SPARK in Action

🔬 Science Week 2025

At the start of Autumn Term (2), the children took part in Science Week, focusing on working scientifically within the areas of learning they are currently studying. From exploring their senses 👃👀👂 to investigating electricity and light 💡⚡, the children asked thoughtful questions, planned investigations, and carried out fair tests.

Throughout the week, they also enjoyed engaging workshops 🧪 led by volunteers and attended assemblies 🎓 to learn more about influential scientists and what being a scientist involves.

To conclude our Science Week, we held a special assembly 🏁 for our Whole School Challenge! The children tested rubber band–powered cars and balloon-powered cars 🎈🚗 to see which would travel the furthest. It was fantastic to see their creativity, teamwork, and hard work in action.

The children showed wonderful enthusiasm and curiosity throughout all the activities, and we hope they thoroughly enjoyed this year’s Science Week experience!

Click on the sections below, to view some examples of our SPARK Curriculum in Action

Celebrating Kindness, Equality and Sharing at Our School

During Autumn Term (2) our whole school has been exploring the theme “Kindness, Equality and Sharing – The Teachings of Guru Nanak.” Through stories, discussion, creativity and reflection, pupils from EYFS to Year 6 have taken part in a special RE focus designed to deepen their understanding of Sikh beliefs and values.

Across the week, children learned about Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, and why his teachings continue to inspire millions of people today. Each phase focused on an age-appropriate concept — from recognising special and kind people in F2, to thinking about how Guru Nanak’s messages can help us make the world fairer in Year 6. Lessons linked directly to our SACRE strands, encouraging pupils to learn about religion, learn from religion, and express their ideas creatively.

Our KS1 assembly introduced children to the story of young Nanak and the “true bargain,” helping them think about how simple acts of kindness can make a big difference.
In KS2, pupils explored how Guru Nanak’s message of equality is still relevant today, reflecting on fairness, inclusion and the importance of treating everyone with respect.

Broxtowe MHST: Supporting Wellbeing Across Our School

We are delighted to be working with the Broxtowe Mental Health Support Team (MHST) to deliver a whole-school programme that promotes positive mental health, resilience and emotional wellbeing for all our pupils. The MHST will be working with every year group throughout the year, offering age-appropriate sessions that help children understand their emotions and develop lifelong skills for managing them.

• Year 3 – Managing Emotions
  Pupils learnt to recognise different feelings, understand what might cause them, and use simple strategies to stay calm and in control. These sessions help children develop early emotional awareness and confidence in expressing how they feel. In addition, Year 3 also spent some time looking at a Sleep Workshop, designed to encourage healthy sleep patterns and the importance of getting enough sleep. (See link below)

• Year 4 – Managing Worries
  Children explored what worry is, why it happens, and how they can use practical tools to manage anxious thoughts. The sessions are designed to build resilience and support pupils in developing healthy thinking habits.

As the year progresses, the MHST will continue to work with all year groups, with the programme forming an important part of our whole-school commitment to supporting children’s wellbeing, helping every pupil to feel safe, confident and ready to learn.

If you would like more information about the Broxtowe MHST or how they support our school community, please speak to Mrs White (Mental Health Support Lead) or Miss Skowron (Home Liaison Worker)

Water Safety

Year 3 had an exciting and highly important week at swimming, focusing on essential water-safety skills. Alongside practising how to “rescue” each other using noodles, floats and plenty of encouragement — with “Keep swimming!” quickly becoming the class catchphrase — pupils also learned what to do in a real emergency. They discussed who to call, how to stay calm, and when to dial 999 or 112 to get help fast.

The children also experienced what it’s like to swim in their clothes and learned how to stay safe by using the star float, helping them understand how to conserve energy in the water. Between the teamwork, the laughter and the dramatic rescue scenes, Year 3 certainly made a splash. A superb effort from all our water-smart superstars!

Year 1 visited the Museum of Childhood at Sudbury Hall. The visit was a fantastic opportunity to apply and revisit learning from our history and science topics.

