Science

Understanding the world through science

Science helps children understand the natural and physical world around them. It enables them to explain what they observe, ask meaningful questions, evaluate evidence and make informed decisions about their lives and the world they will inherit.

At Waterloo, we want every child to see science as something they can understand, participate in and potentially pursue in later life.

Our curriculum is designed to develop:

curiosity about the natural and physical world;
secure knowledge of biology, chemistry and physics;
accurate scientific vocabulary;
an understanding of how scientific knowledge is established;
confidence in asking questions and conducting enquiries;
careful observation and measurement;
the ability to collect, present and interpret evidence;
an understanding of the uses and limitations of science;
awareness of science’s importance to health, technology, society and the environment;
a sense of responsibility towards the natural world.

Children learn scientific knowledge alongside the methods and practices scientists use. They do not simply memorise facts or complete isolated experiments: they learn both what we know and how we know it.

Our curriculum approach

In Nursery and Reception, children’s early scientific development is taught through Understanding the World within the United Learning Early Years Curriculum.

From Year 1 to Year 6 in mainstream classes, we use Ark Curriculum Plus Science as the principal toolkit through which the National Curriculum for science is planned and taught.

In our specialist provisions, science is taught through carefully selected and heavily adapted Cornerstones projects. These provide meaningful contexts through which children can encounter and apply scientific knowledge at an appropriate developmental level.

Our curriculum tools provide:

a coherent sequence of scientific knowledge;
clear progression;
explicit development of scientific vocabulary;
substantive knowledge across biology, chemistry and physics;
disciplinary knowledge through working scientifically;
planned opportunities for different types of scientific enquiry;
connections between scientific concepts;
links between science, everyday life and global challenges;
guidance to support teachers’ subject knowledge.

These resources support teaching but do not replace teachers’ professional judgement. Teachers remain responsible for adapting explanations, examples, practical activity and recording so that all children can participate and make strong progress.

Our curriculum fulfils the aims of the National Curriculum for science, developing scientific knowledge, conceptual understanding, methods of enquiry and understanding of the uses and implications of science.

Science from Nursery to Year 6

Phase	What children learn	How children learn
Nursery	Knowledge of their bodies, plants, animals, materials, weather, seasons and the immediate environment; early concepts of growth, change, similarity, difference and cause and effect.	Through the United Learning EYFS Curriculum, direct experience, outdoor exploration, stories, play, continuous provision, adult modelling and carefully chosen questions.
Reception	Deeper knowledge of plants, animals, environments, seasons, materials and important natural processes and changes; increasingly systematic observation, comparison and recording.	Through Understanding the World, explicit teaching, exploration, stories and non-fiction, practical experiences, sustained shared thinking and purposeful continuous and enhanced provision.
Years 1 and 2	Plants, animals including humans, everyday materials, seasonal change, habitats, environmental protection and the needs of living things.	Through Ark science units, first-hand observation, classification, simple tests, observation over time, secondary sources and explicit scientific vocabulary.
Years 3 and 4	Skeletons, muscles and nutrition; plants; rocks and fossils; light; forces and magnets; digestion and teeth; states of matter; living things and environments; sound and electricity.	Through increasingly systematic enquiries, comparative and fair tests, accurate measurement, data collection, scientific models, discussion and explanation.
Years 5 and 6	Earth and space; forces; properties and changes of materials; life cycles; human development; light; classification; evolution and inheritance; electricity; circulation and healthy lifestyles.	Through increasingly independent enquiry, control of variables, precise measurement, interpretation of data, evaluation of evidence and consideration of the limitations of conclusions.
Specialist provision	Scientific knowledge selected from Cornerstones projects according to pupils’ developmental stages, prior knowledge, communication needs and individual outcomes.	Through the Cornerstones Engage, Develop, Innovate and Express pedagogy, with explicit teaching, substantial adaptation, meaningful practical experience and links with mainstream learning where appropriate.

Science in Nursery

Young children are naturally curious. They notice movement, weather, animals, plants, light, sound and changes in materials. Our role is to turn this natural curiosity into increasingly secure knowledge and purposeful ways of finding out.

In Nursery, children begin to learn about:

their own bodies and senses;
similarities and differences between people;
familiar animals and plants;
what living things need;
growth and change;
natural and manufactured materials;
changes in weather and seasons;
light, sound, movement and force through everyday experiences;
different local environments;
care for living things and the natural world.

