Computing
Intent:
We have designed our Computing Curriculum to deliver high-quality computing which is at the centre of everyday school life. Children are responsible, competent, confident and creative users of information and communication technology.
We aim to ensure that all pupils:
- Can appropriately choose to use computing as a tool for learning – and have the skills to do so, ready for Key Stage 3.
- Are able to express themselves and develop their ideas at a suitable level, with a core focus on e-safety.
- Have regular opportunities to make informed choices that support their learning across all subjects, making it more meaningful.
- Understand what algorithms are, how to create programs and that when they go wrong, they need debugging.
- Are confident, proactive and proficient when using technology. The children are taught the principles of computing including how different types of technology work and how to apply these skills when programming.
- Access a curriculum that provides the foundations for all children to become globally aware, be equipped with the appropriate skills for future life and be ready for the ever-changing digital world.
- Study a computing curriculum that ensures a sequential and appropriately pitched curriculum for our children throughout the primary phase.
- Children will be safe from harm in this school – including the harm that can be found online.
- Children will be confident users and consumers of online technology – able to enjoy its benefits and manage its risks at school and at home.
- Children will know what to do, when and why – when something is not as they expected.
- We recognise that e-safety is a key component of our PSHE teaching and safeguarding responsibilities as a school.
Implementation:
Computing at Sessay is taught in blocks throughout the year, so that children can achieve depth in their learning. Through our use of Purple Mash, teachers have identified the key knowledge and skills of each blocked topic and these are mapped across the school, ensuring that knowledge builds progressively and that children develop skills systematically. Existing knowledge is checked at the beginning of each topic and retrieval opportunities are built into start of each lesson to support the children in remembering more of what they have learnt. This ensures that teaching is informed by the children’s’ starting points. Lessons are designed to provide appropriate support and challenge to all learners, in line with the school’s commitment to inclusion. At the end of each topic, key knowledge is reviewed by the children and rigorously checked by the teacher and consolidated as necessary.
- Lessons are directly taught – with clear knowledge identified ‘doing IT’ is not the same as ‘learning IT’. Only once skills and knowledge are taught, can they be applied across the curriculum.
- We have chosen to support our computing curriculum delivery with the Purple Mash scheme of work for computing – ensuring a sequential and appropriately pitched curriculum for our children across school.
- Children access both windows and apple platforms to ensure they are confident across both major platforms.
- Children apply skills and knowledge taught confidently across the curriculum as learning and presentation tools.
- We have extended the scheme by planning additional control technology experiences ‘off screen’, through the use of Beebot’s.
- Whilst there are specific planned units of work adapted and expectations for all year groups in our school, e-safety is not about ‘one off lessons’; the key messages must be applied, repeated and expected across all aspects of school life.
- In PSHE lessons, where concepts can be applied to online scenarios, these parallels are made explicit.
- Supporting parents to reinforce school messages is important – we provide a monthly online safety newsletter; we aim for home expectations to mirror those of school.
Impact:
At Sessay the computing curriculum provides the foundations for all children to become globally aware, be equipped with the appropriate skills for future life and be ready for the ever-changing digital world.
Our pupils will:
- Be enthusiastic and confident in their approach towards Computing.
- Present as competent and adaptable ‘Computational Thinkers’ who are able to use identified concepts and approaches in all areas of their learning.
- Be able to identify the source of problems and work with perseverance to ‘debug’ them.
- Create and evaluate their own project work.
- Have a secure understanding of the positive applications and specific risks associated with a broad range of digital technology.
- Transition to secondary school with a keen interest in the continued learning of this subject.