The children explored a wide range of toys from the past and compared them with modern toys, noticing similarities and differences. They had the opportunity to create timelines using toys and used their knowledge of material properties to help order artefacts, making comments such as, “This is dull and made of wood, it must be old.”

There was lots for us to see and do. We were especially amazed by the bedrooms on the ceiling!

Overall, it was an engaging and memorable learning experience that brought our classroom learning to life.

Pupils in Year 4 have had the fantastic opportunity to participate in an ‘Anglo Saxon Day’! They were visited by Mildred, an Anglo Saxon, who showed them how the Anglo Saxons would have fought in battle. They discussed the incredible discovery at Sutton Hoo and some of us even got to hold replica weaponry. Pupils also learnt the skills required to be an archaeologist and then put these into action discovering a multitude of intriguing items from the past.

Later in the day, pupils played two Anglo Saxon games, Nine Men’s Morris and Hnefatafl. They also heard some Anglo Saxon tales and took part in a Witan.

During the final week of Spring Term (1), the whole school has been diving into the imaginative theme of Hidden Worlds, using art to explore the amazing things that exist beneath the surface and beyond what we can usually see.

From underground habitats and ocean depths to volcanic landscapes, liquids and even the human body, pupils have brought their learning to life through colour, texture and mixed media. Along the way, they’ve made links with science, geography and history, turning topics such as states of matter, natural disasters and exploration into vibrant works of art.

To celebrate the children’s creativity, families were invited into school to enjoy our whole-school gallery, where pupils proudly shared their work. We were also delighted to host a special Paint and Sip event for adults at the start of the week, giving parents and carers the chance to get creative too and be part of our Hidden Worlds experience.

Foundation – For Art Week, the Foundation children explored a marble-rolling technique, investigating what happens when marbles move through different coloured paints across a large sheet of paper. To link Art Week with the children’s current learning on Space, we used this process to create planets. The children thought carefully about the colours needed for each planet before working collaboratively in their box groups to shake and roll the marbles around the paint trays, creating a range of exciting patterns. The finished collaborative artwork was then cut into circles to represent the different planets. We enjoyed comparing the different patterns that were created how to change how the patterns looked by rotating the tray in different directions or by adding differing amounts of paint to the tray. What a fantastic week.

Year 1 – Under and Over: Under the Ground

Year 1 embarked on an exciting creative journey exploring animals that live underground. From burrowing badgers to curious moles, pupils learned how these creatures build their homes beneath the surface and used this as inspiration for their artwork.

They experimented with two-tone painting to create texture, layering and blending colours to represent earthy underground environments. Children also developed skills in collage, drawing and cutting, combining techniques to produce imaginative final pieces. Their creativity and enthusiasm shone throughout the week.

Inspired by their history learning about the Titanic, Year 2 explored the hidden world beneath the ocean.

Pupils focused on painting and mixed media techniques, creating textured backgrounds before tearing painted paper to build underwater collages. They worked carefully to arrange pieces neatly within the edges, developing precision and control. The progress across the week was fantastic, resulting in striking seascapes full of colour and texture.

Year 2 – Under, Over and In Between: Beneath the Sea

Inspired by their history learning about the Titanic, Year 2 explored the hidden world beneath the ocean.

Pupils focused on painting and mixed media techniques, creating textured backgrounds before tearing painted paper to build underwater collages. They worked carefully to arrange pieces neatly within the edges, developing precision and control. The progress across the week was fantastic, resulting in striking seascapes full of colour and texture.

Year 3 – The Worlds Inside: Inside the Earth and Under the Sea

Year 3 linked their artwork to geography learning on volcanoes and earthquakes, exploring the hidden worlds within the Earth.

They drew inspiration from Georgia O’Keeffe, studying how she simplified natural forms into abstract shapes using vibrant colour.

Children experimented with a range of media before planning layered compositions. They used chalk, watercolour, wax crayon and oil pastel, reassembling their pieces to create bold layered effects, enhanced with black acrylic pen. The final artwork powerfully reflects the energy and movement of the Earth’s inner landscapes.

