Early Years Foundation Stage:
Exploration is vital to learning Science and in the EYFS it is a practical experience through ‘Understanding the World’ in the continuous provision. It is child led and enhanced weekly, based on their curiosities and the current season. It is also built upon in the development of the skills within ‘Understanding the World.’
EYFS Assessment and evidence gathering:
The specific areas of ‘Understanding the World’ and ‘Physical Development’ in the Early Years Foundation Stage contain the Science objectives which should be covered.  Pupils should be learning scientific knowledge and vocabulary and ‘working scientifically’ appropriate to their developmental age.  Evidence is logged on a spreadsheet termly through free-play, with the ‘Understanding the World’ or ‘Physical Development’ objective clearly defined on weekly plans for focused group work. ‘Understanding the World’ covers most of the areas of Science such as: materials, plants, living things, forces, senses and animal life cycles. ‘Physical Development’ also covers areas of Science such as: healthy eating and dental care.

Year One to Year 6 Science Curriculum:
Year One – Year 6 follow the National Curriculum.

The Golden Threads
Within each unit of study, we have instilled 6 lines of enquiry as the ‘Golden Threads’ to ensure each unit maximises the children’s abilities to work scientifically. We believe these skills are fundamental to succeeding in scientific study and investigation and consist of the following:

• Asking questions about what they are taught
• Making observations and taking measurements to collect data and support arguments or theories
• Performing tests to confirm or challenge their predictions and understanding   
• Answering questions and drawing conclusions based upon their findings
• Identifying and classifying using evidence and observations to support      
• Gathering and recording data as a means to further develop their understanding
• Using evidence to secure understanding and develop knowledge of the world around us.

Evidence of work for Years One to Six will be in children’s Science books or on science displays.  Specific evidence of working toward, expected and greater depth will also be stored at the start and end of the academic year against the AT1 strands for that year group. Knowledge organisers encourage the use of Scientific language and accurate recall. Teachers engage pupils through inspirational hooks using Scientists or materials, which supports them to answer their Big Question. 

All years use front covers with the National Curriculum objectives on. These support children to be reflective on their learning during a topic and encourages use of scientific vocabulary in their learning. These are self assessed by the pupils at the end of a topic and then assessed by the teachers to gain a better understanding of the academic levels for each pupil. Teachers assess the AT1 skills at the end of each topic to allow for accurate data collection at the end of the academic year. Teacher observations are used to inform final assessments, with notes in the Big Class book or Science books to support these judgments. Models, photographs and videos are also used as evidence to support final judgements. 

Achieving Greater Depth in Science:
Children are given the opportunity to show their knowledge and skills through interactive displays with challenges and questions to further their knowledge of that topic. CPD has been given to all staff on how to assess for GD pupils and how to extend them whilst working on the National Curriculum objectives.

Terms 1,2 and 3

EYFS  R                     EYFS ELG

Learn new vocabulary. CL Use talk to help work out problems and organise thinking and activities, and to explain how things work and why they might happen. CL Use new vocabulary in different contexts. CL Explore the natural world around them. UW Understand the effect of changing seasons on the natural world around them. UW Describe what they see, hear and feel when they are outside. UW Recognise some environments that are different to the one in which they live. UW Use talk to help work out problems and organise thinking and activties, and to explain how things work and why they might happen. CL Know and talk about the different factors that support their overall health and well-being:  - Regular physical activity  - Healthy eating  - Tooth brushing  - Sensible amounts of ‘screen time’  - Having a good sleep routine  - Being a safe pedestrian PSED Explore the natural world around them. UW   Make comments about what they have heard and ask questions to clarify their understanding. CL Manage their own basic hygiene/personal needs, including dressing, going to the toilet and understanding the importance of health choices. PSED Understand some important processes and changes in the natural world around them, including the season changes and states of matter. UW Explore the natural world around them, making observations and drawing pictures of animals and plants. UW Make comments about what they have heard and ask questions to clarify their understanding. CL

Autumn Term - Half Term 1

A - Animals including humans (Y1) – Naming and Grouping Animals

• Children will learn about five of the groups that scientists use to classify animals: mammals, fish, birds, reptiles and amphibians. They will learn to identify and classify animals according to their group.
• Focus scientist: Chris Packham

B - Seasonal changes – Autumn / Winter (Y1)

• Children will learn about Autumn and Winter. They will find out about the weather in different seasons and make comparisons across seasons. They will observe changes through nature and wildlife.
• Focus scientist: Liam Dutton

Autumn Term - Half Term 2

A - Uses of everyday materials (Y2)

• The children will learn about the use of materials such as wood, plastic, metal and glass. They will compare the suitability of different materials for different purposes.
• Focus scientist: Charles Macintosh

B - Everyday materials (Y1)

• Children will learn about everyday materials such as wood, plastic, metal and rock. They will learn to identify and name these materials and consider their properties.
• Focus scientist: William Addis

Spring Term - Half Term 1

A - Scientists and Inventors (Y2)

• Children will explore famous scientists and inventors through hands-on investigations — from testing waterproof materials and learning about early doctors to building mini greenhouses, exploring how germs and pollution spread, and discovering how wind turbines generate power.
• Focus Scientist: Elizabeth Garrett Anderson

B - Animals Including Humans (Y2)

• In this unit, children learn about the life cycle of humans and other animals before exploring how to eat a balanced diet using the Eatwell Guide, understand hygiene contact forces, friction, and magnetism through practical enquiries, developing scientific vocabulary, enquiry skills, and real-world STEM links while building on prior learning about materials and preparing for future study of forces in Year 5.

