Overview
At Totley Primary School, our science curriculum is designed to inspire curiosity and foster a lifelong love of science. Through practical, engaging and context-rich lessons, pupils develop a secure understanding of the world around them and a positive attitude towards scientific learning.
Science is taught weekly and planned in carefully sequenced learning journeys that build progressively on prior knowledge. Learning is deliberately revisited to support retention and deepen understanding across biology, chemistry and physics, ensuring full coverage of the National Curriculum and ambitious expectations for all pupils.
Across each year group, pupils develop both scientific knowledge and enquiry skills. Children regularly ask questions, carry out investigations and communicate their findings, while being explicitly taught the scientific vocabulary and skills needed to think and work like scientists. Each learning journey highlights a significant scientist to help pupils understand how scientific knowledge has developed over time.
Science learning is enriched through workshops, visitors and wider opportunities, helping pupils to see the relevance and importance of science in everyday life and possible future careers.
The impact of our curriculum is seen in pupils who know more, remember more and enjoy science. Assessment at the end of each learning journey informs teaching and supports progression, ensuring that pupils leave Totley Primary School as confident, competent scientists with the expected knowledge and skills.
Reception
- What animals and minibeasts live in the UK?
- Where do animals live? Which animals hibernate in winter? How do animals grow up?
- How has my body changed?
- How do we care for our teeth?
- What do crops need to grow?
- How do we plant herbs and flowers?
- What are the signs of the seasons?
- Why do things freeze?
- Does it float or sink?
Year 1
- What types of animals are there?
- What plants do we have at school?
- What changes in each season?
- What are objects made from?
Year 2
- How do animals survive in their habitats?
- What makes a healthy human?
- How do animals grow?
- How do plants grow?
- Which material is best for the job?
- How can we make a car go the furthest and fastest?
Year 3
- What makes a healthy human?
- How do plants survive and thrive?
- What does a petrologist need to know?
- How do magnets work?
- How are shadows formed?
Year 4
- Where do animals thrive and survive?
- How do animals including humans get the energy they need?
- What are the states of matter?
- What’s that noise?
- How does electricity flow?
- Living things and their habitats
Year 5
- What is the circle of life for plants and animals?
- What is the solar system?
- How can materials change and what are they like?
- What forces are in play around us?
Year 6
- How do scientists describe living things?
- What keeps a human healthy?
- How do we know about evolution and inheritance?
- Is it a trick of the light?
- How can we design and use electrical circuits?