Year 4 – The Worlds Inside: Inside Liquids

During Art Week, Year 4 explored The World Inside through the lens of states of matter from the science curriculum, focusing particularly on liquids.

Pupils studied liquid-inspired artwork and different ways water can be represented visually. They experimented with watercolours and oil pastels, paying close attention to shades, tints, texture and fine detail.

Each child produced an individual framed collage piece. While all works shared a collage style, every outcome was unique, showcasing the children’s creativity and developing artistic confidence.

Year 5 – The Worlds Inside: Inside a Mountain

Year 5 investigated the hidden worlds found within mountains, focusing on the beauty of geodes and crystal formations hidden inside rocks.

They explored how crystals form in layers and experimented with watercolour, salt and pen techniques to recreate the marbled, layered appearance of geodes. The salt technique was a particular highlight, creating organic textures and patterns.

Many children enhanced the experience by bringing in their own geode and mineral collections to share, enriching discussions and inspiring their final artwork.

Year 6 – The Worlds Inside: Inside Our Bodies

Year 6 explored the concept of micro worlds, beginning with the study of macro art—where everyday objects are magnified until they appear abstract and other-worldly.

Their work was inspired by Australian artist David Clare, known for large-scale abstract paintings based on organic forms, bold colour and layered texture.

Using this as a starting point, pupils created macro artworks based on the circulatory system, imagining how veins, arteries and blood cells might appear when magnified. They experimented with colour, texture and materials to produce abstract scientific interpretations.

The final pieces are vibrant and imaginative, combining science and creativity to invite viewers into a microscopic world brought to life through bold artistic expression.

During our whole-school learning focus, “Ramadan: A Time to Grow,” pupils explored the meaning and importance of Ramadan through a range of age-appropriate lessons and activities. Children learned about how Ramadan is a time for prayer, reflection, charity and community for Muslims around the world, and discussed values such as kindness, self-discipline, gratitude and empathy. The event began with a whole-school assembly and was followed by classroom learning across all year groups, including creative projects, discussions and collaborative activities. Each class contributed work to our Religious Celebrations display, celebrating pupils’ understanding and respect for different faiths and cultures

Fooundation – We looked at the Islamic festival of Ramadan, we learnt about the importance of the moon to show when Ramadan starts and finishes, We used our fine motor skills to make fingerprint Ramadan moons. We also learnt Ramadan is a time to be kind to others and we thought of ways we could be kind at school.

Year 1 – The children were introduced to this special time during our KS1 assembly, where they found out what Ramadan is, why it is important to Muslims, and how it is celebrated around the world.

We learned that Ramadan is not only about fasting, but also about spending time with family, coming together as a community, and showing kindness and generosity to others. During Ramadan, Muslims are especially mindful of their actions and try to help those in need.

In class, the children enjoyed listening to a range of stories about Ramadan and some even shared their own experiences. To finish our learning, we made beautiful ‘Fanous’ lanterns, which symbolise joy and light. We are so proud of the thoughtful discussions and creativity shown by all of Year 1!

In Year 2, we learnt that throughout the month, Muslims focus on spreading kindness. We learnt that they often give to charity (Zakat) and look for ways that they can help others.

We thought about what kindness meant and that kindness doesn’t need to cost anything. We created our own ‘kindness seeds’ and discovered that by growing these acts of kindness, it can make us feel better too.

Year 3 – we discussed Ramadan. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting, communal prayer, reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed to have been revealed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. We reflected on the impact of fasting, setting goals and coming together as a community. As these things help us to grow, we created leaves with our ideas from our discussion. Finally, we heard from children in Year 3 that are either taking part in Ramadan or know people that take part. They told us about partially fasting as a child to reflect on all the things we are fortunate for and special events they partake in for Ramadan.

In Year 5, we have created ‘gratitude trees’, highlighting all of the things that make our lives so special. We have also been learning about how we can practice patience in our day-to-day lives and how we may contribute to society in a charitable way.