Science 
Why is science important? At Paddocks, we believe that a high-quality Science education provides the foundations for understanding the world; Science has changed our lives and is vital to the world’s future prosperity, and all pupils should be taught essential aspects of the knowledge, methods, processes and uses of Science.
As the children progress through the school, they build up a body of key knowledge, vocabulary and concepts and are encouraged to recognise the power of rational explanation and develop a sense of excitement and curiosity about natural phenomena.
Our Vision
At Paddocks, we are inspiring the children to become the scientists of the future. Pupils are encouraged to understand how Science can be used to explain what is occurring, predict how things will behave, and analyse causes. We aspire to promote children’s independence and encourage all children to take responsibility for their own learning in the subject; through this, they will develop transferable skills which equip them for an ever-changing world and motivate them to keep asking questions and finding answers to problems that need solving.
What does Science look like at Paddocks?
Science in our school is about developing children’s ideas and ways of working that enable them to make sense of the world in which they live through investigation, as well as using, applying and learning skills in all three disciplines of Biology, Physics and Chemistry. We ensure that all children are exposed to high quality teaching and learning experiences, which allow children to develop their scientific enquiry and investigative skills. They are immersed in scientific vocabulary, which aids children’s knowledge and understanding not only of the topic they are studying, but of the world around them. Planning for Science is a process in which all teachers are involved to ensure that the school gives full coverage of the National Curriculum and ‘Understanding of the World’ in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Science is either linked to class topics or taught as discrete units and teachers plan to suit their children’s interests, current events, their own teaching style, the use of any support staff and the resources available. As children progress throughout the school, more time is devoted each week to the teaching of Science, up to a maximum of 2 hours.
What do our pupils think?
“I loved making a house with lights and a door bell.”
“It was funny when the man came in and we looked at wee!”
“I enjoyed finding out about the bugs that live in the classroom and on our hands.”
“I thought it was fun to look at the rocks and fossils.”
“I like doing practical work and finding stuff out.”
Progression
Biology |
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Animals incl. humans |
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Yr1
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Yr2
- Ducklings –
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Yr3
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Yr4 Digestive system. Tooth decay
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Yr5 life cycle of human beings including reproduction
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Yr6 Circulatory System
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Plants |
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Yr1 identify and name a variety of common wild and garden plants, including deciduous and evergreen trees
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Yr2 - Growing cress seeds.
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Yr3
explore the part that flowers play in the life cycle of flowering plants, including pollination, seed formation and seed dispersal |
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Biology |
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Living things and their habitats |
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Yr2 Identify habitats and the living things that are suited to live there. - Identify plants which grow in a specific area
- Explore and compare the differences between things that are living, dead, and things that have never been alive |
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Yr4 Classifying living things
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Yr5 Lifecycles: Describe the differences in the life cycles of an amphibian, an insect and a bird
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Yr6 Micro-organisms: -describe how living things are classified into broad groups according to common observable characteristics and based on similarities and differences, including micro-organisms, plants and animals
Give reasons for classifying plants and animals based on specific characteristics. |
Biology |
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Evolution and Inheritance |
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Yr6 Evolution
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Physics |
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Materials |
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Yr2 - Identify and compare the suitability of a variety of materials, including wood, metal, plastic, glass, brick, rock, paper and cardboard for particular uses (Our homes, what are they made of and why? Local walk.) - Find out how shapes of solid objects made from some materials can be changed.
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Yr3 Rocks
recognise that soils are made from rocks and organic matter |
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Physics |
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Seasonal changes |
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Physics |
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Light |
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Yr3
find patterns in the way that the size of shadows change
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Yr6 Light: - recognise that light appears to travel in straight lines - use the idea that light travels in straight lines to explain that objects are seen because they give out or reflect light into the eye -explain that we see things because light travels from light sources to our eyes or from light sources to objects and then to our eyes -use the idea that light travels in straight lines to explain why shadows have the same shape as the objects that cast them. |
Physics |
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Forces and Magnets |
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Yr3 Forces
predict whether 2 magnets will attract or repel each other, depending on which poles are facing |
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Yr5 Forces: gravity, air/ water resistance and friction, levers, pulleys and gears
recognise that some mechanisms including levers, pulleys and gears allow a smaller force to have a greater effect |
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Physics |
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Electricity |
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Yr4 Electricity Everyday objects. Circuits
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Yr6 Electricity: -associate the brightness of a lamp or the volume of a buzzer with the number and voltage of cells used in the circuit -compare and give reasons for variations in how components function, including the brightness of bulbs, the loudness of buzzers and the on/off position of switches - use recognised symbols when representing a simple circuit in a diagram. |
Physics |
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Sound |
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Yr4 Sound
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Physics |
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States of Matter |
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Yr4 States of matter Heating and cooling. Investigate gases.
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Physics |
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Earth and Space |
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Yr5 Earth and Space: the movement of the Earth and other planets relative to the sun, the moon in relation to the Earth, rotation of the Earth and explaining day and night.
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Chemistry |
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Properties and Changes of Materials |
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Yr 5 Properties of Materials: comparison of everyday materials, separation of mixtures
know that some materials will dissolve in liquid to form a solution, and describe how to recover a substance from a solution
explain that some changes result in the formation of new materials, and that this kind of change is not usually reversible, including changes associated with burning and the action of acid on bicarbonate of soda Properties of Materials: knowledge of solids, liquids and gases, dissolving and changes of state
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