At Alkerden, we believe science is fundamental in helping learners understand the world around them, from the smallest living organisms to the vastness of space and from everyday materials to complex systems. Our intent is to inspire curiosity, deepen understanding and develop confident, inquisitive learners who engage with the world through scientific thinking.

Our science curriculum provides a coherent, knowledge-rich programme that is carefully sequenced to build progressively across all year groups. Learners develop secure substantive knowledge in biology, chemistry and physics, while also gaining disciplinary knowledge through working scientifically. Key concepts are revisited and built upon over time to support long-term retention and meaningful connections in learning.

We aim to:

• Ignite and nurture learners’ natural curiosity about how things work, encouraging questioning, exploring, observing and experimenting
• Develop strong scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding, enabling learners to recognise connections across the natural world
• Build essential scientific skills, including observation, classification, fair testing, predicting, measuring, recording and drawing conclusions, so learners can investigate with confidence
• Expand learners’ scientific vocabulary and their ability to communicate ideas clearly and accurately, both verbally and in writing
• Provide meaningful, real-world contexts that demonstrate how science relates to everyday life and global issues, fostering awareness of the environment, health, materials and change
• Foster a sense of awe and wonder about the natural world, encouraging respect and responsibility for it
• Ensure the curriculum is inclusive and accessible so that every learner, regardless of background or ability, can succeed and make progress

In line with Alkerden’s educational vision, we emphasise independence, resilience and critical thinking, enabling all learners to approach scientific enquiry with confidence and curiosity.

Through this curriculum, we aim for learners to leave primary school with a secure understanding of scientific concepts, the ability to think and work scientifically and a lifelong curiosity about the world around them. We strive to develop informed, reflective and respectful scientific thinkers who are prepared to understand and contribute to an ever-changing scientific and technological world.

At Alkerden, the science curriculum is implemented through the Kapow Science scheme, providing a carefully sequenced and progressive structure that supports the development of both substantive knowledge and disciplinary skills over time. Science is taught across all key stages, from Early Years through to Year 6. From the earliest years, learners encounter the natural world through exploration of materials, plants, animals and natural phenomena, laying the foundations for scientific understanding.

Units are organised to build on prior learning, allowing learners to revisit key concepts and deepen their understanding across biology, chemistry and physics. Topics cover a broad range of scientific disciplines, including life processes and living things, materials and their properties, forces, light, sound, Earth and space, ensuring a balanced and comprehensive curriculum.

Science is taught regularly and explicitly, following a clear lesson structure: recall and retrieval, explicit teaching, practical enquiry, discussion and application. Each topic begins with key vocabulary and foundational knowledge, which are revisited and developed with increasing complexity to support long-term retention.

Curriculum delivery includes:

• Progressive knowledge building: Carefully mapped progression ensures learners revisit and deepen understanding over time through repeated exposure and review
• Working scientifically: Learners are explicitly taught skills such as observing, classifying, fair testing, predicting, measuring, recording and drawing conclusions, embedded within each unit
• Enquiry-based, practical learning: Lessons prioritise hands-on investigations where learners ask questions, make observations, gather and interpret data, and draw conclusions
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• Use of scientific vocabulary: Teachers explicitly teach and model key vocabulary, supporting learners to communicate ideas clearly and accurately, both verbally and in writing
• Assessment for learning: Ongoing formative assessment, including questioning and retrieval practice, informs teaching, while end-of-unit assessments support evaluation of progress
• Adaptation and inclusion: Differentiation ensures all learners access the full curriculum through scaffolding, visual aids, adapted resources and targeted support. Challenge tasks and open-ended investigations provide stretch for more able learners
• Cross-curricular links and real-world relevance: Science is connected to everyday life and other subjects, including learning about environmental issues, the human body, habitats, seasonal change and materials in use
• Learning beyond the classroom: Outdoor learning, local environmental investigations and opportunities for home-based experiments enrich the curriculum and bring science to life

Teachers use high-quality resources alongside professional judgement to adapt learning to the needs of their learners while maintaining curriculum fidelity. They model scientific thinking, guide practical work and encourage discussion and collaboration to develop independence and critical thinking.

Through consistent and effective implementation, learners build secure scientific knowledge, develop confidence in enquiry, and become curious, reflective learners who understand the relevance of science in the world around them.

The impact of our science curriculum at Alkerden is that learners develop a secure and progressively deepening understanding of scientific knowledge and skills, enabling them to think, question and explore like scientists. Through the structured and coherent Science curriculum, learners build both substantive knowledge and disciplinary understanding over time, with clear progression across all year groups.

By the time learners leave Alkerden, they:

• Have a strong and secure knowledge base in biology, chemistry and physics, with a clear understanding of key scientific concepts and vocabulary
• Think and act like scientists: they can observe carefully, ask questions, design and carry out investigations, record data, interpret results and draw reasoned conclusions
• Use scientific vocabulary accurately and confidently, communicating their ideas clearly in both discussion and written work
• Understand the relevance of science in their everyday lives, including its impact on health, the environment and the wider world
• Demonstrate curiosity, resilience and a sense of wonder about the world, with the confidence to explore, question and learn independently
• Are well-prepared for the next stage of their education, equipped with the knowledge, enquiry skills and mindset needed for continued success in science.

Learners will show clear progression in understanding, with misconceptions addressed and knowledge becoming increasingly sophisticated throughout their time at school. They will take pride in their work, apply their learning to new and unfamiliar situations, and approach problems with increasing independence and creativity.

Ultimately, learners will leave Alkerden as informed, reflective and respectful individuals who value evidence, appreciate the natural world, and are equipped to contribute thoughtfully to an ever-changing scientific and technological society.

• BBC Bitesize (KS1)
• BBC Bitesize (KS2)
• Science Kids
• National Geographic Kids

• Science at Home: Experiment Ideas
• Primary Science Teaching Trust: Science Fun at Home
• 11 Science Resources for Parents
• Easy Science for Kids