Science at Cringle Brook
and at our other Trust schools
Intent
We harness children’s natural curiosity about the world around them by encouraging them to be inquisitive and excited for future possibilities in science. We aim to equip children with the scientific knowledge and practical skills in science to enable them to adapt and flourish in an increasingly scientific world both today and in the future.
“Science is a wonder. It's like poetry and music and yet people don't see it that way.”
Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock, British space scientist
At Cringle Brook we harness children's natural curiosity around the world around them by encouraging them to be inquisitive and excited for future possibilities in science.
Our science curriculum is based around the National curriculum. We aim to equip children with the scientific knowledge and practical skills in the disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics to enable them to adapt and flourish in an increasingly scientific world both today and in the future. In order to work as scientists in the classroom, children develop systematic scientific enquiry throughout their time at school, ensuring the skills are built-on and developed at an age-appropriate level.
Our Pupils Say...
What’s that? What’s this? How? Why? Investigate. Explore.
That is how our curriculum works! Each unit has a key question threading throughout and a key investigation for children must complete. Our children are positively encouraged to ask questions as they explore, investigate and experiment. Why? To think like scientists. Why? Because they are scientists. In lessons we might ask questions, predict, observe, identify, research, test, evaluate and make conclusions.
We do all this to develop our scientific knowledge and skills.
Our curriculum is progressive - it builds upon existing knowledge and moves through the three scientific strands of biology, chemistry and physics, with the concept of scientific enquiry threading through all units. We want our children to ask questions about the world around them, the one they live in. Science is taught every week and each lesson is between one and two hours.
Biology
In EYFS children had a go at feeling the swamp slime they made together so that they could really imagine how it felt to walk through a swamp for 'We're going on a bear hunt'.
They also had to rescue frozen sea animals from ice - first they inspected them to try and guess the animal inside!
While exploring different seasons, they went on an Autumn walk. They spoke about the weather, different plans and what you might do in Autumn like watch fireworks or carve pumpkins.
In Key Stage 1 children investigated the life cycles of different animals and whether your hand size gets bigger as you get older.
In Key Stage 2 for one of the units they study, children investigated whether human bones get bigger as we grow.
Chemistry
In Key Stage 1, children looked at different materials to make a waterproof chair .
Physics
In Physics in Key Stage 2, in one of the units they look at, children investigated the correlation between the brightness of a bulb and the amount of batteries in a circuit.
They also studied how refraction can affect the way an object is perceived through a glass of water.
So, what's next?
Scientists of the Future. Scientists NOW!
Our children will be the ones who help to solve climate change, create sustainable solutions to our current plastic problem, new ways to recycle more, save the animal habitats, discover a solution to pollution and invent a cure for a debilitating disease.
And where does it start? In our Reception.