Science

At Long Whatton C of E Primary School, we believe that Science is a vital part of children’s learning.

Children need to understand the world around them, and importantly, what the world might be like in the future. We aim to provide children with a broad and exciting curriculum which inspires inquisitive thinking and exploration and embeds disciplinary knowledge (the knowledge needed to collect, understand and evaluate scientific evidence), within the substantive content (biology, chemistry and physics).

Science Curriculum

The national curriculum for science education aims to ensure that all pupils:

  • develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics
  • develop understanding of the nature, processes and methods of science through different types of science enquiries that help them to answer scientific questions about the world around them
  • are equipped with the scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of science, today and for the future.

The National Curriculum provides a structure and skills progression for the Science curriculum taught throughout the school, which is linked, where possible, to the Cornerstones topics providing a creative scheme of work, which reflects a balanced programme of study.

The curriculum journey starts in the early years where pupils are introduced to a wide range of vocabulary and phenomena. As children progress through the science curriculum, new knowledge is systematically integrated into pre-existing knowledge allowing scientific concepts to be revisited and built on.

We believe that children should be encouraged to challenge their ideas about the world around them, therefore questioning is at the heart of Long Whatton C of E Primary School. Questioning and critical thinking help children to develop paths towards understanding, a skill which can be applied across all curriculum subjects.