Our vision is to foster a lifelong love of science for our pupils by creating curious and reflective thinkers who question the world around them. We aim to build upon our children’s inquisitive nature and we value the importance of resilience.
“I haven’t failed; I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas Edison
Curriculum Rationale
The science curriculum is coherent and progressive enabling pupils to deepen their knowledge and understanding of the world around them. Through our progressive sequence of teaching and learning, we ensure children gain an understanding of scientific processes and build on their understanding of the uses and implications of science, today and for the future.
The order of the science units has been carefully planned so that children are able to reactivate their prior learning from previous year groups and units. All year groups start with the Animals including humans topic and other topics are sequenced according to time of year and prior learning.
In Key Stage 1 children will study:
- Animals including humans with a focus on animals
- Animals including humans with a focus on humans
- Everyday materials
- Plants
- Seasonal changes
- Living things and their habitats
In Key Stage 2 children will study:
- Animals including humans
- Living things and their habitats
- Electricity
- Earth and Space
- States of matter
- Properties and changes of materials
- Evolution and inheritance
- Forces and magnets
- Rocks
- Sound
- Light
- Plants
Enquiry questions are at the heart of science lessons at all key stages. They enable pupils to build on previous learning and deepen and broaden their understanding through increasingly sophisticated and complex systematic and thematic enquiries. They are used for units of work at all key stages.
Science in the EYFS
The Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum supports children’s understanding of Science through the planning and teaching of ‘Understanding the World.’ Children find out about objects, materials and living things using all of their senses looking at similarities, differences, patterns and change. Both the environment and skilled practitioners foster curiosity and encourage explorative play, children are motivated to ask questions about why things happen and how things work. Our children are encouraged to use their natural environment around them to explore. Children enjoy spending time outdoors exploring mini-beasts and their habitats, observing the changing seasons, plants and animals. Children regularly participate in cookery and baking sessions which allows them to experience changes in state as ingredients are mixed, heated and cooled.
What does Science look like in the EYFS?
Science in KS1 & KS2
Our Science curriculum is designed:
- to enable our children to become independent, respectful and successful adults in terms of being able to find employment in the future, to maintain healthy lifestyles and to be moral citizens
- to provide a relevant, progressive and well-structured Science curriculum which enables children to develop and master a broad knowledge and wide range of skills
Our Science curriculum is structured providing for each key stage and year group:
- A clear list of end points
- Progressive knowledge and skills which will shape children as scientists
- A clear list of vocabulary both appropriate to Science and progressive through the key stages
- Provide a variety of enrichment opportunities including visitors into school, local area visits and visits to different places
Documents relating to our science curriculum can be found below:
Documents outlining what will be covered in each year group can be found below:
Our progression of skills document can be found by clicking here.