Children develop this knowledge through:

observing plants, animals and seasonal change;
growing and caring for plants;
visiting and revisiting the outdoor environment;
handling and comparing natural and manufactured materials;
exploring water, sand, soil, ice and other substances;
building, rolling, pushing and pulling;
using their senses to investigate;
listening to stories and non-fiction;
talking about what they notice;
making simple drawings and records;
asking and answering questions.

Play and exploration are important, but scientific learning is not left to chance. Adults draw attention to significant features, introduce precise vocabulary, model curiosity and help children make connections between different experiences.

The environment is planned so that children encounter important ideas repeatedly. Adults ask questions such as:

What do you notice?
What is the same and what is different?
What has changed?
Why do you think that happened?
How could we find out?
What do you think will happen next?

These questions establish the thinking that children will later use when working scientifically.

Science in Reception

In Reception, children continue to learn science through Understanding the World within the United Learning Early Years Curriculum.

Teaching develops knowledge of:

common plants and animals;
life cycles, growth and change;
similarities and differences between living things;
the basic needs of humans, animals and plants;
different environments and habitats;
weather and seasonal change;
everyday materials and their properties;
changing states of matter, such as freezing and melting;
the importance of looking after the environment.

Children explore the natural world, make observations and represent what they see through talk, drawing, diagrams, models and early writing.

Explicit teaching is combined with opportunities to apply knowledge through play and continuous provision. A child might learn about the needs of plants during an adult-led session, observe growth in the outdoor area and then use this knowledge when caring for plants independently.

Adults introduce children to increasingly precise language. Everyday words are retained where helpful, but children also begin to use terms such as root, stem, seed, habitat, material, season, freeze and melt.

By the end of Reception, children have developed the vocabulary, knowledge and habits of observation needed to access the Year 1 science curriculum.

Science in Key Stage 1

In Years 1 and 2, children learn to look more closely at the natural and human-made world.

Year 1

Children learn about:

everyday materials;
autumn and winter;
a wide range of animals;
spring and summer;
common plants.

They distinguish between objects and the materials from which they are made, compare material properties and develop their knowledge of seasonal change.

Children identify and classify common animals and plants, learn the basic structures of living things and make repeated observations across the year.

Year 2

Children learn about:

the uses of materials;
animals’ needs for survival;
habitats;
protecting the environment;
bulbs, seeds and plant growth.

They develop their understanding of how materials are selected for particular purposes and how living things depend upon suitable conditions and one another.

Children begin to consider the impact humans have on environments and how these environments can be protected.

Working scientifically in Key Stage 1

Children learn to:

ask simple scientific questions;
observe closely;
use simple equipment;
perform simple tests;
identify, group and classify;
notice patterns and changes;
gather and record information;
use observations to suggest answers;
communicate what they have found.

Practical experience is especially important, but it is connected to clearly identified scientific knowledge. Children are taught what to notice, the vocabulary needed to describe it and how an observation contributes to answering a question.

Science in Lower Key Stage 2

In Years 3 and 4, children broaden their scientific understanding and begin to think more systematically.

Year 3

Children learn about:

skeletons, muscles and nutrition;
rocks and fossils;
light and shadows;
plants and their requirements for life;
forces and magnets.

They begin to understand relationships between structure and function, such as how skeletons support movement or how different parts of a plant contribute to survival and reproduction.

Children examine how fossils form, how shadows change and how contact and non-contact forces affect objects.

Year 4

Children learn about:

teeth and digestion;
states of matter;
living things and their environments;
sound;
electricity.

They explore how body systems work, how materials change state and how living things can be classified.

Children learn that sound is produced through vibration and construct and investigate simple electrical circuits.

Working scientifically in Years 3 and 4

Children learn to:

ask relevant scientific questions;
select an appropriate type of enquiry;
set up simple practical enquiries;
conduct comparative and fair tests;
make systematic and careful observations;
measure using standard units;
use an increasing range of equipment;
record findings using diagrams, keys, tables and charts;
present data in different ways;
draw simple conclusions;
make predictions;
identify possible improvements;
report findings orally and in writing;
use scientific evidence to support an explanation.

Teachers model the process of enquiry and gradually transfer greater responsibility to pupils.

