An Aspirational Curriculum:

We believe that each child at Rickleton has the potential to be successful in any area of curricular or extra-curricular life now and for their future. The curriculum they access must be the driver of this in offering them deep learning and inspirational experiences in a broad range of areas. Working out where their talents lie and the things they enjoy are a huge factor in this and we expect that all children give their all in all lessons.

In September 2023, we introduced our 'aspirational concepts' to support children and staff to understand the key skills and knowledge which they are building when studying a subject and where this could lead them in their future. We want our children to be driven by their future possibilities and see each lesson as a stepping stone towards this.

A Clear and Well planned Curriculum:

Subject leaders have worked hard to ensure that our curriculum fulfills not only national expectations but also the learning necessary to allow a child in Rickleton, in the North East of England, to be successful.

By carefully considering how knowledge and skills progress, ensuring that learning carefully builds on and consolidates prior knowledge, children have the best chance to feel confident and successful in their studies and to retain their learning as they move forward in their education.

The documents below show what we want children to achieve via the subject and how we plan to make this happen (commonly known as Intent, Implementation and Impact). They also show how topics and and skills are planned to give pupils a deep knowledge and hopefully a passion for the subject to support their future aspirations.

Bringing Science to life

At Rickleton our children are scientists who love asking and answering questions about our world! If you wish to further their knowledge and excitement, there are many fantastic places in the North East to experience. Please check relevant websites to check timings and availability of anything you are thinking of attendingAt Rickleton our children are scientists who love asking and answering questions about our world! If you wish to further their knowledge and excitement, there are many fantastic places in the North East to experience. Please check relevant websites to check timings and availability of anything you are thinking of attending.

The Life Centre has an amazing ‘Science at Home’ section of their website where it shows you many great activities to do without leaving your home!

https://www.life.org.uk/whats-on/life-online/

Showcasing our work

We are keen to display our fantastic science work around school.  Shared displays can be found around the school as well as science displays to aide learning in the classrooms.

Enriching the Curriculum

Science visits and visitors are an important way to help children develop a love of the subject and hopefully increase their aspirations to pursue a career in science.

Y6 Science

In Year 6, the children have been learning how a circuit is affected when components are changed.  They devised their own questions to investigate and then investigated these.

Year 4 Science

In Year 4, the children have been learning about changing state. To do this they completed an investigation on the conditions required to melt chocolate.

Year 3 Science

In Year 3, the children have learnt about different types of soil and how they can identify them. They found out what soil is made of; air, water, minerals and organic matter.

Year 2 Science

Minibeasts and their habitats. 

The children in Y2 were very busy… on the hunt for minibeasts! As part of their work in science the children investigated ‘Are habitats home to lots of different mini-beasts?’  

To find out, the children explored different habitats in our school community garden. They completed a table to show how many mini-beasts they found in each habitat.  

The habitat with the most mini-beasts was wood. Under logs, inside wooden flower beds and hidden within bark the children found a range of creatures including woodlouse, snails and spiders. 

Year 1 Science

In Year 1, the children have been learning about materials.  They have used scientific vocabulary to describe a range of materials.  They have then investigated whether items can be made of different materials e.g. are all spoons wooden?  

EYFS Forest Schools

In Nursery, we have enjoyed taking part in weekly ‘Forest School’ themed sessions. Our sessions begin with a story and then we complete follow up activities, linked to the story. So far, we have read ‘Stick Man’ and foraged for our own sticks and made our very own Stick Man. We have read ‘We’re Going on a Leaf Hunt’, where we explored the school grounds for different sized and coloured leaves and we have also enjoyed the story ‘The Very Helpful Hedgehog’, where we then made our very own hedgehog hotels.

Forest Schools links closely with Science as a subject by focusing on the natural world around us, particularly looking at habitats and different animals types. In the photos you can see our children hunting for minibeasts, foraging for berries, Autumn walk to find leaves, using a range of equipment to explore the outdoor and observational drawings of the outdoor.

Extra Curricular Science

During the summer term the curriculum shed on the KS2 yard had a science theme. The children enjoyed learning about mini-beasts and handling the exciting resources available to use..