts, facts and vocabulary our children will know and understand by the end of a unit. We build upon children’s vocabulary each year when revisiting areas within Science.

Please see below for our Knowledge Organisers for each unit within each year group.

EYFS Science

The Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum supports children’s understanding of Science through the planning and teaching of ‘Understanding the World.’ Children find out about objects, materials and living things using all of their senses looking at similarities, differences, patterns and change. Both the environment and skilled practitioners foster curiosity and encourage explorative play, children are motivated to ask questions about why things happen and how things work. Our children are encouraged to use their natural environment around them to explore. Children enjoy spending time outdoors exploring mini-beasts and their habitats, observing the changing seasons, plants and animals. Children regularly participate in cookery and baking sessions which allows them to experience changes in state as ingredients are mixed, heated and cooled.

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Year 6

Our children love taking part in experiments and investigations, working scientifically to explore key questions and then draw conclusions. Please take a look at some examples of work below.

Stem Week

Each year in school, we take part in STEM week, which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. During this week, children take part in a range of practical investigations and activities across often to explore answers to scientific enquiries whilst also learning about careers within these four areas. We often have visitors in school to deliver workshops and work with the children and some of our older children in Year 5 and 6 set up and supervise small experiments with other children. We work closely with our feeder secondary school, North Durham Academy who loan us more complex scientific equipment and resources.