Computing
Computing at Overleigh St. Mary’s C of E Primary School
Intent
At Overleigh, we believe a high-quality computing education equips pupils with the appropriate knowledge, skills and ability to achieve their full potential through being informed, articulate and empowered learners. We encourage the use of computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world. This is reflected throughout our curriculum planning and delivery, ensuring that we are fully inclusive of all individuals, including those with SEND, Pupil Premium, EAL and other vulnerable groups, in order to help them to achieve in their academic and personal development, despite any barriers to their learning. Computing has deep links with mathematics, science, and design and technology. Computing also ensures that pupils become digitally literate – able to use, and express themselves and develop their ideas through, information and communication technology to be active participants in our forever changing, digitally-led world.
At Overleigh, we are guided by and expected to deliver the National Curriculum (2014) for Computing.
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.
The intent of what we want our children to gain in our curriculum comes from being informed, articulate and empowered learners:-
Informed:
- Children learn coding skills, how to be safe in the online world and how to use digital technology in creative and functional ways.
- Children develop the knowledge and skills to work with technology and reflect on its significance in life today.
Articulate:
- Daily opportunities for children to develop their computational skills are embedded where necessary to ensure the children are competent and develop the necessary skills to thrive in our technology-led world.
- Understanding the ever-growing use of technology in our wider community and the world around us to be digitally literate and thrive in our ever-changing world.
- Through the teaching of subject specific technical vocabulary, children will be able to explain computer terms such as function, loop, algorithm, optimise and pattern recognition.
Empowered
- Throughout school, the children have the chance to learn about a breadth of significant individuals that have had an impact on computers and technology over the years. These individuals are diverse to reflect our desire to inspire all children to believe they too, can do great things with technology.
- The focus on having a growth mind-set is essential in the teaching of Computing, empowering children with the confidence to have a go, to learn from mistakes and to keep trying and improving.
- Children explore the purpose and uses of technology within a context as well as their meaning within their daily life.
- An appreciation of Computing is essential to ensure all children develop a love for all learning.
- All children including those who have SEND or are disadvantaged are supported to fully access the Computing curriculum. This may include additional adult support, peer support, scaffolding and the repetition of vocabulary previously learnt.
Implementation
Computing begins in the EYFS in the Understanding the World area of development, although it is not explicitly outlined in the Development Matters frameworks. Classrooms contain role play areas with a range of technology, both functioning and model / broken devices, or a variety of electronic toys, such as remote controlled cars, walkie-talkies and interactive pets, as part of continuous provision. Further technology is included in conjunction with other activities, such as digital cameras for pupils to photograph their own learning.
In Key Stage 1 and 2, Computing should be taught once weekly. We aim to deliver fun, engaging lessons which provide children with hands-on opportunities to understand real life experiences with technologies and create links to other areas of learning where possible.
We teach Computing as a discrete subject. Where it benefits learning, we use opportunities to apply Computing where possible in other areas of the curriculum too, for example, publishing writing on iPads or conducting research in our computer suite. In each unit of work, children will learn 3-5 subject and topic specific pieces of vocabulary. This knowledge and vocabulary is identified in the medium term planning and on the ‘Topic Boards’ that the children use in the classroom. This vocabulary builds on vocabulary previously taught and may reoccur in later units.
All children, including those with SEND and other vulnerable groups, will have access to the full breadth of the curriculum with work being adapted through the adaption of hardware, software and manipulatives used, or through expected work outcomes, by the class teacher.
Impact
Our recently updated Computing curriculum is of high quality and allows for skill and knowledge progression. Our teachers measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:
- Start each lesson with a recap of knowledge taught in the previous lesson
- Provide opportunities to use key vocabulary
- Verbal feedback during lessons to address misconceptions and support children where necessary
- Use the evidence bases used to complete work to go back and check pupil understanding e.g. Book Creator
- Use open-ended task to allow pupils to demonstrate understanding and for exceeding learners to show their potential
The leadership team check that this impact is being secured through monitoring the subject on a regular and frequent basis. The method of monitoring supports the ongoing development of the curriculum. This includes:
- Staff subject knowledge audits to ensure staff knowledge is secure and support is provided where necessary
- 2 pieces of evidence per unit of work to be sent to Computing coordinator to ensure correct content is being taught- this can be print outs or photographs
- Learning walks are conducted to watch how different teaches conduct their lessons and to ensure that the correct learning is being taught
- A pupil voice questionnaire is conducted at the beginning and end of each school year to develop an understanding of children’s attitude towards the subject and to allow them to contribute to their curriculum
The impact of this is to ensure that children at Overleigh are equipped with computational skills which allow them to be computer literate and prepare them for later life in a technology-led world.