Science at Holbrook

Children have a natural curiosity about the world in which they live. Science teaches them an understanding of the world around them and introduces new experiences. We aim to stimulate a child’s curiosity in finding out why things happen in the way they do. At Holbrook we teach science through both the creative curriculum topics, drawing links to the other subjects, and through discrete science lessons, which use different types of practical scientific enquiry. This form of investigation helps to stimulate creative thought. Children will learn to ask scientific questions and begin to appreciate the way science will affect their future on a personal, national and global level.

The aims of the science curriculum enable children to:

• ask and answer scientific questions;
• plan and carry out scientific investigations, using equipment, including technology, correctly;
• know and understand the life processes of living things;
• know and understand the physical processes of materials, electricity, light, sound and natural forces;
• know about the nature of the solar system, including the earth;
• evaluate evidence and present their conclusions clearly and accurately.

Teaching and learning

At Holbrook, we make science enjoyable and accessible. It is a popular subject with the children throughout the school, from the farm visits in EYFS to space scientist visits in Upper Key Stage 2. We have invested in specialist equipment enabling practical scientific investigations across all year groups and regularly have science enrichment activities that have included science weeks, STEM ambassadors and extra-curricular clubs. Trips to Wakehurst Place, Sealife Centre, Drusillas and Science Fairs have all been recently undertaken in Key Stage 1 and 2.

As a result, children leave Holbrook with strong scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding of the nature, processes and methods of science.