Computing

Our computing curriculum is taught from Year 1 to Year 6 and children learn skills in digital literacy and online safety, computers and hardware, and computational thinking.

These skills are built upon year on year, until the end of year Key Stage Two where children will emerge accomplished in many aspects of computing.  In EYFS, children explore computing through continuous provision.

Intent

We follow the national curriculum for computing aims to ensure that all pupils:

• can understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms and data representation
• can analyse problems in computational terms, and have repeated practical experience of writing computer programs in order to solve such problems
• can evaluate and apply information technology, including new or unfamiliar technologies, analytically to solve problems
• are responsible, competent, confident and creative users of information and communication technology.

The National Curriculum aims to align into three areas within our scheme of work.

Key Stage 1

Pupils will be taught to:

• understand what algorithms are, how they are implemented as programs on digital devices, and that programs execute by following precise and unambiguous instructions
• create and debug simple programs
• use logical reasoning to predict the behaviour of simple programs
• use technology purposefully to create, organise, store, manipulate and retrieve digital content
• recognise common uses of information technology beyond school
• use technology safely and respectfully, keeping personal information private; identify where to go for help and support when they have concerns about content or contact on the internet or other online technologies

Key Stage 2

Pupils will be taught to:

• design, write and debug programs that accomplish specific goals, including controlling or simulating physical systems; solve problems by decomposing them into smaller parts
• use sequence, selection, and repetition in programs; work with variables and various forms of input and output
• use logical reasoning to explain how some simple algorithms work and to detect and correct errors in algorithms and programs
• understand computer networks, including the internet; how they can provide multiple services, such as the World Wide Web, and the opportunities they offer for communication and collaboration
• use search technologies effectively, appreciate how results are selected and ranked, and be discerning in evaluating digital content
• select, use and combine a variety of software (including internet services) on a range of digital devices to design and create a range of programs, systems and content that accomplish given goals, including collecting, analysing, evaluating and presenting data and information
• use technology safely, respectfully and responsibly; recognise acceptable/unacceptable behaviour; identify a range of ways to report concerns about content and contact

This will be achieved through the development of knowledge and skills in three key strands as shown above: digital literacy, information technology and computer science. From Year 1, West Ashton uses a scheme of work from Kapow with additional and supplementary resources drawn from Google, ThinkUKnow, Code Club, Barefoot Computing and Computing at School.

Implementation

Teachers consider computing integral to their classroom management, placing computing to the fore as a means of subject delivery across the whole curriculum as well as in the discrete computing skills lessons where children are constantly up-skilled. This will allow the teacher to ensure that computing is embedded in all areas of the curriculum.
This will include:

• use of laptops to deliver curriculum other than computing
• use of interactive whiteboards as standard classroom resource
• use of internet based resources including Class DoJo, TT Rock Stars etc
• significant emphasis on the necessity to be safe online
• use of computing by pupils to produce/present work across the curriculum
• significant emphasis on the programming and modelling elements of computing.

Impact

Children are taught the principles of information and computation, how digital systems work and how to put this knowledge to use through programming. Building on this knowledge and understanding, they are equipped to use information technology to create programs, systems and a range of content.

Computing also ensures that children become digitally literate – able to use, and express themselves and develop their ideas, through information and communication technology – at a level suitable for the future workplace and as active participants in a digital world.

We follow a scheme of work designed by Kapow for mixed age classes.