Computing
Intent
At Eccleston St. Mary’s CE Primary School, we understand the immense value that technology plays not only in supporting the Computing and whole school curriculum but overall in the day-to-day life of our school. Our aims are to fulfil the requirements of the National Curriculum for Computing whilst also providing enhanced collaborative learning opportunities and engagement in rich content whilst supporting all pupils’ understanding of new concepts.
“A high-quality computing education equips pupils to use computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world…core of computing is computer science, in which pupils 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, pupils are equipped to use information technology to create programs, systems and a range of content.” National Curriculum 2014
Computing teaching at Eccleston St. Mary’s CE Primary School has links with all areas of the curriculum but especially with Mathematics, Science and Design and Technology .Our aim is to provide a broad and balanced curriculum whilst ensuring that pupils become digitally literate and digitally resilient. Technology is ever evolving and we aim to develop pupils who can express themselves and develop their ideas through information and communication technology at a suitable level for the future workplace and as active participants in a digital world.
The aims of our 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
- Know how to keep themselves safe whilst on the internet and are able to minimise risk to themselves and others.
- Know who to contact if they have concerns
- 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
- Apply their learning in a range of contexts, e.g. at school and at home.
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 Eccleston St. Mary’s, 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 Eccleston St. Mary’s will deliver the requirements of the National Curriculum through units of work taken and adapted from the Purple Mash scheme. Teachers plan using our Computing progression document which highlights the knowledge, skills and vocabulary for each year group, and is progressive from year to year. Our Computing progression document 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 Eccleston St. Mary’s whether combined or discretely.
Our Computing progression document is supplemented by the Purple Mash scheme of work which we follow from Year 1-6, ensuring consistency and progression throughout the school. Units within this scheme of work cover a broad range of computing components such as Coding, Spreadsheets, Internet and Email, Databases, Communication networks, Animation and Online Safety.
When teaching Computing, teachers also follow the children’s interests to ensure their learning is engaging, broad and balanced. Teachers ensure that ICT and computing capability are also achieved through core and foundation subjects and, where appropriate, ICT and computing are incorporated into work for all subjects.
Computing teaching at Eccleston St. Mary’s 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 stand-alone PCs in each classroom, a fully-equipped ICT suite, Google Chromebooks, bee-bots, webcams, floor roamers, cameras and log boxes. Pupils may use PCs and Chromebooks 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 Eccleston St. Mary’s are fully encouraged to engage with ICT and technology outside school. Each teacher and pupil has their own unique Purple Mash login and password. Computing work can be stored and saved using pupil log in details and homework or ‘2do’s’ can also be set for pupils to access and complete tasks at home that link with their current class learning. In addition, all children and parents have access to Seesaw as a means of communication between home and school and as a means for pupils to engage in remote learning.
Alongside our curriculum provision, pupils at Eccleston St. Mary’s have the opportunity to participate in after school computing clubs run by teachers or outside agencies (eg Jam Coding). These clubs aim to provide additional computing support and enjoyment whilst further challenging pupils who possess exceptional computing abilities.
At Eccleston St. Mary’s CE Primary School we provide a variety of opportunities for computing learning inside and outside the classroom. Computing and safeguarding go hand in hand and we provide a huge focus on internet safety inside and outside the classroom. In addition to all pupils studying an online safety unit through their computing lessons, every year we also take part in National Internet Safety Day in February. The Computing subject leader, alongside class teachers, will plan additional internet safety lessons and activities following a specific yearly theme. At Eccleston St. Mary’s, we actively encourage parent partnership within the Computing curriculum and outside school. Parents are made aware of online safety issues through the school website, Facebook page, links, letters and our weekly newsletter.
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, as with other subjects, discrete vocabulary progression also forms part of the units of work.
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.
- A reflection on standards achieved against the planned outcomes.
- Learning walks and reflective staff feedback