Science
Science is a fascinating subject which we are extremely passionate about at Rustington. Children are naturally inquisitive about the world around them and so we aim to provide them with the vital scientific knowledge and investigative skills to answer their questions and start to make sense of physical, chemical and biological processes.
Our curriculum ensures that children experience a wide range of topics that enable them to learn and practice all the core scientific skills and use these to explore, make links and then relate discoveries to their everyday lives. Through their scientific journey at Rustington, children are given opportunities to form their own scientific enquiries based on what they know and what they want to know, using a variety of investigative skills. They become steadily more familiar with each element of the scientific method as they make their way through school. These skills include forming investigations to answer a question, making predictions, observing changes over time, drawing conclusions from observations, collecting and presenting their results in a variety of ways, analysing these results, evaluating the methods they have used and the reliability of any results.
As part of the scientific process, children learn how mathematical calculations and statistical skills can be used to interpret the results from enquiries they perform. At Rustington, we are extremely fortunate to have positive learning spaces inside and outside and the children use the wider school environment and local area to support their scientific journey. Throughout most of their scientific discovery, there are also opportunities to improve their literacy skills through reading, writing and learning of key vocabulary as each year group focuses on specific topics, utilising these key skills across the curriculum.
Located close to both the sea, on the south coast, and the South Downs National Park, as well as areas of special scientific interest, children have many opportunities to enrich their learning by experiencing a range of science focused locations, with opportunities to put practical skills into actions in the field.
At Rustington, we also encourage children to take their scientific curiosity home and explore their world alongside others, recreating investigations and maybe even developing some of their own.
Natural World Progression in Learning