Science

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Intent

  • Inspire and enthuse our children to explore and discover in science​
  • Encourage the children to explore and ask questions about the world around them.​
  • Enable our children to develop scientific skills and knowledge​
  • Encourage children to develop technical science vocabulary ​
  • Develop the children’s ‘working scientifically’ skills as they move through school.​
  • Provide opportunities for the children to apply their skills across the curriculum, including collecting, presenting and analysing data.​
  • Prepare our children to understand the challenges and developments we face in our society today and take responsibility to be global citizens

Implementation

  • We follow the Switched On Science scheme to support planning and teaching.​
  • Through scientific enquiry children are encouraged to be curious and ask questions about what they notice and develop their understanding of scientific ideas by using different types of scientific enquiry.​
  • Our science curriculum is supplemented by our Forest School and close links with Windmill Hill City Farm. We ensure all classes visit the farm each year for a practical, meaningful workshop, which links, directly to their science units.​
  • Our Sustainable City topic focuses on climate change and sustainability, which encourages our children to develop a love for nature and have an awareness of environmental issues, which affect our lives. ​
  • There is a clear progression of skills and knowledge that ensures children build upon previous learning each year. The curriculum is designed to further develop knowledge and skills in science and continually build upon prior learning.​
  • A vocabulary progression supports the progression document so explicit vocabulary is taught each unit. This is also shared on knowledge Organsiers, vocabulary pots and classroom displays.​
  • Science is taught through individual lessons or blocks of learning and for term two it is the focus topic.​
  • Knowledge Organsiers are created with key concepts and knowledge and key vocabulary. These are shared with parents and staff provide opportunities during lessons to refer to the knowledge organiser.​
  • Staff provide feedback to children through verbal feedback, marking and adapting lessons to address misconceptions.​
  • Termly assessments are carried out and teachers use this assessment for future planning.​
  • Where teachers do not have expert knowledge, support is put in place through planning support, sharing good practise and in the future science team teaching.​
  • Scientist of the term celebrates the knowledge and skills of children across the whole school​
  • A progressive curriculum that builds upon previous learning and enables our children to understand the main ideas and concepts of science as set out in the National Curriculum.

Science downloads

Science in action

Year 4: Electricity

Did you know you can  make static electricity when you rub an electrically insulating object against an electrically conductive object?  Balloons are made from electrically insulated materials such as rubber. When you rub them over your hair or clothes, electrons move from you to the balloons.  

Year 4 have clearly had fun with this experiment!

Year 2: Living Things and Their Habitats

Outdoor Learning with Year 2's: Micro-habitat hunt in our local garden. 

Year 5: Earth and Space

 Fun facts of the Solar system:

  • The Sun is a star.
  • The Earth is one of eight planets that travel around the Sun.
  • The planets are called Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
  • The solar system is also home to lots of asteroids, moons, and dwarf planets such as Pluto.

 

Year 6: Evolution and Inheritance

Children in Year 6 visited Windmill Farm.  Did you know when living things reproduce they pass on characteristics to their offspring? This is known as inheritance.

Year 3 : Forces and Magnets

Year 3 have been investigating forces. Did you know a force is a push or pull upon an object resulting from the object's interaction with another object? The children when outside and investigated how toy cars move over different surfaces. How many different surfaces are there in the school grounds? 

Scientist of the Term 2021-2022

Year 1-2

Nursery: Yeshwan
The scientist of the term is Yeshwan. He has been investigating magnifiers. "Everything is big!" 

Reception: Harry and Daithi
Daithi is a vey inquisitive child who loves to explore. He loved pouring the water and see if he could fill the cup at the bottom.

 

Harry is exploring by pouring water on the ramps, he used different containers and watched the volume of water flow.

Year 1: Maylinda and Manon
Scientist of the term in Year 1 is Maylinda.  She didn't know what her senses were and now she knows all 5 and can name the main body parts that we use for each sense.

Scientist of the term is Manon for showing a good knowledge and understanding of  body parts and the five senses during class discussions this term.

Year 2 : Seren and Omar
Omar has been chosen for our scientist of the term  for demonstrating a fantastic understanding of a life cycle of a chicken! Well done Omar!

The scientist of the term goes to Seren.  She has demonstrated and explained the basic stages in a life cycle including humans.  Well done Seren!!

“ Did you know in order for animals to survive they need water, air and food”.

Year 3: Yekshit and Aryan
Aryan is the scientist of the term because he has been keen to learn more about the human body, building on the things he already knows!