Science in Upper Key Stage 2

In Years 5 and 6, children encounter increasingly complex concepts and use evidence with greater precision.

Year 5

Children learn about:

Earth and space;
forces;
properties and changes of materials;
life cycles;
human growth and development.

They develop an understanding of the movement of the Earth, Moon and other bodies in the Solar System.

Children explore gravity, air resistance, water resistance and friction. They investigate reversible and irreversible changes and learn how mixtures can be separated.

They compare the life cycles of different organisms and learn about changes across the human lifespan.

Year 6

Children learn about:

light;
classification;
evolution and inheritance;
electricity;
the circulatory system and healthy lifestyles.

They develop a more sophisticated understanding of how light travels, how scientists classify living things and how variation, inheritance and adaptation contribute to evolution.

Children construct and represent increasingly complex electrical circuits. They learn how the circulatory system works and how lifestyle choices can affect health.

Working scientifically in Years 5 and 6

Children learn to:

plan different types of scientific enquiry;
recognise and control variables where necessary;
select appropriate equipment;
take increasingly accurate measurements;
repeat readings where appropriate;
record data using diagrams, classification keys, tables and graphs;
use results to make predictions;
identify patterns and causal relationships;
distinguish between correlation and cause where appropriate;
evaluate the degree of trust that can be placed in results;
identify evidence that supports or refutes an idea;
report conclusions using precise scientific language.

By the end of Year 6, children should understand that scientific knowledge is based on evidence and may be refined when new evidence becomes available.

Substantive and disciplinary knowledge

Our science curriculum develops two connected forms of knowledge.

Substantive knowledge: what we know

Substantive knowledge includes scientific concepts, models, laws and theories.

In primary school, this is organised through three broad disciplines:

Biology	Chemistry	Physics
Plants	Everyday materials	Seasonal change
Animals, including humans	Uses of materials	Light
Living things and habitats	Rocks and fossils	Forces and magnets
Life cycles	States of matter	Sound
Classification	Properties and changes of materials	Electricity
Evolution and inheritance		Earth and space

Children revisit important ideas at increasing levels of complexity. For example, their early knowledge of animals and their bodies develops into understanding skeletons, digestion, circulation, life cycles and inheritance.

Disciplinary knowledge: how we know

Disciplinary knowledge is knowledge of the practices of science. It teaches children how scientific evidence is collected, evaluated and used to establish explanations.

Children develop the ability to:

ask scientific questions;
plan enquiries;
select and use equipment;
observe and measure;
record evidence;
present data;
identify patterns;
draw and evaluate conclusions;
use models;
explain how evidence supports or challenges an idea.

Substantive and disciplinary knowledge are taught together. Children need knowledge of the scientific concept to design, understand and evaluate a meaningful enquiry.

Types of scientific enquiry

Across the curriculum, children encounter different ways of answering scientific questions.

Observing over time

Children observe how something changes over a period, such as a plant growing, a material drying or shadows changing.

Pattern seeking

Children collect and examine observations to identify possible relationships, such as whether people with longer legs tend to jump further.

Identifying, classifying and grouping

Children organise objects or living things according to observable features and increasingly scientific criteria.

Comparative and fair testing

Children compare outcomes and, as they develop, learn to control relevant variables so that a test provides useful evidence.

Research using secondary sources

Children use reliable books, images, databases, videos and other sources when a question cannot be answered safely or practically through direct investigation.

Problem-solving

Children apply scientific knowledge to solve a practical problem, make a decision or evaluate a possible solution.

Different questions require different types of enquiry. Children are taught to select the approach most likely to provide useful evidence.

Our science pedagogy

Strong science teaching at Waterloo follows a number of common principles.

Knowledge before enquiry

Practical activity alone does not guarantee scientific learning.

Before an investigation, children need enough knowledge to understand the question, make a reasoned prediction, recognise relevant evidence and interpret what happens.

Teachers explicitly teach the science that gives practical activity meaning.

Clear explanation and modelling

Teachers explain new concepts in manageable steps and model scientific thinking, vocabulary, equipment use, observation and recording.

Complex processes may be represented through diagrams, models, demonstrations, animations and carefully chosen analogies.

Purposeful practical work

Every practical activity has a clear scientific purpose.

