Snapshot of Science in Springbank!

As part of our Science curriculum, we ensure that the children have a broad range of experiences that link to the content taught in each year group. This ensures that the children have the opportunity to apply knowledge taught to real life experience whilst making links and deepening understanding further.

Reception

Swithens Farm

In reception, the children learn all about animal lifecycles and are introduced to the different stages in their life. To explore this topic further the children visited Swithens Farm to interact with animals and saw first-hand how they grow and develop e.g. from a piglet to a pig .

Year 1

Nell Bank

At Nell Bank children are led through four natural environments and sense-based activities. We learn how various birds and mammals have adapted to use their many senses in the wild. Our trip to Nell Bank allows children to learn first-hand how animals use their senses to find food, water and shelter to survive in the wild, and the habitats that home them.

Harlow Carr

At Harlow Carr the children go on a journey through the garden to identify and name a collection of plants from the smallest shoots to the largest trees and identify the important parts that all plants share. All children plant their own seeds and learn about what a plant needs through nourishment and care.

Snozone

In year 1, the children learn all about explorers during their history and geography topic. Throughout the lessons we also teach the children about different climates, seasons and habitats around the world providing the children with cross-curricular links to our science curriculum. Our trip to Snozone allows the children to experience how cold it must be if they visited Antarctica and the cold conditions explorers face travelling around the world as well as how animals may have to adapt to their environments.

Year 2

Fairburn Ings Nature Reserve

In year 2 children visit Fairburn Ings to build upon their prior knowledge of plants. The will explore the requirements of plants for germination, growth and survival, as well as to the processes of reproduction and growth in plants. During their visit they also discuss habitats and identify a range of birds in their natural environment.

Year 3

Skelton Grange 

In Year 3, the children look at different parts of flowers and learn about their role in the life cycle of flowering plants. Our Year 3 children go to Skelton Grange to explore this further and develop their knowledge surrounding pollination, seed formation and seed dispersal. 

Year 4

Veolia Trip

In Year 4, the children compare and group materials together and observe that some materials change state when they are heated or cooled. In summer, the children visit Veolia, a recycling center that creates cost-effective, environmentally sustainable solutions for waste to energy. Our children learn how rubbish can be sorted, reused and converted into energy that powers the recycling center.

Rodley Nature Reserve

Children visit Rodley Nature Reserve to learn about living things and their habitats. Whilst on their trip the children complete a carousel of activities which included bird watching, minibeast hunt and pond dipping. At Rodley Nature Reserve, staff highlight to the children the importance of habitats and that environments can change, posing danger to animals in the area.

Year 5

Tropical World

In Year 5 children visit Tropical World to learn about the animals, plants and resources of the rainforest and compare these to a native forest. Their session included activities in Tropical World's native woodland where children used their scientific skills to age trees and hunt for native wildlife.

Year 6

Yorkshire Wildlife Park

This trip linked to their science topic 'Evolution and Inheritance'. During the session, the children learn about Charles Darwin and his study on Galapagos Finches. The children learn about how adaptations are passed down through genetics and have a go at creating our own animals using adaptations seen in nature. 

Science and Media Museum

Our KS2 children visit the Science and Media Museum. They start their day with a visit to the Bring the Thunder workshop where they recapped their learning around sound. The children looked at how sound is made through vibrations and how they travel through gases, liquid and solids. As part of the workshop, the children created scenes from Star Wars and created a thunderstorm just using body percussion. After the workshop, the children get a chance to explore the museum itself.