Battle and Langton CE Primary School Science Curriculum

Overarching themes and endpoints 

There are 6 areas of study within the science curriculum:

Plant biology:  Children learn from the beginning of KS1 to identify common plants including trees and flowers.  They learn that plants are living things that share needs in common with other living things such as animals.  They learn how different plants grow and to name different parts of a plant.  In KS2 they study how plants get and transport nutrition around their systems and learn the role flowers play in successful reproduction.

Animal biology:  From the beginning of KS1 children learn to identify common animals and group them according to their characteristics.  They will learn that all animals grow, age and reproduce, studying different life cycles of different species.  They learn about nutrition, in particular the macro nutritional requirements of humans, and relate this to different food types in a healthy diet.  They learn to identify different parts of an animal’s musculoskeletal system, and their role and importance in the life of the animal.  They study the constituent parts of the digestive systems, including teeth, intestinal systems and the network that transports blood around the body.  They learn about human puberty and the changes that occur during this time. 

Living things and their habitats:  In KS1, children learn to identify things that are living from things that are not and understand the requirements of a living thing.   Later in KS2, the children apply this knowledge as they study different habitats in the local environment; considering how habitats can change and be impacted by human life.  They learn that all living things reproduce, that some do sexually and others asexually.  Finally, in Year 6, children learn the binomial system of classification for different types of living things and use it to classify different living things.

Material science:  From early in their experience, children learn to identify common materials and their physical properties.  From this knowledge they develop a sense of what purposes different types of material lend themselves to.  Later in their studies, children learn about states of matter and in particular how water can exist in three different states depending upon its temperature.  

Forces & Energy:  In KS1, children are introduced to the concept of forces and energy, know that a force could be a push or a pull and that there are always forces acting on an object.  In KS2 they learn about different forces and types of energy:  magnetism, sound, light and electricity.  They also develop their sense of forces by looking at motion and how air, water and friction act as a resisting force to moving objects.

Earth Science:  Early in KS1 children study seasonal weather patterns and the impact this has on plant life around the local environment.  In KS2 children learn about rocks and soils and how they are related to the water cycle.  They learn that not all soils are the same and that some soils are more suited to sustaining certain plants than others.  They learn how different types of rocks are formed and how rocks are part of a perpetual cycle that takes millions of years to complete.  They learn that as part of this cycle, remains of plants and animals can get trapped and become fossils.  Finally, in KS2, they learn about the planet Earth, and its place within our solar system.  They learn how its rotation and orbit of the sun impacts life every day, and how the moon’s position in its own orbit determines what we see in the sky.

For further information about the curriculum please speak to your child's teacher or make an appointment to see Mr Alexander