Science
Teaching Science at St Mark’s
At St. Mark’s, we want every child to see science as a way of understanding, questioning and explaining the world around them. Our curriculum is designed to build secure substantive knowledge alongside the disciplinary knowledge pupils need to work and think scientifically. Learning is deliberately sequenced from children’s first-hand experiences in EYFS through increasingly precise concepts, vocabulary, enquiry and explanation across Key Stages 1 and 2.
The curriculum is rooted in the National Curriculum and strengthened through carefully chosen practical investigations, retrieval of prior learning, explicit vocabulary teaching, knowledge organisers and purposeful links to reading. Units revisit important ideas—such as materials, plants, animals including humans, living things, forces and physical processes—so that pupils connect new learning to what they already know rather than encountering science as a series of isolated topics.
Science at St. Mark’s also reflects our wider curriculum and C.A.R.E. ethos. Pupils learn that scientific knowledge is developed by people from different times, cultures and backgrounds; consider health, sustainability and human impact on the environment; and learn to discuss evidence respectfully. Our curriculum makes deliberate connections with the school’s wider themes, including Healthy Body, Healthy Mind; Tomorrow’s World; Who Are We?; and United We Stand.
Our science curriculum aims
- Develop secure, connected knowledge of biology, chemistry and physics appropriate to each phase.
- Teach pupils how scientific knowledge is established through observing, comparing, classifying, testing, measuring, recording, analysing and evaluating.
- Build precise scientific vocabulary and increasingly confident oral and written explanation.
- Give pupils regular practical experience so that enquiry is used to deepen conceptual understanding, not as an activity separate from it.
- Enable pupils to remember more through planned retrieval, recurring concepts, knowledge organisers and explicit prior-learning links.
- Represent science as a diverse, collaborative human endeavour through meaningful study of scientists and scientific developments.
- Prepare pupils successfully for the next stage of learning, including the transition to Key Stage 3 science.
How science is taught at St Mark’s
| Curriculum feature | What this looks like |
| Clear sequencing | Medium-term plans identify National Curriculum objectives, substantive knowledge, disciplinary knowledge, vocabulary, prior learning and future links. |
| Knowledge first | Lessons make the key scientific idea explicit. Practical work is selected because it helps pupils understand or test that idea. |
| Working scientifically | Enquiry skills are taught through the content of each unit and revisited with increasing independence. Summer investigation units provide additional opportunities to apply and consolidate these skills. |
| Vocabulary and oracy | Teachers explicitly introduce and revisit technical vocabulary. Pupils are expected to use scientific language when predicting, explaining, comparing and concluding. |
| Retrieval and assessment | Prior learning is deliberately revisited. End-of-unit assessment and ongoing teacher assessment identify what has been secured and what needs further teaching. |
| Memorable core knowledge | ‘Three Enthralling Things’ in KS1 and ‘Five Fantastic Facts’ in KS2 identify particularly important knowledge pupils should retain. |
| Scientists and representation | Scientists are woven through units and reading, including figures such as Katherine Johnson, Charles Macintosh, Wilhelm Röntgen, Dr Paula Kahumbu, Sylvia Earle, George Washington Carver and Santorio Santorio. |
| Inclusion | Teachers adapt explanations, resources, recording and practical participation so that pupils with SEND and pupils learning English can access the same ambitious scientific ideas. |
Whole-school science curriculum map
Seasonal change in Year 1 is revisited across the year, and several units intentionally continue across half term.
| Year | Autumn 1 | Autumn 2 | Spring 1 | Spring 2 | Summer 1 | Summer 2 |
| EYFS | Natural World through topics, provision and first-hand experiences | Seasonal change / celebrations / light and dark | People, materials and environments | Growth, change and stories about the natural world | Plants, animals, water and living things | Growth, journeys, environments and change |
| 1 | Human body + seasonal changes | Plants: trees + seasonal changes | Everyday materials + seasonal changes | Everyday materials continued + seasonal changes | Animals including humans | Plants + seasonal changes |
| 2 | Uses of everyday materials | Animals including humans / seasonal change recap | Animals including humans | Living things and habitats | Plants | Working scientifically: materials |
| 3 | Animals including humans | Light | Rocks | Forces and magnets | Plants | Working scientifically: humans, forces & magnets |
| 4 | Living things and habitats | States of matter | Sound | Electricity | Animals including humans | Animals including humans / food chains + enquiry |
| 5 | Forces | Earth and space | Properties & changes of materials | Materials continued | Living things and habitats | Animals including humans + materials enquiry |
| 6 | Animals including humans | Living things and habitats | Electricity | Light | Evolution and inheritance | Working scientifically: circulatory system |
Progression in substantive knowledge
The progression statements summarise the intended conceptual journey. Teachers use the medium-term plans for the precise lesson-level knowledge and vocabulary.
