“The important thing is to never stop questioning.” — Albert Einstein
At Abingdon, we want every child to see themselves as a scientist: curious, capable and confident enough to ask questions, test ideas and change their thinking when the evidence tells them to.
Our science curriculum is ambitious, carefully sequenced and deliberately shaped around the children and communities we serve. The National Curriculum provides the entitlement; we interpret and enrich it so that children develop a secure body of scientific knowledge, understand how scientific ideas have changed our world and recognise that science is something they can actively participate in.
Building scientific understanding
Across biology, chemistry and physics, children build knowledge cumulatively. New learning is deliberately connected to what they already know and experienced so that concepts become increasingly secure and meaningful.
Children learn the specialist vocabulary they need to explain scientific ideas accurately and develop their understanding of the nature, processes and methods of science. They learn to ask questions, make predictions, observe carefully, investigate, measure, classify, record evidence, identify patterns, draw conclusions and explain their thinking.
We place particular emphasis on working scientifically. Children do not simply learn scientific facts; they learn how knowledge is developed, tested and refined. They are encouraged to recognise the value of evidence and rational explanation and to understand that scientific thinking involves curiosity, challenge and a willingness to rethink ideas.
Science for every child
Inclusion is central to our science curriculum. We remove barriers to participation without lowering ambition.
Through explicit teaching, practical experiences, carefully chosen resources, vocabulary development, scaffolding and adaptive teaching, we ensure that all children can participate meaningfully in scientific learning. For children with SEND, children new to English and those who have gaps in prior learning, we adapt the route into the learning while maintaining the same ambitious destination.
Our science curriculum also reflects the diversity of our school community. Children encounter scientists from different cultures, backgrounds, countries and periods of history, including scientists whose lives and achievements provide mirrors for our children and windows into experiences beyond their own.
Science that represents our children and our world
We deliberately introduce children to a diverse range of scientists and scientific thinkers, including Mae Jemison, George Washington Carver, Mary Anning, Jane Goodall, Charles Richard Drew, Janaki Ammal, William Kamkwamba, Estella Atekwana, Zheng Ji, James West, Stephanie Kwolek, Ibn Al-Shatir, Rachel Carson and Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent, alongside many other influential figures.
These are not simply names to remember. Their work helps children understand that scientific discovery is shaped by curiosity, perseverance, creativity and a desire to solve problems that matter.
Children see scientists who have explored space, protected environments, investigated disease, developed new materials, studied plants and animals, improved health, solved practical problems and changed the way we understand the world.
This matters because representation influences belonging. When children can see people like themselves contributing to science, they are more likely to see science as somewhere they belong.
Science in our community and beyond
Our curriculum makes meaningful connections between science and the world children experience. We use the assets, expertise and environments within our community to bring scientific ideas to life and help children understand their relevance beyond the classroom.
Children explore how major scientific ideas have influenced society and consider the uses, benefits and implications of scientific developments in a rapidly changing world. They encounter science through health, the environment, technology, materials, food, sustainability and everyday problem-solving.
This is also part of Abingdon Armour for Life. Children apply scientific understanding to real-life situations: caring for their bodies and environment, making informed choices, solving problems and understanding the world around them.
Science and the ARCH
Science provides rich opportunities for children to live our Abingdon ARCH:
- Aspirations – seeing the possibilities of science and recognising that they can contribute to the world.
- Resilience – persisting when an investigation does not work as expected and learning from the evidence.
- Harmony – understanding our responsibility to people, living things and the environment and working collaboratively.
- Commitment – developing the care, accuracy and perseverance needed to investigate, evaluate and explain.
We teach children that getting something wrong is not failure; it can be evidence that helps us understand more.
From curiosity to confidence
Our science curriculum aims to develop more than scientific knowledge. It develops curiosity, vocabulary, reasoning, confidence and independence.
Children learn to ask, Why? How? What if? What does the evidence tell us? They learn to listen to different explanations, challenge ideas respectfully and communicate their conclusions clearly.
In doing so, science contributes to our wider ambition for every child:
Belong → Participate → Question → Discover → Flourish → Thrive → Achieve.
We want children to leave Abingdon knowing more science, but also thinking more scientifically. Most importantly, we want them to retain the confidence to remain curious about the world, to seek evidence, to ask questions and to believe that they have a place in shaping its future.
Abingdon’s Extraordinary Scientists
Our long-term curriculum map deliberately links scientific knowledge and enquiry to inspirational scientists from a wide range of cultures, backgrounds and disciplines.
Through these stories, children learn that science is not the preserve of a particular type of person. It is a human endeavour shaped by observation, imagination, evidence, collaboration, perseverance and the desire to understand and improve our world.
Science Progression Document
Please follow the link to the National Curriculm programme of study which we follow. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-science-programmes-of-study/national-curriculum-in-england-science-programmes-of-study