Spring Term - Half Term 2

A - Living Things and their habitats - (Y2)

• Children will learn about a variety of habitats and the plants/animals that live there. They will learn to tell the difference between things that are living, dead and have never been alive.
• Focus scientist: Rachel Carson

B - Seasonal changes – Spring / Summer (Y1)

• Children will learn about Spring and Summer. They will find out about the weather in different seasons and make comparisons across seasons. They will observe changes through nature and wildlife.
  Focus scientist: Liam Dutton

Summer Term - Half Term 1

A - Plants (Y1)

• Children will have the opportunity to closely study plants and trees in the natural environment. They will set up a comparative experiment to observe what plants need to grow well and watch the germination process.
• Focus scientist: Beatrix Potter

B - Plants (Y2)

• Children will have the opportunity to closely study plants and trees in the natural environment. They will investigate what plants need to grow well and observe the inside of a seed as the beginning of their focus on the plant life cycle. 
• Focus scientist: George Washington Carver

Summer Term - Half Term 2

A - Nature Protectors (Y1)

• By the end of this unit, children will understand how materials and their properties are linked to the natural world, recognise and classify different marine animals, explore how waste and pollution affect living things, and learn how recycling helps protect the environment.

B - Biodiversity: Minibeasts (Y2)

• Children will learn about different minibeasts and their habitats, understand why they are important for pollination, soil health, and ecosystems, and explore ways to protect them and their environments.

Autumn Term - Half Term 1

A - Properties and changes of materials (Y5)

• The children will learn about material’s uses and properties, as well as dissolving and separating mixtures and irreversible changes. They will sort and classify objects by their properties and find the best electrical conductor.
• Focus scientist: Becky Shroeder

B - Keeping Healthy Animals Including Humans – (Y6)

• Children learn how the body works (especially the circulatory and digestive systems), how diet, exercise, drugs, and lifestyle choices affect health, how to measure bodily responses (like pulse), and how to analyse results to draw conclusions about healthy living.

Autumn Term - Half Term 2

A - Light (Y6)

• The children will learn about how we see shadows, reflection and refraction. They will learn how light travels and how we see objects. They will find out about mirrors and the angles of reflection and incidence. They will investigate refraction and how we see colours.
• Focus scientist: CV Raman

B - Electricity (Y6)

• The children will learn to represent circuits using symbols in a diagram. They will develop their understanding of what electricity is and how to manage it.
• Focus scientist: Nikola Tesler

Spring Term - Half Term 1

A - Living things and their habitats (Y6)

• The children will learn about the classification of living things. They will sort animals into groups based on their similarities and differences and find out about the standard system of classification. They will learn about microorganisms.
• Focus scientist: Carl Linneus

B - Forces (Y5)

• The children will learn about different forces such as gravity, friction and water resistance and carry out investigations to explore these. They will explore different mechanisms such as levers, gears and pulleys.
  Focus scientist:
  Isaac Newton

Spring Term - Half Term 2

A - Evolution and Inheritance (Y6)

• The children will learn about variation and adaptation. They will explore how both Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace separately developed their theories of evolution. They will examine scientific evidence from plants and animals.
• Focus scientist: Charles Darwin

B - Earth and Space (Y5)

• The children will learn about the different matters that make up the Solar system. They will explore how it is possible for Earth to have night and day and different seasons. They will learn about the phases of the Moon. 
• Focus scientist: Mai Jemison

Summer Term - Half Term 1

A - Animals including humans (Y5)

• The children will learn about the life cycle of a human being. They will find out about the development of babies and compare the gestation period of humans and other animals. They will learn about the changes experienced in puberty.
• Focus scientist: Sigmund Freud

B - Living things and their habitats (Y5)

• The children will learn about the process of reproduction and the life cycle of plants, mammals, amphibians, insects and birds. They will explore reproduction in different plants and learn about the different types of mammals and life cycles.
• Focus scientist: Malaika Vas

Summer Term - Half Term 2

A - Scientists and Inventors (Y6)

• In this unit, children will learn about important scientists and inventors such as Stephen Hawking, Libbie Hyman, Marie Maynard Daly, Alexander Fleming, Mary Leakey, Daniel Hale Williams, and Steve Jobs, exploring their discoveries and how their work has shaped science, medicine, and technology today.

B - Changing Oceans (Y5)

• By the end of this unit, children will understand the importance of the oceans and the life they support, explore how human actions like pollution and fishing impact marine ecosystems, and use scientific enquiry, data, and evidence to suggest ways to protect and sustain ocean habitats.