It may help children:

observe a phenomenon;
apply a concept;
answer a question;
test an explanation;
practise a scientific procedure;
collect evidence;
evaluate a model.

Practical activity is not included simply because it is entertaining. Children should understand what they are investigating and what the evidence might show.

Retrieval and connection

Important scientific knowledge is revisited regularly. Teachers connect new concepts with previous learning and identify where everyday experience may have created misconceptions.

Children learn that scientific ideas are connected. Understanding materials, for example, supports later learning about states of matter, dissolving and changes of materials.

Responsive teaching

Teachers check understanding throughout the lesson through questioning, observation, discussion and children’s work.

Misconceptions are identified and addressed directly rather than allowed to become established.

Scientific vocabulary and oracy

Science has a precise and increasingly technical language. This can create a significant barrier for children with lower language starting points, SEND or EAL.

Vocabulary is therefore explicitly identified, taught, modelled and revisited.

Children are supported to:

pronounce scientific terms accurately;
connect new vocabulary to examples and experiences;
distinguish between everyday and scientific meanings;
use complete sentences to explain processes;
compare and classify using precise criteria;
describe observations objectively;
justify conclusions using evidence;
evaluate other explanations respectfully.

As a Voice 21 Oracy School, we deliberately plan talk within science. Children use partner discussion, sentence stems, group enquiry, presentation and debate to develop scientific understanding and communicate their ideas.

Speaking is not merely preparation for written recording. It is one of the ways children develop, test and refine scientific thinking.

Representation in science

Children should encounter scientists and scientific contributions from different periods, cultures and backgrounds.

They learn that science is a human endeavour shaped by observation, creativity, collaboration, evidence and debate. They encounter both significant historical contributions and scientists working on contemporary questions.

Scientists are introduced where their work helps children understand how knowledge was developed, applied or revised—not as disconnected biographical facts.

We want all children to see that science belongs to them and that scientific careers are open to people from every background.

Science and the local environment

Science enables children to understand and care for the places in which they live.

Our local environment provides opportunities to study:

seasonal change;
weather;
plants and trees;
local habitats;
biodiversity;
materials and their uses;
pollution and environmental protection;
human impact on natural spaces.

Where appropriate, fieldwork, visitors, educational visits and community projects allow children to apply classroom learning in authentic settings.

Children also explore global scientific challenges, including climate change, habitat loss, food availability, health and the responsible use of resources. These are taught in an age-appropriate way, with an emphasis on knowledge, evidence and positive action rather than fear.

Science in specialist provision

Children in specialist provision share the same entitlement to understand the natural and physical world and to participate in meaningful scientific enquiry.

Science is taught through carefully selected and adapted Cornerstones projects. These projects provide engaging contexts through which pupils encounter knowledge about living things, materials, the human body, forces, light, sound, electricity, Earth and the wider environment.

Projects are selected and sequenced according to:

pupils’ developmental stages;
their prior scientific knowledge;
their communication profiles;
their sensory and physical needs;
their interests and motivators;
their individual and EHCP outcomes;
opportunities to connect with wider school learning.

The curriculum is not determined solely by pupils’ chronological ages. However, developmental difference is not used as a reason to limit ambition. Staff identify the most appropriate scientific starting point and plan a clear pathway towards increasingly complex knowledge, communication and independence.

The Cornerstones pedagogy

Cornerstones projects follow four connected stages:

Engage

Children encounter a meaningful experience, stimulus, question or phenomenon that captures attention and activates prior knowledge.

Develop

Adults explicitly teach the essential knowledge, concepts and vocabulary children need to understand the project.

Innovate

Children apply what they have learned to an enquiry, problem, practical task or new situation.

Express

Children revisit, consolidate and communicate their learning through talk, demonstration, selection, symbols, photographs, models, diagrams, performance or writing.

The stages are adapted according to each child’s needs. Some children may require substantial repetition within a stage or repeated movement between stages before knowledge becomes secure.

Adapting science in specialist provision

Teaching may include:

real objects and first-hand experiences;
repeated observation over time;
photographs, visual prompts and symbols;
signing and augmentative communication;
reduced language alongside precise scientific vocabulary;
smaller instructional steps;
highly familiar examples and contexts;
additional modelling and repetition;
adapted scientific equipment;
alternative methods of responding and recording;
additional processing time;
opportunities to apply learning in different settings.

