Science Overview

At Burnside Primary School, we believe that a high-quality science education is fundamental to understanding the world around us through the core disciplines of biology, chemistry, and physics. Our science curriculum empowers children to explain how the natural and physical world works, predict how phenomena will behave, and analyse evidence critically—vital skills for navigating and thriving in the modern world. Science at Burnside allows pupils to interpret their present and shape their own futures, helping every child to thrive, achieve, and belong.

Our science curriculum directly reflects our school motto:

• Be Safe: Pupils learn to handle equipment, practical investigations, and materials with care and precision. They build confidence in asking big questions, making predictions, and conducting hands-on experiments within a safe, structured environment.

• Be Smart: Children systematically build both substantive knowledge ("what we learn") and procedural skills ("how we work scientifically"). Through rigorous scientific enquiry, mathematical data handling, and accurate use of technical vocabulary, pupils learn to think rationally and solve problems logically.

• Be Kind: Science fosters a deep appreciation for the environment, living things, and our planet's future. Pupils work collaboratively on investigations, listen respectfully to opposing hypotheses, and explore how scientific discoveries can improve lives globally.

Evidence-Informed Design

In line with findings from national research reviews in science, high-quality learning depends on a clear distinction between substantive knowledge (scientific facts, concepts, and laws) and disciplinary knowledge (how scientists investigate and establish truth). At Burnside Primary, our curriculum is carefully sequenced so that key concepts are systematically revisited and built upon from Early Years to Year 6. We explicitly teach specialist scientific vocabulary and proactively address common misconceptions, ensuring knowledge is retained in pupils' long-term memory.

National Curriculum Aims

In line with the National Curriculum for Science, our provision at Burnside Primary ensures that all pupils:

• Build Foundational Knowledge: Develop detailed scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding across biology, chemistry, and physics.

• Work Scientifically: Understand the nature, processes, and methods of science through varied enquiries that answer meaningful questions about the world.

• Understand Real-World Impact: Are equipped with the scientific literacy required to understand the uses, ethics, and future implications of science today and for generations to come.

Working Scientifically (Disciplinary Knowledge)

To ensure practical tasks directly support substantive learning, pupils actively practice the key types of scientific enquiry:

• Observing over time: Tracking changes, growth, and natural cycles.

• Pattern seeking: Identifying relationships and trends between variables.

• Identifying, classifying, and grouping: Sorting materials, living things, and physical phenomena based on shared properties.

• Comparative and fair testing: Planning controlled investigations to isolate variables and gather accurate evidence.

• Researching using secondary sources: Evaluating scientific texts and reliable data to answer complex questions.

• Data handling: Applying mathematical skills to record, present, graph, and analyse scientific findings accurately.