Dale Hall Community Primary School

Science

What does Science look like at Dale Hall?

Science Education at Dale Hall is all about developing an understanding of and making sense of our environment, primarily through experience, exploration and interaction with scientific phenomena.

The purpose of gaining this understanding is to enable pupils to take responsibility for their role in the maintenance of a healthy life and the creation of a safe environment; not only for the benefit of themselves but also for fellow human beings, animals and plants in our world.

Working scientifically extends and enhances a child’s natural curiosity and we encourage children to ask scientific questions about the world around them. Children are given opportunities to predict, observe, record and draw conclusions in experiments and investigations to nurture their natural inquisitiveness.

We love learning scientifically here!

Mrs Ross

This is how we ensure progression in scientific skills throughout the school and the topics we teach at Dale Hall.

Science Curriculum Overview Sept 2023.pdf

Scientific enquiry skills progression overview Sept 2023.pdf

We can tell you about magnetic forces.

1/6

We used mind mapping to show what we already knew and what we found out.

2/6

We love Science at Dale Hall.

3/6

Pushing and pulling forces.

4/6

Investigating magnetic forces.

5/6

Investigating magnetic forces.

6/6

Investigating and observing signs of Autumn.

1/6

Investigating and observing signs of Autumn.

2/6

Labeling body parts.

3/6

Investigating senses.

4/6

Investigating senses.

5/6

Celebrating what we have found out.

6/6

1/13

Investigating the positive and negative influences of plastic.

2/13

Looking at the water cycle.

3/13

Looking closely at the different stages of the water cycle.

4/13

Water cycle investigation.

5/13

Identifying the different parts of the digestive system.

6/13

Investigating food groups.

7/13

Thinking about balanced diets.

8/13

Investigating materials.

9/13

Investigating the different properties of materials.

10/13

Testing the suitability of materials for different jobs.

11/13

Identifying different animals.

12/13

Identifying the features of reptiles.

13/13

Mrs Ross

Science Lead

Science is a natural part of learning. I love to nuture children's curiosity and challenge their scientific thinking. With a child led approach, the Science curriculum at Dale Hall engages, motivates and challenges, linking well to our stories in the Power of Reading too. Science is a fun a exciting subject to teach and the children love how practical it can be by finding the answers to questions themselves. I hope to continue to nurture this ethos across the school.

Ways to support your child with science

Value your child’s questions. Enjoy talking about their questions and encourage them to share their observations and perspectives.
Explore and find the answers together.
Give your child time and space to explore. Children learn through trial and error, wait before giving them the “correct” answers. Finding out by themselves is much more memorable.
Accept that explorations can be messy! Children love getting stuck in and more often than not this can mean getting messy. Dress them in old clothes and tell them it’s ok to get dirty.
Learn from mistakes together. If things go wrong take advantage of this and refining your ideas and make new hypotheses.
Invite curiosity. Remember science is all around us, you just have to ask about it to find out.
Support further exploration. Follow up on their interests by expanding their knowledge. Visiting the library or a museum are great places to start.
Encourage your child to record their observations. Writing, drawing or taking photos are all ways to record observations. You could offer to write things down for them if they are reluctant to do so themselves.
Make good use of your electronic devices. Take photos, record sounds, use a website or app to learn more about a specific phenomenon or creature.
Use items you have at home to experiment and explore. You don’t need to spend lots of money on science supplies. There are lots of things in your cupboards at home that could be used to support your child’s learning.

We are really proud of all the exciting science taking place inside and outside of the classrooms at Dale Hall. Here is a small selection of what we have been doing.