The National Science Curriculum

A high-quality science education provides the foundations for understanding the world.  Through building up a body of knowledge and concepts through Science, pupils are encouraged to recognise the power exploration, observation and questioning what they know. They are encouraged to understand how science can be used to explain what is occurring, predict how things will behave, and analyse causes.

Aims:

The national curriculum for science aims to ensure that all pupils:

• 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 enquiry 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.

EYFS Scope for works:

Understanding the World

• To comment and ask questions about aspects of their familiar world, such as the place where they live or the natural world.
• To talk about some of the things they have observed, such as plants, animals, natural and found objects.
• To talk about why things happen and how things work.
• To develop an understanding of growth, decay and changes over time.
• To show care and concern for living things and the environment.

Physical Development

• To eat a healthy range of foodstuffs and understand a need for variety in food.
• To show some understanding that good practices with regard to exercise, eating, sleeping and hygiene can contribute to good health.

• To know about similarities and differences in relation to places, objects, materials and living things. They talk about the features of their own immediate environment and how environments might vary from one another.

Working Scientifically:

Year 1 and Year 2 Expectations

• asking simple questions and recognising that they can be answered in different ways.
• observing closely, using simple equipment.
• performing simple tests.
• identifying and classifying.
• using their observations and ideas to suggest answers to questions.
• gathering and recording data to help in answering questions.

Year 3 and Year 4 Expectations

• asking relevant questions and using different types of scientific enquiry to answer them.
• setting up simple practical enquiry, comparative and fair tests.
• making systematic and careful observations and, where appropriate, taking accurate measurements using standard units, using a range of equipment, including thermometers and data loggers.
• gathering, recording, classifying and presenting data in a variety of ways to help in answering questions.
• recording findings using simple scientific language, drawings, labelled diagrams, keys, bar charts, and tables.
• reporting on findings from enquiry, including oral and written explanations, displays or presentations of results and conclusions.
• using results to draw simple conclusions, make predictions for new values, suggest improvements and raise further questions.
• identifying differences, similarities or changes related to simple scientific ideas and processes.
• using straightforward scientific evidence to answer questions or to support their findings.

Year 5 and Year 6 Expectations

• planning different types of scientific enquiries to answer questions, including recognising and controlling variables where necessary.
• taking measurements, using a range of scientific equipment, with increasing accuracy and precision, taking repeat readings when appropriate.
• recording data and results of increasing complexity using scientific diagrams and labels, classification keys, tables, scatter graphs, bar and line graphs.
• using test results to make predictions to set up further comparative and fair tests.
• reporting and presenting findings from enquiries, including conclusions, causal relationships and explanations of and a degree of trust in results, in oral and written forms such as displays and other presentations.
• identifying scientific evidence that has been used to support or refute ideas or arguments.