Science

Subject Leader: Mrs Parker

Our ambitious Science curriculum emphasises building upon prior knowledge to enhance learning. This helps to accelerate new learning as children select organise and integrate prior understanding. It is the intent at CMFS that all children leave our school with a secure level of knowledge and understanding of the world in which they live, both on a local and global scale, and also the part in which Science plays in their lives today.

Science is underpinned by the Early Years foundational knowledge. We recognise the importance of not teaching early misconceptions and of developing a fascination for the world. Awe and wonder, outdoor exploration and Forest School all help to give children strong scientific foundational knowledge.

Our Science curriculum from Year 1 through to Year 4 is based upon the CUSP curriculum. Learning within this is sequenced to reduce cognitive load, strengthen long-term memory, and foster deep understanding. High-frequency vocabulary (Tier 2) is explicitly taught to support subject-specific terms (Tier 3), and our learning sequences incorporate specific vocabulary tasks. Misconceptions are addressed explicitly, helping students build accurate scientific concepts and retrieval practice supports enhanced learning over time.

We strive to develop children’s curiosity, a respect for the natural environment and equip them with the skills to ask scientific questions, find answers and evaluate evidence. Working scientifically involves understanding and applying scientific processes to collect, interpret, and evaluate evidence. We do not assume children will acquire these disciplinary skills naturally so we ensure they are explicitly taught. Students develop this knowledge by using substantive knowledge to question, plan, observe, conduct tests, measure, compare, classify, gather data, and seek patterns. They also learn to explain, report, predict, conclude, and improve findings, building a structured approach to scientific inquiry and evidence-based reasoning.

Historical and diverse modern scientists are studied to illustrate the development of scientific knowledge and the overcoming of misconceptions. Children are encouraged to use their skills from other subjects, including Maths, English and Computing to interpret and present data and with support, draw simple conclusions from investigations.