Science at Kingsway 

Science

Science is one of the main core subjects at Kingsway School. A positive primary science experience is key to encouraging future generations to not only study this at secondary school, but also potentially to follow it as a career. Science has also changed our lives over the years and is vital for the world’s prosperity. (National curriculum)

The content of science teaching and learning is set out in the 2014 National Curriculum for primary schools in England. Within this, certain topics and areas are repeated across year groups, meaning that children may revisit a topic in each year of primary school but with increasing difficulty and with a different focus each time. Children should understand how science can be used. They need to explain what is occurring, make predictions about how things behave and analyse causes. For example, the area of animals, including humans is examined in every single year group, with a very clear progression of knowledge and understanding over the key stage two years.

The more detailed content for each year group is as follows:

Year 3

 Plants (life cycles)

 Animals including humans (nutrition, skeleton and muscles)

 Rocks (fossils and soils)

 Light (reflection and shadows)

 Forces and magnets (magnetic materials, attracting and repelling).

Year 4

 Animals including humans (digestive system, teeth and food chains)

 Living things and habitats (classification keys)

 States of matter (changes of state, evaporation and condensation)

 Sound (vibration, pitch and volume)

 Electricity (simple circuits, insulators and conductors).

Year 5

 Animals including humans (human development from birth to old age)

 Living things and their habitats (life cycles and reproduction in humans and plants)

 Properties and changes of materials (dissolving, separating materials, reversible and irreversible changes)

 Forces (gravity, air resistance, water resistance, friction)

 Earth and Space (Earth, Sun and Moon, the solar system).

Year 6

 Animals including humans (circulatory system, diet and exercise, healthy living)

 Living things and their habitat (classification, characteristics of plant and animal groups)

 Light (how it travels, how we see, shadows)

 Electricity (voltage and power in circuits, circuit components, symbols and diagrams)

 Evolution and inheritance (how living things have changed over time, fossils, dinosaurs, adaptation to environment).

Alongside these areas runs the Working Scientifically element. This focuses on the skills the children need to become accurate, careful and confident practical scientists. At Kingsway, children are expected to master certain skills in each year group and there is a very clear progression of these set out for each school to refer to. This also includes, a study of Scientists who are associated with each topic. We aim to have a yearly Science week linked to an area or theme.