Practical and sensory experiences are used when they have a clear scientific purpose.

For example, exploring materials should lead towards noticing a property, comparing two materials, sorting them, choosing one for a purpose or communicating a preference based on evidence. Experiencing a sound, light or movement is the starting point for learning—not the complete curriculum.

Depending on their developmental stage, children may learn to:

attend and respond to a scientific phenomenon;
anticipate a repeated event;
recognise cause and effect;
notice change;
match and sort;
identify similarities and differences;
classify according to a feature;
make a choice or prediction;
observe over time;
use simple equipment;
collect or represent information;
communicate what happened;
connect an observation to an explanation.

Connections with mainstream learning

Where meaningful and appropriate, specialist provision projects connect with the science taught in mainstream classes and with shared whole-school themes, visits and experiences.

Children may:

join a mainstream science lesson or investigation;
study a related concept within specialist provision;
share an educational visit or visitor;
participate in a whole-school environmental project;
contribute observations or findings to a shared display;
work alongside mainstream peers in an appropriately supported group.

Inclusion does not require children to complete the same task or study an age-related Ark unit for which they do not yet have the prerequisite knowledge. It means experiencing genuine participation, shared opportunities and a curriculum that keeps open the possibility of greater access.

Staff ensure that the complete range of Cornerstones projects provides breadth across biological, chemical and physical science. They also track pupils’ development in working scientifically so that practical experiences form a cumulative pathway rather than a series of disconnected activities.

Progress may be demonstrated through increased attention, anticipation, observation, matching, sorting, selecting, predicting, measuring, communicating, explaining or independently applying knowledge in a new context.

Adaptation and inclusion in mainstream science

All pupils should encounter an ambitious science curriculum. Teachers identify potential barriers and adapt teaching through:

pre-teaching and revisiting vocabulary;
visual and concrete representations;
real objects and practical demonstrations;
chunked explanations;
additional modelling;
sentence stems and talk frames;
adapted equipment;
alternative methods of recording;
supported reading;
additional processing time;
repeated practice;
targeted adult support.

Adaptation should increase participation, understanding and independence. It should not routinely remove scientific content or replace learning with an unrelated activity.

Teachers distinguish between scientific understanding and a child’s ability to record it in writing. A pupil may be able to classify accurately, explain orally, demonstrate with objects or select an appropriate diagram even when extended writing remains difficult.

Assessment

Assessment identifies what scientific knowledge children have secured and how effectively they can apply it.

Teachers use:

questioning and discussion;
observation during practical activity;
retrieval tasks;
diagrams and models;
classification and explanation;
children’s oral and written work;
data collection and interpretation;
end-of-unit tasks and assessments.

Teachers consider whether children can:

recall important scientific knowledge;
explain a concept using appropriate vocabulary;
connect it to previous learning;
apply it in a new context;
recognise and correct a misconception;
select an appropriate type of enquiry;
use equipment safely and accurately;
interpret evidence;
draw a conclusion supported by evidence.

A polished practical presentation does not by itself demonstrate scientific understanding. Equally, extensive writing should not become a barrier to showing what a child knows.

Recording is selected according to the scientific purpose and may include talk, photographs, diagrams, tables, graphs, models, video or written explanation.

In specialist provision, assessment identifies meaningful progress within both scientific knowledge and enquiry. This may include a child noticing a change, making a consistent choice, applying a classification in a new context or communicating an increasingly accurate explanation.

What success looks like

Our science curriculum is successful when children:

are curious about the natural and physical world;
remember important scientific knowledge;
make connections between scientific concepts;
use scientific vocabulary accurately;
ask meaningful and increasingly testable questions;
select appropriate ways to investigate;
observe and measure carefully;
record and present evidence clearly;
distinguish between observation and opinion;
explain conclusions using evidence;
understand that scientific knowledge may change when new evidence emerges;
apply science to their health, environment and everyday lives;
understand the contribution of science to society;
see themselves as people who can understand and participate in science;
make strong progress from their individual starting points;
leave Waterloo ready for their next stage of scientific learning.

Above all, we want children to understand that science is not simply a collection of facts or experiments. It is a disciplined way of explaining the world—one that begins with curiosity, grows through knowledge and is tested through evidence.