Intent

At Beechwood, we want children to think for themselves and care for others. Through our Science curriculum, we expect children to think scientifically: viewing the world in the scientific page. We endeavor for all pupils to question the world around them and consider how they can find answers through research and experiementation. Through this, we want children to consider ways that they can care for the environement by questioning the impact of their actions. 

Implementation

From EYFS, up to Year 6, our children are taught the essential knowledge and skills taken from the Early Years Framework 2021 and the National Curriculum 2014. Our well-planned journey through the science curriculum helps our pupils to build upon their prior learning and apply past knowledge to new situations; we are passionate about ensuring that our children’s learning transfers to their long-term memory. To ensure that this happens we constantly revisit concepts and themes both within year groups and subjects and across year groups and different subjects where applicable. Science is planned and delivered using the PLAN Assessment scheme of work. We have carefully selected PLAN Assessment as the foundation of our curriculum, teachers ensure that the plans are adapted to meet the needs of our children.
As soon as children come to our school, they are encouraged to explore the world around them by looking at similarities, differences, patterns and change. Lessons are taught to encourage the children to think like a scientist, to develop curiosity about the world around them and how it is continually changing. We want to help children develop as scientists through a range of learning experiences that are underpinned by our key intentions for learning in this subject and develop a lifelong love of science through a stimulating, engaging and challenging environment.
We recognise the importance of Science in every aspect of daily life. Our vision is to give children a Science curriculum which enables them to explore and discover the world around them, confidently, so that they have a deeper understanding of the world in which we live. To achieve this it involves exciting, practical hands-on experiences that encourage curiosity and questioning. The scientific area of learning is concerned with increasing children’s knowledge and understanding of our world, and with developing skills associated with Science as a process of enquiry. It will develop the natural curiosity of the child, encourage respect for living organisms and the physical environment and provide opportunities for critical evaluation of evidence. Each child develops scientific terminology which they are encouraged to use during investigations and in their written work. We believe that children learn science by doing, so provide the children with a range of opportunities to actively carry out different types of scientific enquiries and apply knowledge which is taught.
As part of a science hub in Halton, we work with the charity The Ogden Trust to develop the science curriculum and look at investigative enquiries. Science leads attend training days and disseminate to school staff. Activities are then embedded within our science scheme. To further embed scientific enquiry, in Y1 and Y5 the children take part in an annual Star and Superstar CREST Award scheme by completing 8 challenges which explore a variety of different science topics and inspire children to work and think like scientists and engineers.
Our school grounds with the forest, pond and outdoor multisensory area, is fully utilised to achieve the desired outcomes, with opportunities for learning outside the classroom embedded in practice. We give our children first hand experiences particularly when looking at the living things and their habitats strand of the curriculum.

Impact

The approach to the teaching of science at Beechwood will result in a fun, engaging, high quality science education, that provides children with the foundations for understanding the world that they can take with them once they complete their primary education.

Through our retrieval tasks and defining in context maps, we can see children building upon their prior knowledge. By the time children leave Beechwood, they are able to think scientically and have a secure understanding of the world around us.