Our Intent

“Equipped with his five senses, man explores the universe around him and calls the adventure science.”
Edwin Powell Hubble

Science enables our children to find out about the world around them and how it works. We encourage our children to appreciate and understand the uses and implications of science, today and in the future. Science broadens children’s understanding of everyday concepts, patterns and changes, and encourages a passion for investigation. Through outside learning, they can appreciate the animals and plants with which they share the planet.

In Science, we hope to inspire our children by giving them the opportunities to pursue their natural curiosity; promoting the experience of exploring and investigating scientific phenomena in a range of contexts to ensure a continually evolving knowledge and understanding of the world around them. Our children will be encouraged to ask questions, experiment, reflect, make and learn from mistakes in a safe environment. Through this, they will acquire and apply core skills which equip them for an ever-changing world.

Science lessons at St. John’s aim to nurture our children’s natural curiosity and desire to find out about the world around them. We study animals, humans, evolution, plants, materials, forces, electricity, light, sound and earth and space. Wherever possible, our children learn through practical activities which encourage them to ask questions, collaborate, predict, investigate, observe, discover and conclude. Our children are encouraged, and are able, to use the correct and appropriate scientific vocabulary to explain what they observe and draw sensible conclusions.

Alongside our weekly science activities, the school has a well-established allotment and an ever-developing Forest School facility. The children look at plant growth and animal lifecycles. Our curriculum is further enhanced through our annual Science week and many visits to places of scientific interest such as RSPB Saltholme, The National Glass Centre, Wearmouth Nature Reserve, local woodland, local parks, the planetarium, the oriental museum, coastal visits and the Y6 Safety Carousel. To enhance our learning about living things, we also receive annual visits from The Farm Bus and Zoolab.

What do our children think?
“I enjoy doing lots of experiments!” Year 6
“I really enjoyed meeting the animals when Zoolab visited” Year 2
“I enjoy circuits and it will help me when I want to get a job as an engineer” Year 6
“Space is really interesting” Year 5
“The forest school day was great!” Year 2