Animals, including humans
| Phase / year | Progression |
| EYFS | Name familiar body parts; notice similarities, differences, growth and change; talk about keeping healthy. |
| Y1 | Name and locate main body parts; identify the five senses and associated body parts; identify and describe common animals. |
| Y2 | Understand basic needs for survival; know that animals have offspring that grow into adults; explain the importance of exercise, food and hygiene. |
| Y3 | Explain nutrition and a balanced diet; identify functions of the skeleton; explain how muscles and bones work together for movement. |
| Y4 | Describe the digestive system and functions of teeth; construct and interpret food chains, identifying producers, predators and prey. |
| Y5 | Describe changes as humans develop to old age, including physical and emotional changes associated with puberty. |
| Y6 | Identify the circulatory system and explain functions of heart, blood vessels and blood; explain effects of diet, exercise, drugs and lifestyle; describe transport of nutrients and water. |
Plants
| Phase / year | Progression |
| EYFS | Observe plants closely; talk about what plants need; notice growth and seasonal change. |
| Y1 | Identify and name common wild and garden plants, including deciduous and evergreen trees; identify basic plant structures. |
| Y2 | Observe how seeds and bulbs grow; investigate and describe requirements for healthy plant growth. |
| Y3 | Explain functions of roots, stem/trunk, leaves and flowers; investigate requirements for life and growth; explore water transport and the life cycle of flowering plants. |
| Y4–6 | Plant knowledge is applied within habitats, classification, life cycles, food chains, adaptation and evolution. |
Living things, habitats and evolution
| Phase / year | Progression |
| EYFS | Explore living things in the immediate environment; notice differences between living and non-living things and changes over time. |
| Y1 | Encounter and name a widening range of animals and plants in local and familiar environments. |
| Y2 | Distinguish living, dead and never alive; describe habitats and microhabitats; explain simple dependence and food chains. |
| Y3 | Apply knowledge of plants and animals when comparing needs, structures and environments. |
| Y4 | Group living things in different ways; use classification keys; recognise that environments change and can pose dangers. |
| Y5 | Describe differences in life cycles of mammals, amphibians, insects and birds; describe reproduction in some plants and animals. |
| Y6 | Classify living things using observable characteristics and justify choices; explain inheritance, variation, adaptation and evolution over time. |
Materials and states of matter
| Phase / year | Progression |
| EYFS | Explore, compare and describe materials through play; notice changes such as melting, freezing, mixing and drying. |
| Y1 | Distinguish objects from materials; name common materials; describe and group by simple physical properties. |
| Y2 | Compare suitability of materials for uses; explain choices using properties; investigate bending, squashing, twisting and stretching. |
| Y3 | Classify rocks by appearance and simple properties; explain fossil formation and that soils are made from rocks and organic matter. |
| Y4 | Compare solids, liquids and gases; observe changes of state; identify evaporation and condensation in the water cycle. |
| Y5 | Compare materials by properties; understand dissolving and solutions; separate mixtures; distinguish reversible and irreversible changes and explain uses of materials. |
| Y6 | Apply understanding of materials and changes when planning and evaluating increasingly independent investigations. |
Forces, magnets, light, sound, electricity and Earth & space
| Phase / year | Progression |
| EYFS | Explore light, sound, movement, pushes and pulls, shadows and simple cause and effect through first-hand experience. |
| Y1–2 | Build observational language and experience of everyday physical phenomena through materials, seasons and practical exploration. |
| Y3 | Explain that light is needed to see; investigate reflection and shadows. Compare how things move; identify contact forces and magnetic attraction/repulsion. |
| Y4 | Explain how sounds are made and travel; relate pitch and volume to vibration. Construct simple circuits and identify conductors and insulators. |
| Y5 | Explain gravity, friction, air and water resistance and mechanisms. Describe movement of Earth and planets, the Moon and the apparent movement of the Sun. |
| Y6 | Use recognised symbols in circuit diagrams and explain effects of component changes. Explain that light travels in straight lines and use this to explain seeing and shadows. |
Progression in working scientifically
| Aspect | EYFS / KS1 | Lower KS2 | Upper KS2 |
| Asking questions | Notice, wonder and ask simple questions about what is observed. | Ask relevant questions and use different types of scientific enquiry to answer them. | Use scientific ideas to ask questions and select or refine an appropriate enquiry approach. |
| Planning enquiries | With support, suggest what to observe or compare; in KS1, carry out simple tests. | Set up simple practical enquiries, comparative and fair tests; recognise what should be changed, measured and kept the same. | Plan different types of enquiry, including comparative and fair tests; identify and control variables where necessary. |
