Rationale
At St Anthony’s, science invites pupils to marvel at the wonder of God’s creation and to explore the natural world with curiosity and reverence. Through scientific enquiry and discovery, pupils grow in understanding of how God’s world works, gaining insights into the design, interdependence, and beauty of living things, matter, energy and Earth’s systems. Rooted in the dignity of each human person, science nurtures respect for life, care for creation, and responsibility to protect our common home. Science at St Anthony’s fosters awe, enquiry, and stewardship, preparing pupils to apply knowledge wisely and compassionately for the good of others and the planet.

Intent
Our science curriculum, following the requirements of the National Curriculum and drawing on elements of the Developing Experts planning, aims to build solid knowledge, conceptual understanding, and scientific enquiry skills. We strive to make learning fun, engaging and meaningful by integrating hands-on experiences, investigations, and opportunities to observe, test and explore phenomena.

Core principles include:

• Nurturing thoughtful, disciplined learners who approach scientific enquiry with curiosity, integrity and care.
• Inspiring a love of discovery and respect for the living world, materials, and physical processes.
• Promoting collaborative learning where pupils discuss, hypothesise, investigate, observe and reflect together.

Key Stage 1: Pupils develop foundational knowledge of plants, animals (including humans), materials, seasonal changes and everyday phenomena. They explore using their senses, make observations, ask questions and begin to record simply.
Key Stage 2: Pupils deepen their understanding across biology, chemistry and physics topics: living things and habitats; animals (including humans); properties and changes of materials; Earth & space; forces and magnets; electricity; evolution and inheritance (as appropriate). They conduct investigations, make predictions, collect and record data, and draw conclusions.

Implementation

• Lessons are planned using a blend of the National Curriculum objectives and Developing Experts resources for coherence, progression and engagement.
• Pupils engage in hands-on investigations, experiments, observations, model-building and data-collection to deepen understanding of scientific concepts.
• Use of scientific vocabulary, discussion, reflection and evaluation encourages conceptual clarity.
• Cross-curricular links with Geography, RE, Maths and Computing help pupils apply scientific understanding in broader contexts.
• Wherever possible, outdoor learning and fieldwork support understanding of habitats, plants, environment and seasonal changes.
• Collaborative work encourages teamwork, communication, and shared scientific thinking.

Impact
By the end of primary education, pupils will:

• Have secure knowledge of key scientific concepts across biology, chemistry, physics and Earth sciences.
• Demonstrate skills in asking scientific questions, planning and conducting investigations, observing, recording and interpreting data.
• Use scientific vocabulary appropriately and explain their thinking clearly.
• Approach the natural world with curiosity, respect and responsibility.
• Show confidence, resilience, and a spirit of enquiry as young scientists who recognise their role as stewards of creation.

Assessment

• Each lesson includes recap or retrieval moments to reinforce prior learning and support long-term memory.
• Pupils reflect on enquiry questions and evaluate their findings to consolidate understanding.
• End-of-unit investigations, presentations or practical assessments assess both knowledge and enquiry skills.
• Summative assessments track pupil progress and highlight areas for support or extension.
• Pupil reflections and discussion help assess conceptual understanding and scientific thinking.

SEND Support Statement

In delivering the science curriculum, we prioritise quality first teaching and adaptions to support all learners, including those with SEND. Lessons are differentiated using visual aids, concrete materials, scaffolded tasks, and clear, accessible language.

Alternative methods of engagement — hands-on exploration, drawing, discussion, or simplified recording formats — enable every pupil to participate meaningfully and access scientific enquiry in ways suited to their needs.