We teach science as a discrete subject so children have the opportunity to think like ‘scientists’, understanding the subject as a discipline in its own right. Projects are placed alongside other subject projects where there are opportunities for making meaningful connections. For example in Year 3, the projects Plant Nutrition and Reproduction is taught alongside the art and design project Beautiful Botanicals.
Children at Greet Primary School are taught to work scientifically by being curious and asking questions. Children are given opportunities to answer their questions through different types of enquiry, including: fair testing, grouping and classifying, research, observation over time and pattern seeking
EYFS
In EYFS children learn foundation scientific skills through the specific area of Understanding the World. Early science skills are interwoven through every unit, through activities that encourage every child to explore, problem solve, observe, predict, think, make decisions and talk about the world around them. During their time in Nursery and Reception our children will explore creature, people, plants and objects in their natural environments.
Key Stage 1
In Year 1, children start with Everyday Materials, linking this learning to the design and technology project Shade and Shelter. In the Human Senses project, they learn about parts of the human body and those associated with the senses.
In Year 2, children begin the autumn term with the project Human Survival, learning about the survival needs of humans, before expanding to study animals within their habitats in the project Habitats. Building on learning from Year 1, children learn about the uses of materials in the spring project Uses of Materials and begin to understand changes of materials through simple physical manipulation, such as bending and twisting.
Lower Key Stage 2
Having learned about human body parts, the senses and survival in Key Stage 1, children now focus on specific body systems and nutrition in Key Stage 2. In Year 3, they learn about the skeletal and muscular system in the project Skeletal and Muscular Systems.
In Year 4, children learn about the digestive system, again making comparisons to other animals, in the project Digestive System. Children also study electricity by creating and recording simple circuits in the project Electrical Circuits and Conductors. They also build on their knowledge of the properties of materials, identifying electrical conductors and insulators.
Upper Key Stage 2
In Year 5, children broaden their knowledge of forces, including gravity and air and water resistance, in the project Forces and Mechanisms. They revisit learning from design and technology projects, including Making It Move and Moving Mechanisms. Their knowledge of gravity supports the autumn term project Earth and Space, so they can understand the forces that shape planets and our solar system.
In Year 6, the final body system children learn about is the circulatory system and its roles in transporting water, nutrients and gases. Children also build on their knowledge about electrical circuits from Year 4, now learning and recording standard symbols for circuit components and investigating the function of components and the effects of voltage on a circuit in the project Electrical Circuits and Components.