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Temperate Rainforests
Rainforests
Know that not all rainforests are tropical — temperate rainforests exist in cooler, wet regions like the Pacific Northwest of North America, western Scotland and Wales, southern Chile, and New Zealand — with similar features (high rainfall, moss-draped trees, dense canopy) but different species, including ancient oaks, giant redwoods, and tree ferns
The Atmosphere
Weather & Climate
Know that Earth is surrounded by a layer of air called the atmosphere, that air has weight and exerts pressure, that the atmosphere protects us from harmful radiation and keeps the planet warm enough for life, and that weather happens in the lowest layer (troposphere)
The Immune System
The Human Body
Know that the body has an immune system that protects against illness: the skin acts as a barrier, white blood cells identify and destroy germs (bacteria and viruses), and vaccines train the immune system to recognise specific diseases before they cause illness
The K-Pg Extinction Event
Dinosaurs & Paleontology
Describe the Cretaceous–Palaeogene (K-Pg) extinction event approximately 66 million years ago, including the asteroid impact theory and its evidence (iridium layer, Chicxulub crater), and understand that this ended the reign of non-avian dinosaurs
The most successful animals on Earth
Insects & Minibeasts
The most successful animals on Earth: there are roughly one million described insect species, and scientists estimate 5–10 million may exist. More insect species than all other animal groups combined. Why so many? Small body size means less food needed, fast reproduction with many offspring, flight allows reaching new habitats, and the exoskeleton is incredibly versatile.
The Nervous System
The Human Body
Understand that the nervous system has two parts — the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) and nerves that branch throughout the body — and that nerve signals travel at high speed to coordinate senses, thought, and movement
The Rock Cycle
Volcanoes & Earthquakes
Understand the rock cycle: rocks slowly change from one type to another over millions of years — igneous rock weathers into sediment, sediment becomes sedimentary rock, heat and pressure create metamorphic rock, and melting starts the cycle again
The solar system
Space Systems & Earth's History
Describe the sun, Earth, and moon as approximately spherical bodies, and describe the movement of the Earth and other planets orbiting the sun in the solar system
The Vast Scale of Space
Space Exploration
Describe the scale of the universe in nested layers: Earth is one planet in our solar system, the Sun is one star among billions in the Milky Way galaxy, and the Milky Way is one galaxy among billions in the universe
Threats to insects and conservation
Insects & Minibeasts
Threats to insects and conservation: insect populations are declining worldwide. Causes include habitat loss, pesticide use, light pollution disrupting nocturnal insects, and climate change. Pollinator decline threatens food production. What children can do: plant pollinator-friendly gardens, reduce pesticide use, participate in citizen science like the Big Butterfly Count.
Types of Metamorphosis
Insects & Minibeasts
Complete vs incomplete metamorphosis. Complete: egg → larva → pupa → adult (butterflies, beetles, flies). Incomplete: egg → nymph → adult — the nymph looks like a small version of the adult and moults as it grows (grasshoppers, dragonflies, crickets). Why do some insects transform completely while others grow gradually?
Types of rocks
Earth's Systems
Use vocabulary for Earth's geological processes and rock types — igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic, erosion, weathering, deposition, fossil, sediment, strata, permeable, impermeable — and apply these when explaining how rocks form and how landscapes change over time
Wave Behaviour Vocabulary
Waves, Light & Sound
Use technical vocabulary for wave behaviour — refraction, absorption, reflection, scattering, amplitude, frequency, wavelength, echo, spectrum, angle of incidence, angle of reflection — and apply these when explaining how light and sound travel and interact with different materials
Waves & How They Move
Waves, Light & Sound
Develop a model of waves to describe patterns in terms of amplitude and wavelength, and understand that waves can cause objects to move
Weather-Resistant Engineering
Weather & Climate
Understand that engineers design buildings, flood defences, and warning systems to protect communities from extreme weather — hurricane-resistant roofs, flood barriers, tornado shelters, and early-warning alert systems — and evaluate the merits of these solutions
What happens when things collide
Energy
Ask questions and predict outcomes about the changes in energy that occur when objects collide
Why the Sun Looks Brightest
Space Exploration
Explain why the Sun appears much brighter than other stars: it is the nearest star to Earth, not the biggest or brightest star in the universe — understanding the difference between apparent brightness (how bright something looks) and actual brightness
Classifying Organisms
Ecosystems & Habitats
Describe how living things are classified into broad groups (micro-organisms, plants, animals) according to common observable characteristics, similarities, and differences
Communities Protecting Resources
Ecosystems & Habitats
Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect the Earth's resources and environment
Conservation of Mass
Matter & Materials
Measure and provide evidence that the total weight of matter is conserved regardless of the type of change (heating, cooling, or mixing)
Diet, Exercise & Lifestyle
Organisms & Life Processes
Recognise the impact of diet, exercise, drugs, and lifestyle on the way human bodies function
Drawing circuits with proper symbols
Energy
Use recognised symbols when representing a simple circuit in a diagram, including cell, wire, bulb, switch, buzzer, and motor
Earth's atmosphere
Earth's Systems
Develop a model to describe ways the geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere interact as connected Earth systems
Energy from Food & the Sun
Organisms & Life Processes
Use models to describe that energy in animals' food was once energy from the sun, transferred through plants or other organisms