Key Stage 2 – Science
A high-quality science education provides the foundations for understanding the world through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics. Science has changed our lives and is vital to the world’s future prosperity, and all children should be taught essential aspects of the knowledge, methods, processes and uses of science. Through building up a body of key foundational knowledge and concepts, children are encouraged to recognise the power of rational explanation and develop a sense of excitement and curiosity about natural phenomena. They should be encouraged to understand how science can be used to explain what is occurring, predict how things will behave, and analyse causes.
The national curriculum for Key Stage 2 science aims to ensure that all children:
- 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.
Topics included in the national curriculum for Key Stage 2 science are:
| Year 3 | Year 5 |
| Plants
Animals including humans Rocks Light Forces and magnets |
Living things and their habitats
Animals including humans Properties and changes of materials Earth and Space Forces |
| Year 4 | Year 6 |
| Living things and their habitats
Animals including humans States of matter Sounds Electricity |
Living things and their habitats
Animals including humans Evolution and inheritance Light Electricity |
The WES Science course emphasises the importance of working systematically and logically as well as encouraging creative ways of looking at problems. It contains a balance between acquiring scientific knowledge and understanding and using the appropriate processes and skills. Children are encouraged to observe, classify, measure, communicate and investigate to an increasing degree. We encourage children to ‘think scientifically’, by looking for common underlying patterns, controlling variables and solving problems which involve the application of scientific knowledge at their level.
In Key Stages 1 and 2, a core Science course is used, supplemented with a variety of information books. The WES topics cover all that is required in the national curriculum plus some other topics of interest to children.