“Science is the process that takes us from confusion to understanding.”
— Brian Greene
At Cavendish CE Primary School, science begins with curiosity. We want our children to wonder, question, investigate and discover more about the world around them. Through science, pupils learn to observe carefully, think critically, test ideas and explain what they find.
Science reflects our school vision: We Learn. We Love. We Belong. We want every child to see themselves as a scientist — someone whose questions matter, whose ideas are valued and whose discoveries help them understand the world more deeply.
Our Science Curriculum
We use White Rose Science to support the teaching and learning of science across the school. This provides a clear and carefully sequenced curriculum through which children build scientific knowledge, vocabulary and understanding over time.
Our curriculum is organised to meet the needs of our mixed-age classes, while ensuring that pupils receive their full National Curriculum entitlement.
Children develop knowledge across the key areas of science, including:
- plants;
- animals, including humans;
- living things and their habitats;
- materials and their properties;
- seasonal change;
- forces and magnets;
- light;
- sound;
- electricity;
- rocks;
- states of matter;
- Earth and space; and
- evolution and inheritance.
Important scientific ideas are deliberately revisited as children move through school. This enables pupils to connect new learning to what they already know, strengthen their understanding and remember more over time.
Our Mixed-Age Class Structure
Our Science curriculum is carefully organised around the mixed-age structure of Cavendish.
Robins – EYFS, Year 1 and Year 2
Children develop their earliest understanding of the natural world before progressing into Key Stage 1 Science. They explore plants, animals, materials, habitats and seasonal change through observation, investigation, discussion and first-hand experiences.
Reception children access shared themes where appropriate, but their learning remains developmentally appropriate and rooted within the EYFS, particularly Understanding the World.
Wrens – Year 3 and Year 4
Children build upon their Key Stage 1 knowledge and begin to explore scientific ideas in greater depth. They develop increasingly precise vocabulary, make more systematic observations, compare and classify, gather evidence and use their findings to draw conclusions.
Owls – Year 5 and Year 6
Children encounter increasingly complex scientific concepts and are expected to make connections with previous learning, select appropriate ways to investigate questions, analyse evidence and explain their conclusions using accurate scientific language.
Our mixed-age curriculum is carefully sequenced so that children build knowledge progressively while avoiding unnecessary repetition. Teachers adapt modelling, scaffolding, questioning and the level of independence expected according to pupils' prior knowledge and needs.
Working Scientifically
Working scientifically is woven throughout our Science curriculum.
Children learn that science is not simply about knowing facts. It involves asking questions, gathering evidence and using that evidence to develop explanations.
As they progress through school, children learn to:
- ask scientific questions;
- make predictions;
- observe carefully;
- identify, classify and compare;
- plan and carry out investigations;
- use equipment accurately and safely;
- take measurements;
- record and present findings;
- identify patterns and relationships;
- draw conclusions from evidence; and
- evaluate what they have discovered.
We encourage children to wonder, predict, test, observe, explain and reflect, developing the confidence to think and communicate like scientists.
The Cavendish 5 in Science
As in all subjects at Cavendish, our Cavendish 5 underpin high-quality teaching and learning in Science.
Retrieval
Children regularly revisit important scientific vocabulary, concepts and prior knowledge so that new learning connects securely with what they already understand.
I Do, We Do, You Do
Teachers explicitly model scientific thinking, processes and techniques before working alongside pupils and gradually moving children towards greater independence.
Purposeful Practice
Children have repeated opportunities to apply their scientific knowledge, use equipment, make observations, investigate questions and explain their understanding.
High-Quality Questioning
Questions encourage children to predict, explain, compare, make connections, justify ideas and draw conclusions rather than simply recall facts.
Feedback
Live feedback helps children address misconceptions, refine their scientific vocabulary and improve the accuracy of their observations, explanations and conclusions.
Science in the Early Years
Science begins long before children encounter it as a separate National Curriculum subject.
In Reception, children develop the foundations for later scientific learning predominantly through Understanding the World. They explore their environment, observe plants and animals, notice seasonal changes, investigate materials and talk about similarities, differences, patterns and change.
Adults model curiosity and introduce appropriate vocabulary while encouraging children to ask questions and investigate their own ideas.
Our outdoor environment provides particularly rich opportunities for these first scientific experiences.
Outdoor Learning and Our Local Environment
As a small village school with wonderful outdoor spaces, we make good use of our school grounds and local environment to bring science to life.
Children learn through first-hand experiences including observing plants and animals, exploring habitats, noticing seasonal changes and developing an understanding of the relationships between living things and their environments.
Our woodland, field and outdoor learning opportunities help pupils recognise that science is not just something that happens in a classroom — it is all around us.
These experiences also help children develop a sense of responsibility for protecting and caring for the natural world.
Inclusion in Science
Science is for every child.
Teachers carefully adapt teaching so that all pupils can access the important scientific knowledge within each unit. This may include explicit vocabulary teaching, visual support, practical experiences, additional modelling, carefully structured questions and opportunities for children to rehearse their ideas orally.
Support is designed to remove barriers without reducing the ambition of the curriculum.
Where written recording creates an unnecessary barrier to demonstrating scientific understanding, children may communicate their ideas in alternative ways.
At the same time, pupils who are secure in their learning are challenged through deeper reasoning, making connections, applying knowledge in unfamiliar situations and explaining their thinking with increasing precision.
Assessment in Science
Assessment is an ongoing part of Science teaching.
Teachers use questioning, observation, discussion, practical investigations, pupil work and opportunities to apply knowledge to understand what children know and remember.
Assessment considers both children's scientific knowledge and their ability to work scientifically.
Importantly, we assess what children understand and can explain rather than judging learning simply by the amount they have recorded.
Assessment helps teachers identify misconceptions and gaps in prerequisite knowledge so that these can be addressed before children move on to more complex scientific ideas.
Science and Our Christian Vision
Science at Cavendish provides many opportunities for children to experience awe and wonder.
We encourage pupils to appreciate the beauty, complexity and richness of the world, to ask big questions and to recognise their responsibility to care for creation and one another.
Our children learn that scientific discovery and thoughtful questioning can deepen their understanding of the world around them.
Through Science, we want children to recognise that questions are important, discovery is powerful and learning about our world helps us understand our place and responsibilities within it.
We Learn. We Love. We Belong.