At St. Peter’s Primary, we believe our golden thread of PETERS Values should weave its way through our curriculum, including our subject of Computing.
Intent
Throughout their primary school journey, we want our students to develop their critical computing skills through #teamwork, show #respect and #empathy when communicating in our ever-changing digital world and always show #pride and #effort in their engaging computing lessons.
We want our pupils to be responsible and skilled “digizens,” who have a strong foundation of basic computing credentials and knowledge that can be built upon to prepare them for the careers of the future. To achieve this, we have a great emphasis on the core subject specific skills which include: both block and text based programming, creating and manipulating media, understanding and analysing computer systems and networks and digital data handling.
The importance of E-Safety is not undervalued or underestimated: it is found at the heart of all our computing sessions. Regular lessons on topics such as self image and identity, cyber bullying, building positive relationships and reputations online, privacy and security and considering well being and lifestyle, help to prepare and instil a healthy balance for our children’s “online and offline” lives.
At St. Peter’s, 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:
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can understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms and data representation
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can analyse problems in computational terms, and have repeated practical experience of writing computer programs in order to solve such problems
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can evaluate and apply information technology, including new or unfamiliar technologies, analytically to solve problems
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are responsible, competent, confident and creative users of information and communication technology.
We intend for our children to have real life experiences and learn about Computing in an active and ‘hands-on’ way and therefore devices, access to technology and cross-curricular links form a fundamental part of our curriculum.
Implementation
Ensuring the National Curriculum Computing objectives are delivered in a comprehensive and progressive manner, across and throughout the key stages, is of paramount importance at our school. We have designed a long term plan to best suit the specific needs of our St. Peter’s children. By carefully selecting and combining units from a plethora of Computing curriculum sources, including Teach Computing, Code Club, Google and Purple Mash, we have amalgamated and tailored units to ensure the distinct Computing skills required for our pupils can be practised and honed.
Google’s Be Internet Legends and Education for the Connected World’s coherent, comprehensive and progressive objectives are fully utilised at St. Peter’s to ensure our children are taught the importance of developing a positive online lifestyle, incorporating a secure understanding of the value and significance of their digital footprint. We have a completely separate E-Safety progression of skills to demonstrate this.
Computing is timetabled and taught discreetly at St. Peter’s in our Computer Suite, however with future investment in mobile technology throughout the building, it is our aspiration to begin embedding a more cross curricular approach.
Impact
Our children learn to become responsible, respected and mature digital citizens where they are given experiences which will not only prepare them for their transitions to secondary school and further education, but provide the building blocks for the careers of the future.
The impact of teaching and learning is measured by end of topic assessments and quizzes, where appropriate, with children being able to successfully demonstrate their skills and knowledge. Digital workbooks and audio-visual evidence is collated through Google Classroom and Seesaw, which is used to support monitoring of the subject.
At St. Peter’s, we understand that Computing is unlike any other curriculum subject: our digital world is continually evolving at a rapid pace therefore, it is important that our curriculum reflects this. Year on year, we strive to modify and adapt our planning to ensure our students benefit from the most up to date resources and opportunities that are available.
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:
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Start each lesson with a recap of knowledge taught in the previous lesson
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Provide opportunities to use key vocabulary
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Verbal feedback during lessons to address misconceptions and support children where necessary
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Use the evidence bases used to complete work to go back and check pupil understanding e.g. Book Creator
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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:
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Staff subject knowledge audits to ensure staff knowledge is secure and support is provided where necessary
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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
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Learning walks are conducted to watch how different teaches conduct their lessons and to ensure that the correct learning is being taught
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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 St. Peter’s are equipped with computational skills which allow them to be computer literate and prepare them for later life in a technology-led world.