Computing

Intent

With technology playing an ever-increasing role in all of our lives, at Colebrook we intend for children to gain the foundations of key computing skills which ensure they feel confident, competent and safe when interacting with technology in all it’s forms. E-safety plays a major role in all computing lessons, with strong cross-curricular links made to PSHE lessons and whole school assemblies that help children to become responsible and respectful Digital Citizens and to feel secure in the knowledge of what to do when they face a problem online. Children will acquire knowledge and an understanding of Computer Science and Information Technology; increasing their digitally literacy alongside their development of creativity, resilience, problem-solving and critical thinking skills.

Implementation

At Colebrook, our inclusive Computing lessons implement the Computing National Curriculum as a blend of its three components: Digital Literacy, Computer Science and Information Technology. Knowledge and skills are taught progressively, with well planned activities that allow children to recap and build upon previous learning.

Computer Science teaches children the principles of information and computation. Children at Colebrook develop an understanding of algorithms and debugging through exploration and adult-led activities involving technology such as Bee-bots as well as age-appropriate computer programs.

E-safety is taught and promoted in every lesson, with explicit links made to PSHE and whole school assemblies that re-enforce key messages and ideas. Cross curricular links are also formed to whole school topics and foundation subjects such as Art and History.

As a school we use the learning platform DB Primary to give children access to a safe and secure area online where they can learn and explore. Children have their own login details and area where they can create and save content before sharing it with their peers.

Impact

It is our intention that every child at Colebrook is supported to gain the confidence and competence to explore and interact positively with digital technology. They take into account how their actions online may affect others and behave accordingly, with a solid understanding of what to do when they encounter content that upsets or scares them. The establishment of a comprehensive set of skills in all areas of Computing and E-Safety will ready children for the next steps in their education and help them to stay safe as they encounter digital technology beyond school.

National Curriculum Purpose of Study

A high-quality computing education equips pupils to use computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world. Computing has deep links with mathematics, science, and design and technology, and provides insights into both natural and artificial systems. The 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. Computing also ensures that pupils 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.

Aims

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.

Curriculum Goals

KS1

Pupils should 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.