Computing
Computing
COMPUTING CURRICULUM STATEMENT
INTENT
At our school we want pupils to have a healthy and balanced relationship with technology. We are conscious that technology is everywhere, is a huge part of their daily life and will play an increasingly pivotal part in their future. Therefore, we want to model and educate our pupils on how to use technology positively, responsibly and safely. We want our pupils to be creators not consumers and our curriculum (Purple Mash Computing) scheme of work – encompassing computer science, information technology and digital literacy – reflects this. We encourage staff to try and embed computing across the whole curriculum, by using their knowledge of wider curriculum and interest of their pupils, to make learning creative and accessible. We want our pupils to understand that there is always a choice with using technology and as a school we utilise technology to model positive use (e.g. school Twitter account where school events and activities are shared, Podcast, Coding and Robotics afterschool clubs where pupils engage positively with technology).
We recognise that the best prevention for a lot of issues we currently see with technology/social media is through education. Therefore, we fully take part on Safer Internet Day each year, have at least one internet safety lesson per term and address the topic further through our PSHE lessons.
We aim to enable pupils to find, explore, analyse, exchange and present information digitally. By the time pupils leave Holmleigh School, pupils will have gained key knowledge and skills in the three main strands of the National Curriculum for Computing (2014). These strands are: computer science (programming and understanding how digital systems work), information technology (using computer systems to create, store, retrieve and send information) and digital literacy (evaluating digital content and using technology safely and respectfully).
IMPLEMENTATION
At Holmleigh School, computing is taught using specified units from the ‘Purple Mash: Computing’ scheme. Animation, online safety, game design, blogging… there’s lots more to computing than coding. We raise standards and broaden our computing curriculum by utilising award-winning tools for all these components in just one place. Children can access these tools both at school (via our set of Chromebooks used in classrooms) or at home via a range of devices. The key knowledge and skills that must be taught within each unit have been identified and carefully mapped to support the progression of pupil’s learning across the primary phases, building towards mastery of the end of key stage objectives from the National Curriculum. Freedom for teachers to develop and adapt computing units within the framework of the progression map leads to rich links with engaging contexts in other subjects and topics, while still ensuring systematic coverage of objectives. Pupils are able to complete tasks on the platform using their proprietary tools that strip back non-essential elements to make learning simpler and progression clearer. They can then hand in their work to be assessed by their class teacher. We also participate in ‘Internet Safety Week’ in which each class is provided with age appropriate texts and tasks.
IMPACT
In order to demonstrate that we have accomplished our aims, pupils at Holmleigh Primary School should:
- Be enthusiastic and confident in their approach towards Computing both at home and in school.
- Present as competent and adaptable ‘Computational Thinkers’ who are able to use identified concepts and approaches in all 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. Children will have a secure knowledge of the implications of technology and digital systems. This is important in a society where technologies and trends are rapidly evolving.
- Children will be able to apply the British values of democracy, tolerance, mutual respect, rule of law and liberty when using digital systems.
- Transition to secondary school with a keen interest in the continued learning of this subject.
We follow the Purple Mash Computing programme which has been structured to suit our own term dates and curriculum. A comprehensive overview of the subject can be accessed below.