| Observing & measuring | Observe closely using simple equipment; use non-standard and then standard measures where appropriate. | Make systematic and careful observations; take accurate measurements using standard units and a range of equipment. | Take measurements with increasing accuracy and precision; make decisions about equipment, repeat readings where appropriate. |
| Recording | Talk, draw, photograph, sort and use simple tables/charts; gather and record data to answer questions. | Record findings using tables, labelled diagrams, keys, bar charts and other appropriate formats. | Record increasingly complex data and results using scientific diagrams, labels, classification keys, tables, scatter graphs, bar and line graphs. |
| Interpreting evidence | Use observations and simple data to answer questions; notice simple patterns. | Report findings; identify differences, similarities, changes and patterns; draw simple conclusions and use results to make predictions. | Use results to draw conclusions, explain causal relationships, identify evidence that supports/refutes ideas and make predictions for further tests. |
| Evaluating | Say what happened and whether a prediction was correct. | Suggest improvements and raise further questions; recognise when results may not be reliable. | Evaluate methods, recognise limitations, consider repeatability and accuracy, and suggest improvements or further enquiry. |
| Using evidence & sources | Use first-hand experience and age-appropriate information sources. | Use straightforward scientific evidence to answer questions or support findings. | Identify scientific evidence used to support or refute ideas or arguments and distinguish observation from explanation. |
Vocabulary progression
Vocabulary is cumulative: pupils continue to use previously taught terms while adding increasingly precise scientific language. Teachers model complete scientific sentences and expect pupils to use vocabulary in talk as well as writing.
| Phase | Examples of cumulative vocabulary |
| EYFS | notice, change, grow, living, plant, animal, body, material, light, dark, sound, push, pull, season |
| KS1 | observe, identify, compare, group, classify, material, property, transparent, opaque, absorbent, habitat, microhabitat, offspring, survival, senses, evergreen, deciduous |
| Lower KS2 | predict, fair test, variable, measure, evidence, conclusion, nutrient, skeleton, muscle, reflection, shadow, magnetic force, fossil, soil, vibration, pitch, conductor, insulator, evaporation, condensation |
| Upper KS2 | accuracy, precision, repeat reading, control variable, causal relationship, reliability, solution, soluble, reversible, irreversible, gravity, resistance, orbit, life cycle, reproduction, classification, circulatory system, adaptation, inheritance, evolution |
EYFS foundations
Science begins in EYFS through Understanding the World, Communication and Language, Physical Development and carefully planned continuous provision. Children observe, handle, compare, talk about and revisit natural phenomena. Adults model accurate vocabulary and use questions to help children describe what they notice, make simple predictions and explain change.
- First-hand experiences include plants and growing, animals, the human body, seasons and weather, materials, water, light and dark, sound, movement and environmental change.
- Children learn to observe closely, describe similarities and differences, sort and group, ask questions and communicate what they have found.
- Reception experiences deliberately prepare pupils for Year 1 learning about the human body and senses, seasonal change, plants, animals and everyday materials.
- Continuous provision enables repeated encounters with scientific ideas so that knowledge is secure before more formal subject teaching in Key Stage 1.
Assessment and knowing more, remembering more
Assessment is used to improve teaching and identify whether pupils have secured the intended knowledge. Teachers draw on questioning, discussion, practical work, pupil explanations, book work, retrieval activities and end-of-unit assessment. Assessment focuses not only on whether pupils can recall facts, but whether they can connect ideas, use vocabulary accurately and apply working-scientifically knowledge in an appropriate context.
- Prior-learning prompts at the start of units activate and check prerequisite knowledge.
- Three Enthralling Things / Five Fantastic Facts provide memorable anchors but do not replace the wider taught curriculum.
- Misconceptions are addressed explicitly and revisited rather than simply marked as errors.
- Practical outcomes are assessed through pupils’ decisions, observations, measurements, records and explanations—not through presentation alone.
- Subject leadership monitoring considers curriculum coverage, the quality of pupils’ scientific thinking, vocabulary, practical enquiry, inclusion and retention over time.
End points
Curriculum Books
Quick links to our Curriculum books for all year groups from Nursery to Year 6.
Year Groups
From Nursery to Year 6 – find out all the information relevant to your child’s year group.
Whole School News
School news and events, letters to parents, dates for your diary, information and announcements.