Curriculum - Computing - St Helens Aukland Community Primary

Long Term Plan

Nursery have been identifying technology in and around the home. The children have really enjoyed using the Interactive Whiteboard to play Maths and Phonics games.

Reception class have been learning all about instructions. The children have been following instructions, giving instructions and breaking instructions up in to small steps. This includes ordering instructions using logical reasoning to read simple instructions and predict the outcome.

Year 1 children have gained greater awareness of technology and how it can help them in their daily lives. Children understand the basic components of a desktop and laptop computer and have practised logging on and off. Our tasks involved mouse and keyboard typing skills, and children have made rapid progress. Children have also thought about how to use technology correctly in order to keep themselves safe. Great work everyone!

Year 2 have been learning about IT and what it is. The children have learned about the different forms of IT and where they can be found. The children have worked on how to use IT safely.

Year 3 have explored how computers are connected. We have investigated different digital devices and have identified different inputs, outputs and processes. The children explored the devices that make up a network infrastructure and how these works. They discussed the benefits of connecting devices through a network.

Year 4 have been learning about the internet. They have learnt about networks and explored the internet as a network of networks which need to be kept secure. The children have explored the World Wide Web as part of the internet and learnt about who owns the content and what they can access, add and create. The children have enjoyed looking at different websites and evaluating them.

In Year 5 we have been looking at computing systems, network- systems and searching. We developed our understanding of computer systems and how the information is transferred between system and devices. They looked at the input, output and process aspects in a variety of different real-world systems.

Year 6 have been communicating and collaborating online. Children have explored how data is transferred over the internet and have been using teams to work on a shared piece of learning, They shared what they had been learning in RE. Children have also learnt how to communicate responsibly by considering what should and should not be shared on the internet.

Intent

What is taught?

At St Helen Auckland Community Primary School we recognise the importance of Computing in every aspects of daily life. As one of the foundation subjects taught in primary schools, we give the learning of Computing the prominence it requires.
We follow the National Curriculum for Computing, which aims to ensure that all children:

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

We teach Computing progressively using The Teach Computing Curriculum, which provides a comprehensive collection of materials to support all teachers in delivering the curriculum.

We teach the importance of using technology safely and we aim to develop children’s responsibility as digital citizens.

We aim to develop children’s understanding of how programs work and how they can be designed to achieve a set of goals. Within Digital Literacy, we aim to develop children’s basic IT skills.

Our Computing Curriculum lends itself to developing the following key skills for life (Learning Powers):

absorption
noticing
making links
reasoning
planning
meta-learning
interdependence
Implementation

Our long-term planning for computing follows the National Curriculum and Teach Computing Curriculum which provides breadth and depth of the computing curriculum.

Lessons are taught weekly,  in KS1 and KS2 for approximately one hour and use of technology is also used across subjects.

Computing in our school follows the ‘Teach Computing’ Curriculum and covers all aspects of the National Curriculum. This scheme was chosen as it has been created by subject experts and based on the latest pedagogical research. It provides an innovative progression framework where computing content (concepts, knowledge, skills and objectives) has been organised into interconnected networks called learning graphs.

The curriculum aims to equip young people with the knowledge, skills and understanding they need to thrive in the digital world of today and the future. The curriculum can be broken down into 3 strands: computer science, information technology and digital literacy, with the aims of the curriculum reflecting this distinction.

Formative assessment is used continuously to help identify children who are making less than expected progress or those who need an extra challenge. When children need extra support they have support from the teacher, teaching assistant and their peers.

In addition, programs and apps are carefully selected so that skills are built upon progressively and they are widely available outside of school so children have further opportunities to develop their skills, for example children have access to TTRockstars and Myon, as well as access to several programming apps on the ipads.

Teaching within Digital Literacy focuses on creating digital content within a variety of programs and apps with the aim of embedding and building on the basic IT skills children will require in the digital world.

An important part of implementing our computing curriculum was to ensure that safety of our pupils. We take online safety very seriously and we aim to give children the necessary skills to keep themselves safe online. Children have a right to enjoy childhood online, to access safe online spaces and to benefit from all the opportunities that a connected world can bring them, appropriate to their age and stage.

Children build online resilience through the use of the “Education for a Connected World” framework. The framework aims to support and broaden the provision of online safety education, so that it is empowering, builds resilience and effects positive culture change. The objectives promote the development of safe and appropriate long-term behaviours, and support educators in shaping the culture within school as well as outside of school.

Impact

Why is Computing taught in this way?

The computing curriculum is taught progressively from Reception to Year 6 to ensure that children develop the knowledge and skills required to achieve the end of Key Stage Two expectations which are:

Discerning in evaluating Digital content to keep themselves and others safe.
Confidently use multiple programs to create and embed content e.g. create presentations, documents and spreadsheets
Build complex procedures when programming

Children will use their computing skills across core or subject areas and will have a strong understanding of the importance of keeping themselves and others safe on the internet. They will have an excellent understanding of how using technology safely is important using the acronym SMART. Most importantly how and who to ask for help if they need it.

Children will be able to discuss their learning and remember what they have learnt during their half termly meetings with subject leaders.

Medium Term Planning:

Long Term Planning

Long Term Plan for Computing