‘Science consists of observing the world by watching, listening and recording. Science is curiosity in thoughtful action about the world and how it behaves.’ Nasa Science

At St George’s Science is one of our core subjects alongside English and Maths. Our Science curriculum fosters children’s natural curiosity starting with our very youngest pupils in our EYFS class. We aim to deliver an exciting and stimulating Science curriculum which encourages children to be inquisitive and develop transferable skills and a deeper understanding of the world in which they live.

We encourage children to discover, make links and pose questions ensuring that our pupils develop an understanding of the implications and uses of Science now and in the future. 

The National Curriculum Programme of study for Science explains the statutory learning objectives and topics studied in Years 1 to 6.

Social, moral, spiritual and cultural development.

At St George’s, children’s social, moral, cultural and spiritual development (SMSC) underpins our Science curriculum. Science teaching is invaluable in developing children as confident, informed future global citizens who are able to lead an active life in an ever changing world. 

Sometimes science and spiritual ideas do cause conflict but in a modern society it is important to understand why these conflicts arise so that we can respect the views of others and move forward.

Through Spiritual development at St. George's, we allow children to experience: awe and wonder, explore the values and beliefs of others, understand human feelings and emotions and use imagination and creativity in their learning.

Moral development is a vital part of any scientist’s development. Our children will need to develop a good understanding of it in order to delve into ethical questions but more importantly to become a good rounded scientist. Through Moral development at St. George's, we encourage children to: investigate moral values and ethical issues, recognise right and wrong and how to be proactive in society and globally and to understand the consequences of their actions past, present and in the future.

Science is changing our society. Life expectancy is increasing, people are driving more efficient cars, more and more people are putting solar panels on their rooftops. Our society has become dependent on scientific developments which we could not have foreseen 50 years ago but also our lives are likely to change significantly in the future because of our reckless damaging activities to the environment as a human society. We will teach our pupils to consider their impact on the world around them and start to look at what we can do to help the next generation have a habitable planet.

Scientific development comes from all across the world, from people of all backgrounds and cultures. Some of science’s most important discoveries have come from other parts of the world and it’s important for our children to understand this. It is also important to understand how the different cultures around the world can have different impacts on the planet and what impact more economically developed countries have on poorer areas. We will teach our children to: explore, understand and respect diversity, learn about and celebrate the role scientists have played in our society. 

Science at St George’s strongly engages with the following SMSC aims

• sense of enjoyment and fascination in learning about themselves, others and the world around them
• use of imagination and creativity in their learning
• willingness to reflect on their experiences.
• ability to recognise the difference between right and wrong and to readily apply this understanding in their own lives, recognise legal boundaries and, in so doing, respect the civil and criminal law of England
• understanding of the consequences of their behaviour and actions
• interest  in investigating and offering reasoned views about moral and ethical issues and ability to understand and appreciate the viewpoints of others on these issues.

British Values

Open discussions about Science, and evaluating others' work creates an environment that is accepting of different beliefs, opinions and abilities of others. Children learn about similarities and differences between themselves and others’ views in Science, and show tolerance of these. All of our scientific experiences teach them that everyone is important, and that everyone will have different life experiences and skills that we can celebrate and respect. Science requires a lot of teamwork, where children will take a democratic approach to working collaboratively, including making compromises and sharing decisions.

Protected Characteristics

At St. George's, we want to give our children an open, respectful and realistic mindset towards the wonderful world we live in and how this relates to science. We strive to expose them to a range of significant scientists from all different backgrounds related to the protected characteristics, and have planned for this in our varied curriculum.

Useful links and websites including things you can do with your child

Things you can do with your child in the local area related to science include:

Magna in Rotherham: Magna Science | Magna Science Adventure Centre (visitmagna.co.uk)

Chesterfield observatory in Newbold: The Chesterfield Barnett Observatory - Chesterfield Observatory (chesterfield-observatory.co.uk)

National Space Centre, Leicester: https://spacecentre.co.uk/

Think Tank, Birmingham: https://www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/thinktank

Useful website links:

Best Outdoor Science Activities and Projects That Are Fun and Engaging (weareteachers.com)

KS1 Science - England - BBC Bitesize

KS2 Science - BBC Bitesize

National Geographic Kids

Science for Kids - Fun Experiments, Cool Facts, Online Games, Activities, Projects, Ideas, Technology (sciencekids.co.nz)

Science experiments and activities to try at home:

10-of-the-best-science-experiments-for-kids 

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics activities (STEM) 

Through our carefully planned curriculum, Science lessons are sequenced to ensure children build on prior learning and wherever possible learning experiences are practical to engage children in hands on learning. Our teaching ensures pupils regularly engage with Scientific learning across the full range of enquiry types as they develop their core knowledge and skills. 

SMCS

At St George’s, children’s social, moral, cultural and spiritual development underpins our Science curriculum. Science teaching is invaluable in developing children as confident, informed future global citizens who are able to lead an active life in an ever changing world. 

Science at St George’s strongly engages with the following SMCS aims

• sense of enjoyment and fascination in learning about themselves, others and the world around them
• use of imagination and creativity in their learning
• willingness to reflect on their experiences.
• ability to recognise the difference between right and wrong and to readily apply this understanding in their own lives, recognise legal boundaries and, in so doing, respect the civil and criminal law of England
• understanding of the consequences of their behaviour and actions
• interest  in investigating and offering reasoned views about moral and ethical issues and ability to understand and appreciate the viewpoints of others on these issues.

Seasons

We’ve been exploring the changing seasons and harvesting and tasting our plums.

Blue print for success!

Following in the footsteps of astronomer John Herschel, across school the children had the chance to make Cyanotype photograms, the earliest form of photography. They created their image and then transferred it to the cyanotype photography paper. It was a rather cloudy day but around half an hour later the children could see that the paper around their image had turned from green to blue. This is where the phrase ‘blue print’ originally came from. 

Action against Climate Change 

As a school we understand the importance of looking after our planet and by making just small changes we can help to look after the Earth for generations to come.

After a very informative worship about the impact of climate change we made a pledge as a school to try and make a small change at home that will help our planet, things such as walking to school each day, having nights where we don’t watch the television and making sure we recycle are some of the great ideas the children generated.