INTENT

Technology is everywhere and will play a pivotal part in our children’s lives in the future. Therefore, we will model and educate our children on how to use technology positively and safely. We provide pupils with a broad skill set, knowledge and understanding that they can then apply to a range of situations in the future to enable them to be successful. Our curriculum is coherently planned and sequenced towards cumulatively sufficient knowledge and skills for future learning and employment. We provide a modern, ambitious and relevant education in computing.

Our curriculum ensures coverage and application of computing including computer science, information technology and digital literacy. We do not split the principles into sections but cover the content in a balanced, stimulating and creative way rather than being overly concerned about specific terminology. We ensure all pupils can understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science. All pupils can analyse problems in computational terms, and have repeated practical experience of writing computer programs in order to solve such problems. All pupils can evaluate and apply information technology, including new or unfamiliar technologies.

At Dell Primary School children will become computational thinkers that are autonomous, independent users of computing technologies, gaining confidence and enjoyment within their learning. Not only do we want them to be digitally literate and competent end users of technology but also through our computing lessons, we want them to develop creativity, resilience in problem solving and become critical thinkers. Computational thinking supports children to question and will supports them to be able to do this more effectively, it will better prepare children for the consequences of technological change in the future and in doing so will enable them to use technology more effectively and adapt to using new technologies as they are developing.

We develop and adapt our curriculum to the needs of our leaners via a scaffolded approach to cater for all needs. We provide children with additional challenges to ensure depth of the content in which is being covered. We ensure that no child is prevented from accessing the computing curriculum because of need or circumstance and in this occasion we provide resources and assistance to make sure every child achieves. We want the use of technology to support learning across the entire curriculum and to ensure that or curriculum is accessible to every child.

IMPLEMENTATION

Our curriculum has been thought of carefully; it has appropriate coverage; it is sequential and structured, and is implemented and adapted to the needs of our pupils. To enable us to do this we use a scheme that covers the national curriculum aims. Children are challenged with the content within their key stage. Learning is sequenced and the knowledge and skills are built upon in every year group. We regularly evaluate and adapt resources from the scheme to ensure the curriculum contains content that has been identified as most useful, and ensured that this content is taught in a logical progression, systematically and explicitly enough for all pupils to acquire the intended knowledge and skills. We reiterate that the scheme used is a guide or foundation and that each teacher should take ownership of it and apply it to the children in their classes. We advocate flexibility within our curriculum planning so that we can address identified gaps in pupil’s computing knowledge and skills.

Children will have access to resources, which aid in the acquisition of skills and knowledge. They will have access to the hardware (computers, laptops, tablets and IPad) and software they need to develop these skills.

Over a sequence of lessons children’s learning and skills will be built upon to further their computing understanding. We do this through exploring smaller steps of learning in each lesson to ensure depth of a topic and in turn means: fewer children struggle, children that are able are challenged to understand the basic idea more deeply through independence and broader thinking.

All lessons start with a ‘Do Now’ that gives the children sufficient opportunities that are planned to revisit previously learned knowledge, concepts and skills. The start of every lesson builds on previous knowledge, concept or idea from the previous lesson or from the content that was taught in the previous year.

All lessons will involve computing vocabulary; conversations and discussions around key ideas; children applying their knowledge and skills (in varying forms) and a variety of different assessment strategies to ensure the children are secure. This means that each lesson may look differently depending on the area of learning or the skill or process that is being mastered.

Modelling (MT, YT, OT) is key to ensuring children have a full and competent understanding in every lesson to ensure the effective teaching of concepts. These scaffolds are only removed when children have a deeper understanding.

Computing discussions and conversations is integral to children’s understanding and therefore we ensure children talk about their ideas and question each other’s thinking.

Wider curriculum links and opportunities for the safe use of digital systems are considered in wider curriculum planning.

Online safety is taught as a unit in our scheme and key messages are embedded and reinforced throughout the computing lessons. Online Safety messages are also delivered as part of our RSE and PHSE curriculum. We ensure that children are given opportunities to apply their knowledge and skills as well as covering the content in a creative and stimulating way.

IMPACT

Children will be confident users of technology and will be able to use it to accomplish a wide variety of goals, both at home and in school.  Children will have a secure and comprehensive knowledge of the implications of technology and digital systems. This is important in a society where technologies and trends are rapidly evolving.

Through our computing curriculum children will:

• be engaged and challenged
• be able to succeed in all computing lessons because learning will be appropriately scaffolded
• make good and better progress from their starting points
• know how and why computing is used in the outside world and in the workplace
• through discussion and feedback, talk enthusiastically about computing

Assessment and monitoring in computing:

• Lesson observations, monitoring and learning walks

• Gathering pupil voice (Junior Leaders)

• Tracking pupils’ progress

• Check for Understanding used as a formative assessment tool that informs planning and intervention