Technology plays a huge part in our everyday lives making it vital that children are taught the skills needed to be able to navigate this safely and effectively. Computing is a wide ranging subject that includes teaching children how to use electronic devices to access information and to communicate, and how to program devices to carry out tasks.
Aims
At HJS, we believe that a high-quality computing education equips pupils to use computational thinking and creativity to understand and influence the world around them. Through our curriculum, we aim to ensure children become digitally literate. Consequently, they should be able to use, and express themselves and develop their ideas through, information and communication technology at a level suitable for their education and as active participants in a digital world.
Objectives
The National Curriculum states that at KS2 children should:
- understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms and data representation
- analyse problems in computational terms, and have repeated practical experience of writing computer programs in order to solve such problems
- evaluate and apply information technology, including new or unfamiliar technologies, analytically to solve problems
- be responsible, competent, confident and creative users of information and communication technology.
At Henleaze we strive to provide opportunity to:
- Develop the knowledge, skills and concepts outlined in the National Curriculum document for computing.
- Access, use and develop skills on a wide range of technology in order to increase confidence and develop transferable skills.
- Engage in discussion about how technology can be used responsibly and safely, being mindful of the consequences of misusing such equipment.
- Develop skills as computational thinkers, allowing children to approach challenges with resilience and problem solving skills.
- Engage in computing skills for a range of purposes and through a variety of channels.
Planning and delivery
Our computing curriculum is split into 2 main strands: Information Technology and Computer Science.
Our Information Technology curriculum is structured around resources and schemes of work from National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE), an organisation funded by the Department for Education. This allows us to develop understanding, knowledge and skills around a subject and then implement this learning in an engaging and creative way.
Computer Science is all about understanding algorithms to facilitate programming. We use the online platform Espresso. This allows consistency and progression in skills and understanding from Year 3 to Year 6 and enables children to effectively and often independently utilise such knowledge in designing and creating programs such as games.
Cross-curricular links
Across the school, computing often links closely with our English curriculum. Computing can be an invaluable tool in the presentation and communication of a huge range of information.
Links are also made with the maths and science curriculum as children can be tasked with presenting numerical data in the most effective way, including spreadsheets and tables.
Equal opportunities and inclusion
All pupils share the same statutory entitlement to a broad, balanced and differentiated curriculum regardless of their ability, gender and cultural background. We plan our computing lessons to facilitate the learning of all pupils as individuals with differing needs, backgrounds, experiences and expectations.
Children with SEND may be provided with adult support, an expectation of differentiated outcomes and, where needed, differentiated worksheets and varied appropriate equipment.
We also take advantage of assistive technology to enable children with specific difficulties to fully engage with the curriculum and to express themselves. Some children are provided with devices to use as their default platform for submitting work. Others use software to help them learn English or to translate work submitted in their first language.