St George's

Church of England Primary School

Be determined and confident,

as God will be with you* as we learn,
care and share through work, play and prayer.

(*Deuteronomy 31:6)

Be determined and confident,

as God will be with you* as we learn, care and share through work, play and prayer.

(*Deuteronomy 31:6)

Science

Our Vision

All that we believe at St George’s, including our vision for Science, is underpinned by our vision statement of ‘“Be determined and confident as God will be with you”, inspiring us to learn, care and share, through work, play and prayer’.

Science teaching and learning at St George’s Primary School should ignite in children, a curiosity and wonder of the world around them.  Our vision is underpinned by the belief that the science curriculum should foster a thirst for knowledge and create a learning environment whereby children are inspired and don’t want to stop. To achieve this, children are encouraged to ask their own questions that fuel exploration, developing their ideas in a way that enables them to make sense of the world in which they live through investigation. Opportunity is given to work collaboratively with different peers and to explore concepts through discussion, allowing for the application and extension of scientific vocabulary as well as demonstrating and recording their learning in a variety of ways. Practical hands-on learning drives the Science curriculum and, where possible, outdoor space is utilised in order to embed learning and allow for application of skills and knowledge. In using technology to enhance learning, we hope to nurture and develop scientific minds for both now and for the future. We believe these opportunities will create confident, analytical and inquisitive learners for life.

Principles of Science at St George’s C of E Primary School

These principles of Science were discussed with children and staff. Together, we created a list of core principle that we believe should underpin our Science provision here at St George's. 

We believe that Science at our school is at its best when…

We are working practically.

We utilise the whole school grounds for learning.

We are engaged, inspired and don’t want to stop.

We can remember what we have learnt.

We record our learning in a variety of ways.

We are all confident using scientific equipment.

We work with different groups and collaborate.

We have the opportunity to discover for ourselves: we ask and answer our own scientific questions and share our ideas.

We learn and can apply new scientific vocabulary.

We use technology to enhance our learning.

We can apply our learning to the world around us.

Primary Science Quality Mark

In May of 2021, St Georges submitted their portfolio of evidence to be considered for a Primary Science Quality Mark (PSQM). After years of hard work form all the staff in further improving the Science provision offered here at St George's, we were successful in our submission and have been awarded PSQM status.  Led by the University of Hertfordshire in collaboration with the Primary Science Teaching Trust, the award recognises and is awarded to schools who demonstrate commitment, dedication and expertise in Science leadership, teaching and learning. Look out for our new certificate in the reception area of school.

Our submission was rated incredibly highly by the reviewers who commented as such -  " It has been Inspiring reading the evidence that you have complied of a rapidly improving science provision. The profile of science has certainly been raised due to the implementation of a shared vision and principles for science. You have clearly embraced the challenge and celebrated the abundance of excellent work that is being carried out by yourselves and colleagues and you are to be congratulated. The portfolio provided in the core documents was of the highest standard." 

Resources for home

Here are a list of websites and resources that can be used to support you child's progress in science at home.

Explorify at home suggests science activities for parents and carers. It's based on the primary science curriculum, but easy to do at home with no special materials needed. Every week there's a different theme, with videos to watch and follow-on DIY tasks to try (they're organised by age and curriculum topics, but easy to do all together as a family of mixed-aged children). Look through the Plants, Properties of materials, Classification and Forces activities and get started!

Started by Michael Faraday in 1825 and now broadcast on national television every year, the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures are the UK's flagship science series. Inspiring, educational and great fun, you can watch lots of past lectures, about everything from maths and evolution to space and the brain, for free on the Royal Institution website.

British Science Week activity packs are bursting with science fun for all ages (you can choose from early years, primary and secondary packs).  You can also download Star and Superstar-level science activities for primary children and choose from projects based on chemistry (cheese-making), chromatography (ink investigations) and physics (bridge-building). Or why not have a go at making bath bombs and fizzy drinks or investigating what helps bread rise?

PhysicsCentral has been engaging children with physics-based comic books for years – so there are loads of issues available for you to read for free online! The story-based information comics (topics covered include forces, lasers and sound waves) are designed for KS2 and KS3 learners. For younger children, Color Me Physics is a physics-themed colouring book that introduces children to physics and famous physicists.

NASA Space Place is your one-stop online destination for space and Earth activities. Explore Mars on a space rover, bake sunspot cookies, roam across the solar system, find out why the sky is blue and consult a science glossary – with games, crafts, activities and videos to browse through there's something for every star-gazer, whatever their age.

Science News for Students is an award-winning online publication dedicated to providing age-appropriate, topical science news to learners, parents and teachers. The reporting is accurate and easy for children to understand, covering the latest science news and even the facts behind the science fiction in films and stories.

Little Inventors inspires imaginative thinking and problem-solving by taking kids' ideas, solutions and plans seriously. Experts and makers work with children to turn their ideas into reality, from the practical to the fantastical, and the results are showcased online and in books and exhibitions. Put your inventing skills to the test with a Little Inventors challenge – download resources like the Victorian inventions resource pack to get the creative juices flowing.