Primary Science Scheme of Work

Each unit of the Primary Science Scheme of Work (from Year 1 through to Year 6) is helpfully divided into year groups and terms, and covers the relevant topics (depending on the required curriculum) for the full academic year. Within each unit, there is detailed and insightful information to assist teachers and science leads.

Downloadable units
Comprehensive, fully planned modules for each year group in logical lesson sequences, complete with detailed lesson planning guidance to save you time.

Integrated assessment
Assessment is seamlessly integrated into the scheme, woven into every lesson and unit. With multiple layers of assessment and easy-to-use recording tools, you can pinpoint knowledge gaps.

Handbook
A practical, downloadable guide packed with tips and advice to help you maximise the impact of each module and get the most out of your scheme.

Interactive quizzes
Engage your class with fun, interactive quizzes for every year group and unit, hosted on our E-learning platform and designed to reinforce learning and check understanding.

PowerPoint templates
Bring your lessons to life with our fun, engaging PowerPoint templates—perfectly designed to complement the scheme and ready for you to customise!

The 'Ten Big Ideas' are underpinned by key concepts. As pupils move through the scheme, they will build comprehensive schemata for each of these big ideas, so that new information connects with prior knowledge and can be committed to long-term memory.

Year 1

• Terms 1-2 - Everyday Materials
• Terms 3-4 - Animals Including Humans
• Terms 5 - Plants
• Termly - Seasonal Changes.

Year 2

• Terms 1-2 - Living Things and Their Habitats
• Term 3 - Uses of Everyday Materials
• Term 4 - Animals Including Humans
• Terms 5 - Plants.

Year 3

• Term 1 - Forces and Magnets
• Term 2 - Light
• Term 3 - Rocks
• Term 4  - Plants
• Term 5 - Animals Including Humans.

Year 4

• Terms 1 - States of Matter
• Term 2 - Sound
• Term 3 - Electricity
• Term 4 - Animals Including Humans
• Term 5 -  Living Things and their Habitats

Year 5

• Term 1 - Living Things and their Habitats
• Term 2 - Earth and Space
• Term 3 - Animals Including Humans
• Term 4 - Forces
• Term 5 - Properties and Changes of Materials.

Year 6 

• Term 1 - Living Things and Their Habitats
• Term 2 - Evolution and Inheritance
• Term 3 - Electricity
• Term 4 - Light
• Terms 5 - Animals Including Humans.

• working scientifically
• big ideas
• National Curriculum objectives
• links to prior learning
• common misconceptions
• building component knowledge
• unit preparation
• suggested significant people
• vocabulary
• a reading list
• possible enrichment opportunities
• resources
• substantive knowledge
• disciplinary knowledge
• lesson outline
• a tick list to ensure your pupils are ready to progress
• assessment is woven throughout the units.

To ensure that assessment is not an add-on and is integrated into the teaching and learning process, several elements of assessment are built into the scheme:

1. Ready to Progress statements in each lesson outline the essential knowledge that pupils should have secured. As a result, teachers know what to check so that they can make decisions about whether pupils are ready to move on to the next lesson.
2. Meaningful learning activities link directly to the enquiry for each lesson so that teachers can assess understanding of key knowledge when marking.
3. The scheme is pinned to Ten Big Ideas about science that pupils will have secured before they leave the school. Opportunities are built into each unit for pupils to reinforce prior knowledge about these big ideas and add new knowledge gained during the unit.
   Five teaching lessons have been planned for each unit and the sixth is a dedicated assessment lesson. This provides pupils the opportunity to demonstrate their learning from across the unit.
4. Assessment grids for each unit have been created for teachers to populate with information about pupils who are not secure in the key knowledge. These also provide space for teachers to record the actions being taken.
5. Term 6 has been designated for revisiting and reinforcing and teachers will use the wealth of assessment information gathered during the units to plan ‘revisit and review’ units, designed to address the specific gaps and misconceptions identified.

By building several layers of assessment into each enquiry at both lesson and unit level and providing ways to record this, we have ensured that assessment is part of the teaching and learning process and is helping teachers understand specific gaps in knowledge so that they can make informed decisions about when pupils are ready to move on. Most importantly, by allowing a term for gaps to be addressed, we are providing the time to take action.

The scheme also provides clarity for subject and school leaders about the key knowledge pupils should have secured, where gaps are and how teachers are working to address this.

The Primary Science Scheme of Work has been created by a team of knowledgeable primary advisers. All have been highly successful school leaders who understand the pressures and expectations on school leaders.

In addition to having practicing inspectors on the team, the wider team directly support around 80 inspections a year - and have a full and secure understanding of the implementation of the Inspection Framework and its expectations around curriculum.

This comprehensive Primary Science Scheme of Work has benefits for both teachers and pupils:

Teacher benefits:

• reducing workload
• developing and scaffolding teacher subject knowledge, in particular non-science specialists
• work to consider and identify the disciplinary knowledge, including concepts, that are needed to work scientifically has been done for you. This was an area of weakness identified in the Ofsted subject review
• disciplinary knowledge (knowledge of how to work scientifically) as well as substantive knowledge (established factual knowledge) provide a clear framework for progression
• provides links to high quality online resources such as from the BBC, STEM and Explorify.

Pupil benefits:

• the curriculum is sequenced in such a way that pupils have the opportunity to learn detailed and connected knowledge of the curriculum
• pupils will know and remember more
• there are sufficient opportunities for pupils to practise and consolidate what they learn before moving on to new content
• pupils have enough opportunities to take part in high-quality practical work that has a clear purpose in relation to the lesson sequence
• opportunities will be in place for pupils to demonstrate disciplinary writing through answering the key question at the end of the lesson
• pupils will build cultural capital by learning about scientists from the past and present; this will also introduce them to possible careers in the field.

It's a one-off payment for the whole package for use within your entire school. As soon as you make the purchase, your downloadable documents will be available immediately in your account area.

Credit customers can also pay for this using their credits.

There have been significant changes to curriculum expectations since 2014. The new scheme aligns to current Ofsted expectations and how the Inspection Framework judges your curriculum. This new Primary Science Scheme of Work has been updated and aligned with latest research around factors that contribute to high-quality school science curriculums, including the Ofsted Research review series: science and The science subject report 2023.

This Primary Science Scheme of Work provides a clear framework of substantive and disciplinary knowledge, supporting pupils to know and remember more through carefully considered and coherent progression. It also supports current Ofsted criteria for personal development by providing strong links to cultural capital and curriculum enrichment through studying scientists and offering suggestions for visits in the local area and further afield. It also includes expert advice throughout the document from those who have written the scheme

1. Log in to your account here, (if you do not already have an account, you will need to register for one here).
2. Click on 'My account' to access your area.
3. Find and click the 'My E-learning & recorded webinars' tab under 'My training/CPD'.
4. Find the 'Primary Science Scheme of Work' course and click 'Start Course'.
5. Access the unit, quiz or template you want!