Science at St Nicholas
What does Science look like at St Nicholas?
Science is one of the Core subjects taught here at St Nicholas. Science is taught both discreetly within cross curricular activities and more directly throughout the children’s time at St Nicholas School.
Science begins in Reception and Year 1 and 2 (Key stage 1) where we learn through the EYFS Curriculum under the title of Understanding the World. Activities such as Cooking, Computing, Outdoor Learning sessions, PE and Attention Autism all provide opportunities for children to explore, problem solve, observe, predict, think, make decisions and talk about the world around them. During these first years at school our children will explore creatures, people, plants and objects in their natural environments. They will observe and manipulate objects and materials to identify differences and similarities. They will also learn to use their senses in activities such as feeling dough or listening to sounds in the environment such as sirens or different animals.
Children are encouraged to communicate their observations of animals, plants and talk about why things may occur and talk about or answer questions about changes observed. Many of children use symbols, PECS and Makaton to enhance their communication and for them to record their findings and these methods are valued, respected and encouraged across all areas of the curriculum.
As children progress to Key stage 2 they still need the hands-on experiences to learn about different Scientific concepts and these are provided by highly skilled teachers following the Science Schemes of work we have, who provide fun learning activities that include all the learning directed by the National Curriculum. This may include activities such as increasing the incline of a slope to observe how fast a vehicle travels, or opening a mechanical toy to see how it works. Children will also be asked questions about what they think will happen to help them communicate, plan, investigate, record and evaluate findings.
We celebrate Science Week each year to encourage children's love for science and to engage them in lots of exciting experiments.
