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Although we are a creative school we think Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) are equally important areas of the curriculum and are very motivating for many children. Children get to carry out hands-on activities such as building a bridge or a marble run. We want to inspire the next generation of engineers and show our children that anyone can be a scientist, an engineer or a mathematician.
Our approach to teaching these subjects is practical, hands on and involves problem solving. These skills are introduced from Nursery as they are a core part of the Early Years curriculum - to encourage thinking, having their own ideas, making links and choosing ways to do things. As a school with an Early Years’ ethos we are committed to ensuring that the characteristics of effective learning are carried through EYFS into KS1.
Our philosophy is for children to be immersed in their learning. We achieve this by planning science, design technology (DT) or computing units over a half term, a week or a day, rather than children visiting the subject once a week.
We find that children are very engaged with their learning with this approach and often exceed expectations with the quality of their final product.
At Belmont, we instill curiosity in our children and foster in them a desire to discover how science is vital to understanding our world and everyday phenomena. We enable children to discover for themselves methods, processes and uses of science by developing a sense of excitement and curiosity through hands-on practical science. Although children are also given the substantive knowledge about topics (the what) not just the disciplinary knowledge (the how).
Children are encouraged to understand how science is used to explain natural phenomena, predict how things will behave, and analyse causes.
Children use an ever-increasing body of scientific language to ask their own questions about what they observe and make decisions about which types of scientific enquiry are likely to be the best ways of answering them later.
We teach a very broad curriculum which includes, but is not restricted to, the content of the National Curriculum. Each year children develop a deeper understanding of a wide range of scientific ideas that help them to gain a better understanding of world.
In Design Technology (DT) at BJS children will develop the creative, technical and practical expertise needed to devise high-quality real and practical solutions (products) to real problems in a wide range of contexts. They evaluate past and present design and technology and develop their understanding of its impact on our life and the wider world.
With technology playing such a significant role in society today, pupils at BJS are equipped with the computing skills and knowledge to learn and grow effectively and safely in the ever-changing digital world.
Each term, all pupils are given the opportunity to explore and master skills in Computer Science, Information Technology and Digital Literacy through a variety of media, embedded within our rich and balanced curriculum. They become responsible digital citizens who make autonomous, mature decisions about digital safety and are prepared for a technological future that does not yet exist.
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