It is our intention to provide a diverse, knowledge-rich science curriculum which inspires our pupils to develop a fascination for and a deep understanding of the world around them. Our curriculum is aspirational, enabling and inclusive and ensures all children will:

• Learn a wide body of scientific knowledge which fosters scientific curiosity.

• Understand how science affects their everyday lives and develop a sense of responsibility for the world. 

• Make confident, meaningful links between their learning, the wider curriculum and the real world. 

• Understand what it means to study science and how this can influence their thoughts and actions both now and in the future.

• See themselves as scientists and understand the role of a scientist in society.

• Learn science through first-hand experiences - observe science in the real world and embed their scientific learning into meaningful contexts through scientific enquiry and enrichment opportunities. 

• Be prepared for the next stage in their scientific learning. 

Throughout our science curriculum, learning is purposeful and, through the acquisition of knowledge and scientific enquiry skills, children will develop a solid understanding of scientific concepts and the relevance of these to the world in which they live. We intend for our science curriculum to be guided by six principles:

• Curiosity – Children are encouraged to be curious, ask questions and be inquisitive about science and the world around them.

• Purpose - Disciplinary and substantive knowledge are sequenced to ensure a progressive curriculum which builds on prior knowledge and is informed by assessment. 

• Inclusivity - Learning is inclusive and challenging for all; learning experiences are adapted to ensure all individual learning needs are met.

• Inspiration - Children experience science in a real-life context through practical enquiry and enrichment opportunities which enable them to see the relevance of their learning. 

• Connectiveness - Teaching and learning exposes the links between science, the wider curriculum and the real world, such as engineering and medicine. 

• Aspirational - Children see themselves as scientists. They understand the role that scientists play in our understanding of scientific concepts and are aware of the scientific careers available to them.

At East Hunsbury Primary School, we implement our science teaching through an ambitious, high-quality science curriculum which is carefully constructed to ensure children develop a solid understanding of scientific concepts and knowledge. Substantive and disciplinary knowledge is sequenced in small steps which build upon prior knowledge and ensure that children develop their understanding over time; content is taught in such a way that it will be remembered and not just encountered.

Science is taught through six high-dividend concepts which are woven through the curriculum and form the ‘big ideas’ through which all science is taught: Energy, Forces, Matter, Earth and Space, Life and Evolution. Explicit links are made between these concepts. Our curriculum also incorporates explicit horizontal links across a year group; vertical links where knowledge and understanding are built upon from previous units and diagonal links where meaningful links are made across the wider curriculum.

Enquiry and the associated investigative skills are at the core of all science learning. Observing with a scientific eye, predicting, problem-solving, decision-making, communicating, thinking critically and evaluating are common threads which underpin all science learning. Where appropriate, our science curriculum is taught outside the classroom providing first-hand experiences of the local environment and allowing children to observe science in the real-world and embed their learning of science into meaningful contexts. Additionally, enrichment opportunities further enhance our science curriculum by providing pupils with the opportunity to focus and deepen their scientific learning and extend their educational experiences. 

The impact of our curriculum will be assessed through a multi-faceted approach including: 

• Retrieval questions
• Lesson outcomes
• Teacher questioning 
• Pupil voice
• Teacher voice
• Hot and cold tasks
• Book monitoring
• Learning walks
• Practical scientific enquiries 

Pupil attainment in science is recorded on Insight annually at the end of the summer term. 

Science is taught in all year groups with weekly lessons throughout Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. Lessons are timetabled carefully to ensure that children receive at least 60 minutes of science teaching and learning in Key Stage 1 and at least 90 minutes in Key Stage 2. Within the Early Years, science is taught through carefully planned learning opportunities within the setting.

The science units taught through our curriculum are in line with the requirements of the National Curriculum. Within Key Stage 1, children learn about Plants, Animals (including Humans), Everyday Materials and their Uses, Seasonal Changes, and Living Things and their Habitats. The learning in these units is then built upon throughout Key Stage 2 with the addition of Rocks, Light, Forces and Magnets, States of Matter, Sound, Electricity, Properties of Materials, Earth and Space and Evolution and Inheritance. The teaching of the working scientifically skills is weaved throughout the curriculum with children demonstrating a progression in these disciplinary skills as they move through school. 

We ensure that children understand the links between their science units and the wider curriculum through carefully planned links across subjects, for example the use of forces for mechanical systems in DT, health and well-being through PSHE and PE and the use of digital measuring equipment such as data loggers and its links with computing. 

The teaching of science in the Early Years is practical and inclusive through a stimulating, continuous provision which provides opportunities for pupils to develop their scientific knowledge, understanding and vocabulary.

Through Communication and Language, Personal, Social and Emotional Development and Understanding the World. children in the Early Years will:

• Make comments about what they have heard and ask questions to clarify their understanding.
• Manage their own hygiene and personal needs, including dressing, going to the toilet and understanding the need for healthy food choices – including dental hygiene.
• Explore the natural world around them, making observations and drawing pictures of animals and plants.
• Know some similarities and differences between the natural world around them and contrasting environments, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class.
• Understand some important processes and changes in the natural world around them, including the seasons and changing matter.

