We are part of the Plymouth CAST family of schools. We are a Catholic school welcoming children of all faiths to learn and grow with us. The education and wellbeing of our children is at the heart of everything we do. Our Gospel Values of humility, compassion, kindness, justice, forgiveness, integrity, peace and courage are integral to our whole school community. We inspire all our children to do their best, be their best and have respect for themselves, others and the world we live in. Choosing a school for your child is really important for any parent or carer. If you would like to find out more about our school you are welcome to visit us to meet or wonderful staff and pupils. Please email admin@stjo.uk or phone 01395 264875 to book an appointment. We look forward to seeing you.
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Science

Vision for Science 
 
At St Joseph’s, we see Science as an interconnected subject which should encourage discussion, exploration and ambition.  We want the children to see the wonder in science all around them, viewing it as being relevant and purposeful to their lives.  Their science experiences should be ones which develop the children’s curiosity, knowledge and understanding, always encouraging them to think scientifically. We encourage the use of practical investigations as much as possible to allow children to see, hands on, how science can be used to explain the world around us.
 
 
 Science - Curriculum Planning
 

At St Joseph's, we have planned and developed our own curriculum based on the objectives from the National Curriculum. It is organised into half-termly units and lessons are taught weekly. In addition, meaningful ‘cross-curricular’ links are made with other subjects that help secure prior learning or develop learning further. It shows a clear progression of both substantive and disciplinary skills from Nursery all the way up to Year 6.

 

Some topics covered include:

  • Plants - identification, lifecycles, growth
  • Animals, including humans - types of animals, growth, lifecycles, digestive and circulatory systems, evolution
  • Forces - gravity, friction, magnetism
  • Electricity - circuits and how they work
  • Light - how we see, shadows, the eye
  • States of matter - solids, liquids and gases, reversible and irreversible changes
 
 Please see the whole school science curriculum overview and examples of planning from Y2 and Y6 below.
What the children think about science at St Joseph's:
  • I like it when we do experiments. I enjoy them and think they go well for me!
  • I enjoy working in a group - we have fun in our science lessons.
  • I really enjoyed dissecting flowers and melting chocolate!
  • I enjoyed learning about terminal velocity in our STEM sessions because we got to make parachutes.
  • I like that we learn new things.