Computing

Intent

In our school we are discovering a world of wonder, empowered by God’s spirit. Through our Computing curriculum at Woodcocks’ Well CE (VA) Primary School, we aim to offer an experience that sets every child up for a safe computing experience whilst encouraging them to build their confidence and responsibility which foster the ‘Fruits of the Spirit’ values; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. We aim to give our pupils the life-skills that will enable them to embrace and utilise new technology in a socially responsible and safe way in order to flourish.

We want our children to become autonomous, independent users of computing technologies, gaining confidence and enjoyment from their activities. Our aims are to fulfil the requirements of the National Curriculum for Computing, whilst also providing collaborative learning opportunities, engagement in rich content and supporting pupil’s conceptual understanding of new concepts which support the needs of all our pupils. Not only do we want our children to be digitally literate and competent users of technology but through our computing curriculum we want to also develop our children’s creativity, resilience and problem-solving and critical thinking skills. Our Computing curriculum at Woodcocks’ Well has strong links to mathematics, science and design and technology.

The aims of the Computing curriculum are to develop pupils who:

• Are responsible, competent, confident and creative users of information and communication technology.
• Know how to keep themselves safe whilst using technology and on the internet and be able to minimise risk to themselves and others.
• Become responsible, respectful and competent users of data, information and communication technology.
• Can evaluate and apply information technology, including new or unfamiliar technologies, analytically to solve problems.
• Can analyse problems in computational terms, and have repeated practical experience writing computer programs in order to solve such problems.
• Can understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms and data representation.
• Become digitally literate and are active participants in a digital world.
• Are equipped with the capability to use technology throughout their lives.
• Understand the importance of governance and legislation regarding how information is used, stored, created, retrieved, shared and manipulated.
• Have a ‘can do’ attitude when engaging with technology and its associated resources.
• Utilise computational thinking beyond the Computing curriculum.
• Understand and follow the SMART E-Safety rules.
• Understand the E-Safety messages can keep them safe online.
• Know who to contact if they have concerns.
• Apply their learning in a range of contexts, e.g. at school and at home.
• Know where to locate the CEOP button and how to use it.

Implementation

To ensure high standards of teaching and learning in computing, we implement a curriculum that is progressive throughout the whole school. Computing is a foundation subject in the National Curriculum and at Woodcocks’ Well CE the implementation of the computing curriculum is in line with 2014 Primary National Curriculum requirements for KS1 and KS2 and the Foundation Stage Curriculum in England. This provides a broad framework and outlines the knowledge and skills taught in each key stage.

Computing teaching at Woodcocks Well CE will deliver the requirements of the National Curriculum through half-termly units. Teachers plan using our Computing Progression Model which highlights the knowledge, skills and vocabulary for each year group and is progressive from year to year. Our Computing progression model is broken down into three strands that make up the computing curriculum. These are Computer Science, Information Technology and Digital Literacy. Computer Science underlines the knowledge and skills relating to programming, coding, algorithms and computational thinking. Information Technology underlines the knowledge and skills relating to communication, multimedia and data representation and handling. Digital Literacy underlines the knowledge and skills relating to online safety and technology uses all of which are covered at Woodcocks’ Well CE whether combined or discreetly.

At Woodcocks’ Well CE teachers use the Computing Progression Model. Computing lessons are broken down into units taught per half-term. Repetition of a unit does not mean pupils are repeating an activity, it simply means pupils are building on established skills whilst also embedding previous concepts. Units are practical and engaging and allow computing lessons to be hands on. Units cover a broad range of computing components such as coding, spreadsheets, Internet and Email, Databases, Communication networks, touch typing, animation and online safety.

When teaching computing teachers should also follow the children’s interests to ensure their learning is engaging, broad and balanced. Teachers should ensure that ICT and computing capability is also achieved through core and foundation subjects and where appropriate and necessary ICT and computing should be incorporated into work for all subjects using our wide range of interactive ICT resources.

Computing teaching at Woodcocks’ Well CE is practical and engaging and a variety of teaching approaches and activities are provided based on teacher judgement and pupil ability. We have a wide range of resources to support our computing teaching including but not limited to, iPads, laptops, chromebooks and bee-bots. Pupils may use equipment independently, in pairs, alongside a TA or in a group with the teacher. Teachers and pupils are also aware of the importance of health and safety and pupils are always supervised when using technology and accessing the internet.

Pupils at Woodcocks’ Well CE are fully encouraged to engage with ICT and technology outside of school. Each teacher and pupil at Woodcocks’ Well has their own unique Google Classroom login and password. Computing work can be stored and saved using pupil log in details and work can also be set for pupils to access and complete tasks at home that link with their current class learning. Parents at Woodcocks’ Well CE are also encouraged to support the implementation of ICT and computing where possible by encouraging use of ICT and computing skills at home during homework tasks and support pupils beyond the classroom by registering with the ‘Parent Portal’ of our website.

Impact

Our Computing Curriculum is high quality, well thought out and is planned to demonstrate progression and build on and embed current skills. We focus on progression of knowledge and skills in the different computational components and discreet vocabulary progression within units of work.

If children are keeping up with the curriculum, they are deemed to be making good or better progress.

We measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:

• Pupil discussions and interviewing the pupils about their learning (pupil voice).
• Governor monitoring with our subject computing link governor.
• Moderation staff meetings with opportunities for dialogue between teachers.
• Photo evidence and images of the pupils practical learning.
• Video analysis through recording of performance in lessons.
• A reflection on standards achieved against the planned outcomes.
• Learning walks and reflective staff feedback (teacher voice).