Intent of our Science Curriculum
We want our children to leave primary school with a passion for Science and recognise its place in the past, present and future. Through the teaching of Science, we aim to develop children’s ability to think independently and ask questions about scientific concepts which they can investigate further. We encourage children to be inquisitive about the world they live in, nurturing their innate curiosity and inspiring an excitement in natural phenomena. Our Science curriculum enables children to develop a range of scientific skills that are useful across the whole curriculum.
Implementation of our Science Curriculum
We make the learning of science interactive and engaging through using a range of scientific resources and activities. Our curriculum is carefully planned, to ensure progression in knowledge and skills and to meet the needs of our mixed age classes. Children are given opportunities to undertake practical work in a range of contexts, planning how they will carry out investigations, solving problems as they arise, and presenting their findings in written and verbal form. Progression of skills when ‘working scientifically’ ensures that all these skills are taught, practised and embedded throughout children’s time at our school.
The organisation of age appropriate content and technical vocabulary enables children to discuss, investigate and evaluate in all areas of science. Through our long term plans, we enable children to make links between their science learning and other curriculum areas.
The national curriculum for science aims to ensure that all children:
- develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics;
- develop understanding of the nature, processes and methods of science through different types of science enquiries that help them to answer scientific questions about the world around them;
- are equipped with the scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of science, today and for the future;
- and
- we aim to develop a thirst and enthusiasm for science that will lay the foundations for future study at Key Stage 3 and beyond.
We are fortunate to have extensive outdoor areas which enriches our science teaching, especially the biology content of the National Curriculum. Staff embrace opportunities for teaching science outdoors, which makes learning more memorable and is more likely to make the knowledge ‘stick’.
Impact of our Science Curriculum
PLAN (from The Association of Science Education) and TAPS (Teacher Assessment in Primary Science) ‘Why and How’ resources from Bath Spa University form part of our assessment activities, alongside quizzes and other retrieval acitvities, to assess children’s ongoing acquisition and recall of knowledge.
The impact of Science at our school is that we ensure our children progress to secondary school equipped with the skills to enable them to work scientifically at a deeper level. We provide children with the foundations and knowledge to understand the world they live in, igniting their interest in a range of science-based subjects, so that they learn about opportunites for a future career in science.
Please follow the link below for a breakdown of the National Curriculum science content for each year group.
Science programmes of study: key stages 1 and 2
Science Long Term Plan 2024
Science in the Early Years – UTW The Natural World