Our curriculum has been sequenced to enable children to gradually build their scientific knowledge and skills as they move from Early Years into Key Stage 1 and then Key Stage 2.

Building on from the Early Years, in Key Stage 1 the children identify and name common plants and animals, explore plant structure and growth, investigate habitats and explore common materials and their properties. They begin to make increasingly detailed observations, use scientific language to talk about what they have found out and begin to communicate what they have found in out in different ways.

Throughout Key Stage 2, children develop more sophisticated mental models across a range of scientific concepts including systems within the human body and their interrelatedness, forces, energy, properties of materials, including states of matter, reproduction and more abstract concepts such as evolution and inheritance. Children draw conclusions based on their growing depth of knowledge and use scientific evidence to justify their ideas. They use increasingly complex vocabulary and build on their understanding of scientific enquiry to choose the most appropriate way to answer their scientific questions.

Our curriculum provides children with the knowledge and skills they need for secondary school.

Enrichment in science takes place alongside our curriculum and enables children to engage in their science learning and experience a culturally rich education. We want our children to see and understand the relevance of their science learning so we include opportunities for enrichment in science, such as:

• Celebrating Earth Day and understanding how science and geography are linked, particularly in terms of pollution, climate change and recycling of materials.
• Year 4 trip to the Natural History Museum in Oxford where they learn about rocks and soils and the part they have played in our understanding of the past and of animals through fossilisation.
• Year 5 trip to the National Space Centre where they can build on their science learning within the classroom to find out more about the history and future of space exploration.
• Forest school which supports the children to engage with the natural environment and develop a sense of responsibility of and curiosity about their environment.

The British Values of Democracy, Rule of Law, Individual Liberty, Mutual Respect and Tolerance are actively promoted at East Hunsbury Primary School and are threaded throughout the science curriculum to provide opportunities for children’s further understanding.

Democracy:

• Children are encouraged to take turns when speaking and working practically with others.
• Children are supported to consider the views and opinions of others, while still having the right to make their own decisions.
• Children are presented with opportunities to express their views on topical scientific issues such as drug/alcohol use or laws on smoking and using vapes. Children will begin to distinguish between opinions based on evidence and opinions based on non-scientific ideas such as prejudice.

Rule of Law:

• Children develop an understanding of the importance of safety rules when carrying out scientific enquiry and using scientific equipment.
• Children understand and accept that there are consequences if safety rules are not followed.
• Children express their views on laws relating to science, such as alcohol and drug laws.

 Individual Liberty:

• Children are provided with opportunities to express their views.
• Children understand that it is important to listen to the ideas of others, which may not be the same as theirs but are equally valid.
• Children will be able to use their knowledge and understanding to pose their own scientific questions.

 Mutual Respect:

• Children are expected to listen carefully to the ideas of others and consider their ideas and opinions even if they differ from their own.
• Children take turns during discussions to make decisions or resolve difficulties.
• Children are reminded to treat each other equally and with respect.

Tolerance:

• Children learn to accept and appreciate that the ideas of others that may not be the same as their own.
• Children understand that scientific ideas originate from different cultures and religions and that scientific views may conflict with religious beliefs.

The protected characteristics are actively promoted throughout our curriculum to ensure that pupils have an age-appropriate knowledge and understanding of the nine protected characteristics. Our curriculum, including the science curriculum, ensures that, as a school, we:

• Eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Equality Act 2010.
• Provide equality for all.
• Foster good relations between persons.

Our science curriculum is inclusive by design and enables each child access to the learning through quality first teaching. Support for disadvantaged pupils, and those with SEND, is individualised, based on careful consideration of the children’s needs, and ensures everyone has what they need to succeed and secure the substantive and disciplinary knowledge associated with our science curriculum.

There are many links between our science curriculum and our school education teams, most notably, ‘Our World’, ‘Health and Well-Being’ and ‘Careers and Aspirations’. These links provide opportunities for the children at East Hunsbury Primary School to deepen their scientific learning beyond that of the curriculum.

As part of ‘Our World’, the children participate in the annual celebration Earth Day. Throughout this event, the children develop their understanding of the importance of our planet and local environment and the impact we can have on it. This enables them to understand the significance of their actions and ensure they develop a responsibility for our planet.

The ‘Careers and Aspirations’ team incorporates science within its annual careers fair. This event is an introduction to a variety of jobs and ensures children know what scientific jobs and careers are available to them. Alongside this, an annual STEAM event at the University of Northampton promotes and inspires children’s engagement in science and allows them to discover new passions, unique jobs and opportunities for their future education.

The ‘Health and Well-Being’ team focuses on teaching the children about their physical and mental health. They learn about the importance of being healthy and make links to their scientific understanding about how to stay healthy and the impact our choices can make on our own health and well-being.