At Al Basma British School the science curriculum aims to develop scientific knowledge and conceptual understanding. This is developed through different types of science enquiry that help pupils to answer scientific questions about the world around them.

A high-quality science education provides the foundations for understanding the world through the specific disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics. Science has changed our lives and is vital to the world’s future prosperity, and all pupils should be taught essential aspects of the knowledge, methods, processes and uses of science. Through building up a body of key foundational knowledge and concepts, pupils should be encouraged to recognise the power of rational explanation and develop a sense of excitement and curiosity about natural phenomena.

We believe that children learn through doing and that their learning should link to real life experiences. Each topic that the children cover contains investigations and enquiries that challenge the children’s way of thinking and give them the ability to problem solve which is an important skill to develop at a young age. Collaboration is another key skill that children develop in science lessons at Al Basma by sharing ideas, working with peers and completing group projects.

At Al Basma, children receive two 40 minute lessons of science per week.

The principal focus of science teaching in key stage 1 is to enable pupils to experience and observe phenomena, looking more closely at the natural and humanly-constructed world around them. They should be encouraged to be curious and ask questions about what they notice. They should be helped to develop their understanding of scientific ideas by using different types of scientific enquiry to answer their own questions and should begin to use simple scientific language to talk about what they have found. Most of the learning about science should be done through the use of first-hand practical experiences, but there should also be some use of appropriate secondary sources, such as books, photographs and videos.

KS2 is split into Lower Key Stage (LKS) and Upper Key Stage (UKS).

The principal focus of science teaching in LKS2 is to enable pupils to broaden their scientific view of the world around them. They should do this through exploring, talking about, testing and developing ideas about everyday phenomena and the relationships between living things and familiar environments. They should ask their own questions about what they observe and make some decisions about which types of scientific enquiry are likely to be the best ways of answering them.They should draw simple conclusions and use some scientific language, first, to talk about and, later, to write about what they have found out.

The principal focus of science teaching in UKS2 is to enable pupils to develop a deeper understanding of a wide range of scientific ideas. They should do this through exploring and talking about their ideas; asking their own questions about scientific phenomena; and analysing functions, relationships and interactions more systematically. At UKS2, they should encounter more abstract ideas and begin to recognise how these ideas help them to understand and predict how the world operates. They should select the most appropriate ways to answer science questions using different types of scientific enquiry. Pupils should draw conclusions based on their data and observations, use evidence to justify their ideas, and use their scientific knowledge and understanding to explain their findings.