Science

At Ewhurst, children enjoy opportunities to explore the world around them and raise their own questions in our wonderful grounds.  They are treated as scientists – learners who can find out about the world about them using our core enquiry skills. As part of the curriculum, they learn to ask and answer questions through practical activities and scientific enquiries.  They compare objects, materials and living things and, with help, decide how to sort and group them.  In some contexts, they observe changes over time and begin to notice patterns and relationships.  They develop measuring skills to gather and analyse simple data.

The Jubilee Garden, an area of our school ground where wildlife is encouraged and curiosity nurtured is an excellent resource where children can learn and flourish.  Our Forest School program further develops children’s love for our natural world.   Scientific themes, such as looking after the plants and animals in the world are explored further through other subjects including key literature texts and background reading.

The National Curriculum identifies five key areas of substantive knowledge for children in Key Stage One:

Plants

Animals including humans

Living things and their habitats

Everyday materials and their uses

Seasonal Changes

In all areas of scientific learning, children develop disciplinary knowledge through working scientifically methods, processes and skills.  These include

• asking simple questions and recognising that they can be answered in different ways
• observing closely, using simple equipment
• performing simple tests
• identifying and classifying
• using their observations and ideas to suggest answers to questions
• gathering and recording data to help in answering questions

They are taught the enquiry cycle of questioning, observe measure and test and conclusions.

They also consider the uses and implications of science today and for the future including learning about the role of scientists and how science impacts all areas of our lives.

At Ewhurst, in EYFS, children learn through the Understanding the World In Key Stage One, children follow the Kapow scheme, where six topics are studied each year.  The final unit each year is topic based and draws from all taught areas of the curriculum.

Click here to see our Science curriculum tree and progression of skills and knowledge.