Skip to content
🌲 The Greener, Kinder Christmas Pledge for Schools – SIGN UP NOW 🌲
🌲 The Greener, Kinder Christmas Pledge for Schools – SIGN UP NOW 🌲

National Curriculum Science

What is the Science National Curriculum?

The National Curriculum is a set of subjects and standards used by primary and secondary schools so children learn the same things. It covers what subjects are taught and the standards children should reach in each subject.

Science is a core subject of the National Curriculum.

Science has changed our lives and is vital to the world’s future prosperity, and all pupils should be taught essential aspects of the knowledge, methods, processes and uses of science. (National Curriculum 2014)

National Curriculum Science Experiment

Aims of the Science National Curriculum

There are three main aims of the Science National Curriculum:

1. To help children develop scientific knowledge and understanding through the disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics.

2. To help children develop understanding of the nature, processes and methods of Science through different types of scientific enquiries that help them answer scientific questions about the world around them.

3. To equip pupils with the scientific knowledge required to understand the uses and implications of Science today and for the future.  

National Curriculum Science making observations

Progression in the Science National Curriculum

The Science National Curriculum is designed to ensure children make progress in their scientific knowledge and understanding as they move through primary school. Below, you can see how the main focus of the Science National Curriculum progresses from KS1 (Years 1 and 2) to LKS2 (Years 3 and 4) to UKS2 (Years 5 and 6).

National Curriculum Science KS1 (Main Aim)
National Curriculum Science LKS2 (Main Aim)
National Curriculum Science UKS2 (Main Aim)

The main focus is to enable pupils to experience and observe phenonema.

The main focus is to enable pupils to broaden their scientific view of the world around them.

The main focus is to enable pupils to develop a deeper undersyanding of a wide range of scientific concepts.

There is also progression in terms of the types of scientific enquiry children will be using:

National Curriculum Science KS1 (Scientific Enquiry)
National Curriculum Science LKS2 (Scientific Enquiry)
National Curriculum Science UKS2 (Scientific Enquiry)

Children should develop their scientific understanding by using different types of scientific enquiry including:

- Observing changes over time

- Noticing patterns

- Grouping and classifying things

- Carrying out simple comparative tests

- Finding out things using secondary sources of information (e.g. books, photographs, videos)

They should ask their own questions about what they observe and make some decisions about which types of scientific enquiry are likely to be the best ways of answering them including:

- Observing changes over time

- Noticing patterns

- Grouping and classifying things

- Carrying out simple comparative tests and fair tests.

- Finding out things using secondary sources of information (e.g. books, photographs, videos)

They should select the most appropriate ways to answer science questions using different types of scientific enquiry, including:

- Observing changes over time

- Noticing patterns

- Grouping and classifying things

- Carrying out simple comparative tests and fair tests.

- Finding out things using secondary sources of information (e.g. books, photographs, videos)

There is also progression in terms of how they feedback what they have found out as a result of scientific enquiry:

National Curriculum Science KS1 (Reporting results)
National Curriculum Science LKS2 (Reporting results)
National Curriculum Science UKS2 (Reporting results)

They should begin to use simple scientific language to talk about what they have found out and communicate their ideas to a range of audiences in a variety of ways.

They should draw simple conclusions and use some scientific language, first, to talk about and, later, to write about what they have found out.

 

Pupils should draw conclusions based on their data and observations, use evidence to justify their ideas, and use their scientific knowledge and understanding to explain their findings.

National Curriculum Science KS1

Here are the topics to be covered in the Science National Curriculum for years 1 and 2:

National Curriculum Science Year 1:

- Plants

- Animals, including humans

- Everyday materials

- Seasonal changes

 

PlanBee FREE Under the Sea KS1 Ocean Animals lesson pack | PlanBee

Sold out
PlanBee Materials and their Properties KS1 Year 1 Science by PlanBee

PlanBee Seasonal Changes Year 1 Science Lesson Plans for KS1

PlanBee Everyday Materials Year 1 Science Materials Planning for KS1

PlanBee Animals Year 1 | Science Lessons KS1 by PlanBee

PlanBee Pets and Gardens Year 1 Science Lesson Plans by PlanBee

National Curriculum Science Year 2:

- Living things and their habitats

- Plants

- Animals, including humans

- Uses of everyday materials  

PlanBee FREE Under the Sea KS1 Ocean Animals lesson pack | PlanBee

PlanBee Year 2 Materials | Exploring Everyday Materials | KS1 Science PlanBee

PlanBee Growth and Survival: Animals including Humans Year 2 Science

PlanBee Growing Plants KS1 Plants Year 2 Science Resources | PlanBee

PlanBee Super Scientists Year 2 Working Scientifically | PlanBee

PlanBee Secret World of Plants - KS1 Science Scheme of Work: Year 2

PlanBee Polar Explorers KS1 Arctic Adventures Topic | PlanBee

National Curriculum Science KS2

Here are the topics to be covered in the Science National Curriculum for years 3, 4, 5 and 6:

National Curriculum Science Year 3:

- Plants

- Animals, including humans

- Rocks

- Light

- Forces and magnets

PlanBee Year 3 Rocks, Fossils and Soils | PlanBee Science Planning

PlanBee Forces and Magnets Year 3 Forces Planning | PlanBee Science

PlanBee Light Year 3 Science Planning Pack by PlanBee

PlanBee Plants Year 3 Planning Pack | Year 3 Science Plants Lessons

PlanBee Year 3 Light and Dark Ancient Egypt Science by PlanBee

PlanBee Scientific Enquiry KS2 Lessons - What Do Scientists Do?

PlanBee Desert Habitat KS2 Science Lessons by PlanBee

National Curriculum Science Year 4:

- Living things and their habitats

- Animals, including humans

- States of matter

- Sound

- Electricity

PlanBee Year 4 States of Matter KS2 Science Lesson Plans by PlanBee

PlanBee Changing Sounds KS2 Year 4 Science Planning | PlanBee

PlanBee Living Things and their Habitats Year 4 Science Lessons

PlanBee Digestive System Year 4 Animals including Humans | PlanBee

PlanBee Electricity Year 4 Science lessons: Circuits and Conductors

PlanBee Scientific Enquiry KS2 Lessons - What Do Scientists Do?

PlanBee Desert Habitat KS2 Science Lessons by PlanBee

PlanBee Animals of India complete Science scheme of work for KS2

National Curriculum Science Year 5:

- Living things and their habitats

- Animals, including humans

- Properties and changes of materials

- Earth and space

- Forces

PlanBee Properties and Changes of Materials Year 5 Science | PlanBee

PlanBee Forces in Action: Science Forces Year 5 PlanBee lesson pack

PlanBee Living Things and Habitats Life Cycles KS2 Science PlanBee

PlanBee Great British Scientists KS2 Science Lessons by PlanBee

PlanBee PlanBee Viking Science Year 5 & Year 6 Working Scientifically

PlanBee Space KS2 Cross-curricular Topic for Year 5/6 by PlanBee

National Curriculum Science Year 6:

- Living things and their habitats

- Animals, including humans

- Evolution and inheritance

- Light

- Electricity

PlanBee Living Things and their Habitats Year 6 | Classifying Organisms

PlanBee Changing Circuits - Electricity Year 6 Lesson Planning

PlanBee Year 6 Evolution and Inheritance KS2 | Science from PlanBee

PlanBee Healthy Bodies Animals including Humans Year 6 Planning

PlanBee Seeing Light KS2 Planning Pack | Year 6 Science Lessons

PlanBee Great British Scientists KS2 Science Lessons by PlanBee

PlanBee PlanBee Viking Science Year 5 & Year 6 Working Scientifically

PlanBee Mountains KS2 Cross-Curricular Topic Resources by PlanBee

National Curriculum Science and famous scientists

Throughout the Science National Curriculum there are 'notes and guidance' which are non-statutory. In these sections, many talk about pupils studying scientists who have made an impact on our understanding of Science. For example, in the Year 5 programme of study the Science National Curriculum states:

Pupils should find out about the way that ideas about the solar system have developed, understanding how the geocentric model of the solar system gave way to the heliocentric model by considering the work of scientists such as Ptolemy, Alhazen and Copernicus.

Why not check out our blog on Famous Female Scientists to support your teaching of Science!

Subscriptions

Complete access to our enormous bank of Science resources (and all our other resources!) - all aligned to the Science National Curriculum

Science Curriculum Pack 

A complete KS1 and KS2 science curriculum from Year 1 to Year 6, covering all the National Curriculum objectives for KS1 and KS2

BLOG Free Science Lessons

A selection of easy free science lessons and activity ideas. Each of these stand alone lessons can meet primary objectives from the Science curriculum.

BLOG 10 Women Trailblazers in Science