Yekshit is our scientist of the term as he always works scientifically and asks questions. 'What would happen if...'

Year 4: Molly and Breckin
Scientist of the term is Molly. She has been great when making connections in her learning and always asking scientific/thought provoking questions!

He always shows a real thirst for knowledge and an excitement for Science. Breckin knows and uses a wide range of vocabulary and can explain them to his class mates.

Year 5: Megan and Matilda
 Matilda is 5Cherry's Scientist of the Term because of the way that she demonstrated he understanding of life cycles by researching and then creating an explanation text all about the Life Cycle of a Sea Horse.

For her exceptional explanation text of the life cycle of a sea horse. She has focused on the reproductive cycle and use scientific vocabulary to further explain her understanding.

Year 6: Neshan and Maya

Neshan is Elder's Scientist of the Term as he shows he can work scientifically through his methodical approach, concise explanations and excellent questioning. 

Maya is 6 Sycamore's Scientist of the Term as she asks creative, thought-provoking questions - a crucial skill for a scientist!

Term 3

Nursery

Esme-Rene is the scientist of the term. She told us all about the different sorts of dinosaurs and their features.

Year 1

Addie has learned and applied a lot of vocabulary to describe different materials.  She has been able to remember and use her vocabulary to reason why objects are made from certain materials. 

Year 2 

Zaf and Emmy is our scientist of the term for working really hard in all areas of science and in particular using their working scientific knowledge to observe and ask open ended questions! Well done Team!!

Year 3

Angelo is very curious about how the world works and demonstrated fantastic team work skills when carrying out scientific investigations.

Year 4

Bennie: He has shown great enthusiasm when sharing his knowledge of the digestive system.

Bruno: He has shown a real enthusiasm for knowledge and got his hands dirty with our experiments to explore the human digestive system. 

Year 5

Isaac Reami for using his investigative skills to explore how gravity affects objects of different mass and surface area.

Ophelie : She is a curious and meticulous scientist and mathematician. She uses her knowledge across both subjects to push herself further and make links. She particularly relished designing her own experiment, exploring the effects of air resistance. 

Year 6

Norah is 6 Sycamore Scientist of the Term as she consistently approaches her work scientifically;  she considers the evidence she is presented with, she uses excellent scientific vocabulary and she works methodically. Well done Norah!

Milo is 6 Elder's Scientist of the Term as he shows insight and creativity in his scientific thinking; he has made interesting links between fossils and modern-day organisms, thought very carefully about the adaptations that some organisms may need for life in a changing environment and shows understanding of how adaptations may lead to evolution.

Year 4-5

Nursery Class - Angus

He loves exploring with the magnetic tiles. He likes using the light table to see how the pieces can be combined and the colour changes. He also explores with the intensity of the light using the light table controller. 

Year 1 Willow - Luka

For using accurate scientific language when making observations and predictions.

Year 1 Hawthorne: Charlie

Scientist of the term is Charlie because he has shown a great interest in our work on wild and garden plants, asking interesting questions to help expand his knowledge.

Year 2 Whitebeam/Hazel - Arthur and Elliot

For using their observational skills and their knowledge on plants to work scientifically! 

Year 3 Juniper - Naia

Scientist of the term is Naia because she planned and carried out a fair test. She extended her learning by presenting her data using a table and a block graph.

Year 4 Dogwood - Nuala

She has confidently shown her knowledge about insulators and conductors and able to use this to justify her predictions. 

Year 4 Apple - Finely 

...because he confidently used his problem-solving skills to create working circuits.

Year 5 Lime - Meg

5 Lime's Scientist of the term is Meg H as she is able to link her previous knowledge to the outcomes of experiments in order to ask insightful questions to further her scientific discovery.

Year 5 Cherry - Iniyah 

5 Cherry's Scientist of the term in Iniyah as she consistently makes excellent connections in Science, using correct vocabulary to explain her thinking.

Year 6 Sycamore - Daniel

Daniel is 6 Sycamore's Scientist of the term for writing a very well though-through conclusion.  He used the results of a comparative test, presented in a graph, to provide evidence to back up what he was saying and used his knowledge of materials to explain what was happening.

Year 6 Elder - Poppy

Poppy is 6 Elder's Scientist of the term for her well-written scientific report; she included a prediction based on previous knowledge, clearly presented results (in the form of a table and a line graph) and a conclusion with suggestions for further investigation.

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  • Windmill Close Windmill Hill Bristol BS3 4DP

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