At Downderry primary school, we aim for all children to leave Downderry with a love of Science and to have the knowledge, skills and understanding to be secondary school ready. We want our pupils to think about the world around them, develop their curiosity and to ask questions! 

At Downderry we follow the National Curriculum and from Early Years to Year 6, children are equipped to develop their own scientific inquiry through predicting, investigating and drawing conclusions. We teach our Science lessons sequentially. There are thirty-two units provided: four for Years 1 and 2 and five for Years 3 to 6 with a Keeping Healthy unit for each year group. Each unit is taught over half a term. Pupils should be able to describe associated processes and key characteristics in common language, but should also be familiar with, and use, technical terminology accurately and precisely. 

Early years

Within our Early years setting, Science is covered in the 'Understanding the World' area of the EYFS Curriculum. It is introduced indirectly through activities that encourage every child to explore, problem solve, observe, predict, think, make decisions and talk  about the world around them.

Key Stage 1 & 2

In Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, Science is taught as a ‘whole class’, using differentiated activities each week and pupils will undertake a Science investigation each half a term. Children’s work will be recorded onto the on-line  digital platform Showbie as uploaded photographs, video or voice notes. 

STEM Week

At Downderry, we feel it is incredibly important for children to understand that what they are learning can be applied to real life and can shape their future. One of the ways in which we do this is by running a STEM week once a year. Linked with British Science week, our children will work on a project using a variety of skills and knowledge that they have gained in Science, Computing, DT and Maths. Childrens’ work is then celebrated and shared across the school.