Year 6 Science Curriculum
The Year 6 Science curriculum helps children build on their previous scientific knowledge and develop a deeper understanding of living things, evolution, electricity, light and the human body. The Year 6 Science National Curriculum gives pupils opportunities to ask scientific questions, carry out investigations and use evidence to explain their findings.
If you are looking for an overview of the Year 6 Science topics taught in primary schools, this guide explains the key areas of learning and how they fit within the National Curriculum.
What is taught in Year 6 Science?
Science Year 6 covers a range of fascinating topics that help children understand the world around them. Pupils continue to develop their scientific enquiry skills while exploring living things, the circulatory system, evolution, electricity and light.
Children are also expected to work scientifically throughout the year by planning investigations, collecting data, identifying patterns and using evidence to support their conclusions.
Year 6 Science Topics
The main Year 6 Science topics include:
- Living Things and Their Habitats
- Animals Including Humans
- Evolution and Inheritance
- Electricity
- Light
- Working Scientifically
Living Things and Their Habitats
In this strand, children learn how living things are classified into broad groups according to common characteristics. They explore vertebrates, invertebrates, plants, fungi and micro-organisms, and discover how classification systems help scientists organise living things.
👉 To cover these objectives, check out our Classifying Organisms scheme of work.
Animals Including Humans
Year 6 pupils learn about the human circulatory system, including the functions of the heart, blood and blood vessels. They also investigate how nutrients and water are transported around the body and consider how lifestyle choices can affect health.
👉 PlanBee's Healthy Bodies scheme of work provides all you need for this strand of the Year 6 curriculum.
Evolution and Inheritance
One of the most important Year 6 Science topics is evolution and inheritance. Children learn that living things have changed over time and that fossils provide evidence of life in the past. They also explore adaptation and how characteristics can be inherited from parents.
👉 For ready-to-teach lessons, check out our Evolution and Inheritance scheme of work.
Electricity
Building on earlier learning, pupils investigate how the number and voltage of cells can affect the brightness of bulbs and the volume of buzzers. They also learn to draw and interpret simple circuit diagrams using recognised symbols.
👉 Our Changing Circuits scheme of work covers all the Year 6 Electricity objectives.
Light
Children discover that light travels in straight lines and use this understanding to explain how shadows are formed and how we see objects. This topic provides many opportunities for practical investigations and scientific enquiry.
👉 Seeing Light is a seven-lesson scheme of work covering all the Year 6 Light objectives.
Year 6 Science National Curriculum Objectives
The Year 6 Science National Curriculum expects pupils to:
- Describe how living things are classified into broad groups according to common observable characteristics.
- Give reasons for classifying plants and animals based on specific characteristics.
- Identify and name the main parts of the human circulatory system.
- Describe the functions of the heart, blood vessels and blood.
- Recognise the impact of diet, exercise, drugs and lifestyle on the body.
- Describe how nutrients and water are transported within animals, including humans.
- Recognise that living things have changed over time.
- Understand that fossils provide information about living things from the past.
- Recognise that offspring vary and are not usually identical to their parents.
- Identify how animals and plants are adapted to suit their environment.
- Associate the brightness of a lamp or the volume of a buzzer with the number and voltage of cells used in a circuit.
- Use recognised symbols when representing a simple circuit in a diagram.
- Recognise that light appears to travel in straight lines.
- Use the idea that light travels in straight lines to explain shadows.
Working Scientifically in Year 6
Working scientifically is embedded throughout the Year 6 Science curriculum. Children should be encouraged to ask questions, make predictions, plan fair tests, record results, identify patterns and communicate their findings using scientific vocabulary.
By the end of Year 6, pupils should be increasingly confident in choosing appropriate methods of enquiry and using evidence to support their conclusions.
Year 6 Science Planning Resources
PlanBee's Year 6 Science resources are designed to help teachers deliver engaging lessons that cover the National Curriculum objectives. Our ready-to-teach lesson packs include detailed planning, slides, differentiated activities and assessment opportunities.
Explore our Year 6 Science Bundle
View our Whole School Science Curriculum Pack
Frequently Asked Questions About Year 6 Science
What science is taught in Year 6?
Year 6 Science typically covers Living Things and Their Habitats, Animals Including Humans, Evolution and Inheritance, Electricity and Light, alongside ongoing scientific enquiry skills.
What are the Year 6 Science topics?
The main Year 6 Science topics are classification, the circulatory system, evolution, inheritance, adaptation, electricity and light.
Is evolution taught in Year 6?
Yes. Evolution and Inheritance is a statutory part of the Year 6 Science National Curriculum and introduces children to how living things change over time.
Do Year 6 children learn about the circulatory system?
Yes. Pupils learn about the heart, blood, blood vessels and how nutrients and water are transported around the body.
How does Year 6 Science prepare children for secondary school?
The Year 6 Science curriculum helps children develop scientific knowledge, enquiry skills and confidence in using evidence, preparing them for the more specialised Science curriculum at Key Stage 3.
