How Can Empiribox Help Your School Fulfill the National Curriculum for Science?

Written by Jenny Smitherman who is a qualified teacher and has first class honours in primary education with 12 years of teaching experience in primary schools. 
The national curriculum clearly states that all children should be taught full and enriching science at primary schools, complete with practical lessons and inspiring ideas. This sounds fairly straight forward, but when there are 12 different programmes of study for KS2 alone, it can become quite overwhelming for a non-science specialist.
Throughout the national curriculum, reference is made to the use of practical investigations to deepen children’s understanding and to promote experience in the use of basic equipment as well as increasing their knowledge year on year. Emphasis is also made on deepening a child’s understanding of the world in which they live and inspiring them with the wonders of science.
“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. They should be encouraged to understand how science can be used to explain what is occurring, predict how things will behave, and analyse causes.” Taken from the Science Programmes of Study, September 2013.
But what does the national curriculum for science actually mean?
The first step is to break it down and understand what the requirements for children are. The second is to make sure it is understood how each of these areas can be fulfilled whilst teaching. Below is a chart to show the areas of the national curriculum at KS2 and how you can fulfill these with Empiribox.

By the end of KS2, it is expected that children have a basic understanding of the scientific methods, how science can be applied to everyday life and have an innate curiosity to the world around them. Using Empiribox, all of this becomes second nature for students as our lessons encourage their natural scientist to bloom.
Teaching the science curriculum can seem overwhelming when first reading through the requirements, but breaking it down into bitesize chunks makes it a lot easier to understand and it becomes achievable.
Empiribox has gone to great lengths to ensure that children meet the national curriculum requirements with our service, whilst also building on the basic principles of science and correcting any misconceptions that they may have. This solid foundation gives them the opportunity to start the next phase of their education already bursting with ideas and enthusiasm for the wonders of science.