Science

At St Jérôme School we want to inspire our children to be curious about the world in which they live. Our approach to teaching Science is through exploring the natural world and through investigation and as far as possible our Science lessons incorporate opportunities for children to work practically. Our curriculum is based on the National Curriculum for England.

In Key Stage 1 (Year 1 and 2) children learn to use the following methods, processes and skills:

  • asking simple questions (for example, ‘What would happen if I didn’t give a plant water?’)
  • observing closely, using simple equipment such as a magnifying glass
  • identifying and classifying
  • using their observations and ideas to suggest answers to questions
  • gathering and recording data to help in answering questions

In Key Stage 2 (Years 3 – 6) children will study subjects from the disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics; develop further the skills learned in KS1and build on them by:

  • planning different types of scientific enquiries to answer questions, including recognising and controlling variables where necessary
  • taking measurements, using a range of scientific equipment, with increasing accuracy and precision, taking repeat readings when appropriate
  • recording data and results of increasing complexity using variety of methods including tables and charts
  • using test results to make predictions to set up further comparative and fair tests
  • reporting and presenting findings from enquiries, including conclusions, causal relationships and explanations of and a degree of trust in results
  • identifying scientific evidence that has been used to support or refute ideas or arguments

Many scientific words are identical or very similar in English and French as they have been adopted into these languages from Latin and Greek.

For more details of the National Curriculum for Science please click here.

To further explore Science at home we recommend the following websites:

www.bbc.com/bitesize/subjects/z6svr82

www.rspb.org.uk/fun-and-learning/

www.woodlandtrust.org.uk

www.crickweb.co.uk/ks1science.html

 

If you have the opportunity, we are very fortunate to have a number of exciting places in the local area to visit that will support children’s learning in Science.

London Science Museum – www.sciencemuseum.org.uk

London Zoo – www.zsl.org/zsl-london-zoo

Kew Botanical Gardens – www.kew.org

Natural History Museum –  www.nhm.ac.uk

London Aquarium – www.visitsealife.com/london/