Science
Our aims
At Scotton Lingerfield Primary School, we want children to be curious about the world and eager to find out how things work. Our science curriculum develops their knowledge of biology, chemistry and physics alongside the skills to ask questions, investigate ideas and explain what they discover.
Children learn how science helps us understand everyday experiences, from how plants grow to why objects move. They also explore how scientific discoveries have changed our lives and how science can help us respond to challenges in the future.
Our curriculum includes learning about scientists from diverse backgrounds and the contribution they have made. Environmental understanding runs through our teaching, helping children consider how living things depend on one another and how people’s actions affect the natural world.
How we teach science
Science is taught weekly through a two-year rolling programme for our mixed-age classes. We use the Learning Challenge curriculum as a basis for planning, with units organised around questions that encourage children to investigate and explain.
Our progression documents set out how scientific knowledge and enquiry skills build from Reception to Year 6. Children revisit important ideas in greater depth, making connections between new learning and what they already know.
Practical experiences are an important part of teaching. Children observe closely, explore materials, use equipment and gather evidence to help answer scientific questions. Teachers connect these experiences to clear explanations so that children understand the science behind what they have seen.
Scientific vocabulary is explicitly taught and revisited. Children practise using it in discussion and written explanations, learning to describe observations accurately and explain their thinking.
Links with other subjects strengthen understanding where appropriate. Children might use mathematics to measure and present results, explore scientific information through reading, or connect learning about changes of state with the water cycle in geography.
Building knowledge across ages and stages
In Reception, children explore the natural world through observation, play and discussion. They notice seasonal changes, investigate snow and ice, watch plants grow and explore the lives of animals. Questions such as ‘What happens to snow?’ and ‘Where did the caterpillar go?’ encourage them to look closely, describe what they see and begin to suggest explanations. They develop the vocabulary to talk about similarities, differences and changes.
In Years 1 and 2, children build their knowledge of plants, animals, habitats, everyday materials and seasonal change. They learn about the human body and senses, explore what living things need and consider how to keep themselves healthy. Practical enquiries involve asking simple questions, observing with basic equipment, sorting and classifying, and carrying out simple tests. Children begin to record information and use their observations to suggest answers.
In Years 3 and 4, children deepen their understanding through topics including skeletons and muscles, digestion, plants, rocks, states of matter, forces, light, sound and electricity. They make more systematic observations, take measurements using standard units and begin to plan comparative and fair tests. Children use tables, charts, diagrams and classification keys to organise information. They draw conclusions from evidence, explain patterns and consider how an investigation could be improved.
In Years 5 and 6, children explore more complex ideas through learning about Earth and space, forces, light, electrical circuits, material changes, life cycles, classification, evolution and the circulatory system. They take greater responsibility for planning enquiries, choosing equipment and deciding what to measure. They learn to identify and control variables where necessary, take repeat measurements and consider the accuracy of their results. Their explanations increasingly draw on scientific knowledge as well as evidence, and they use findings to make predictions and suggest further investigations.
Learning to work scientifically
Working scientifically is taught through our science topics so that children develop enquiry skills alongside subject knowledge. They learn that different questions need different approaches.
Across school, children experience observing changes over time, identifying and classifying, looking for patterns, carrying out comparative and fair tests, and researching using secondary sources.
As children become more experienced, they make increasingly independent decisions about how to investigate a question. They learn to distinguish between what they observe and what they infer, consider whether evidence supports an idea, and recognise when further information is needed.
Discussion is an important part of this process. Children compare findings, explain differences and learn that changing an explanation in response to evidence is part of scientific thinking.
Developing confident scientific thinkers
Teachers use tasks at the beginning of units to identify children’s existing knowledge and any gaps that need addressing. Questions, discussion and practical work provide ongoing opportunities to check understanding and adapt teaching.
Assessment and later opportunities to revisit learning help us check what children remember and how well they can apply it. Support and challenge reflect children’s starting points, helping them develop increasingly secure knowledge and independence.
By the end of Year 6, we want children to have strong scientific foundations, the skills to investigate questions thoughtfully and the confidence to explain their ideas using evidence. Above all, we want them to remain curious about the world and interested in what science can help them discover.
