COMPUTING

INTENT

At Queensway Primary School, we aim to:

  • Provide an engaging, thought-provoking, and pertinent range of lessons that are adapted for accessibility by all pupils.
  • Develop pupils’ computational thinking and transferrable computing skills to enable our children to adapt to new technologies as they emerge. This ensures pupils know how to use technology and how to be creators of new technology.
  • Provide pupils with the tech literacy skills they need to succeed in the digitally driven world of today.
  • Enhance learning across the curriculum.

Pupils’ excellent understanding of digital literacy skills is essential to ensure they are competent and confident users of technology and, importantly, know how to use such technology in a safe and responsible manner.

 

IMPLEMENTATION

The Computing curriculum consists of three broad strands: computer science, information technology, and digital literacy. Queensway Primary School uses the National Centre for Computing Education’s (NCCE) taxonomy to ensure comprehensive coverage of the Computing curriculum. As the basis for our planning, we use the NCCE’s Teach Computing scheme of learning. This has been developed through a thorough review of the Computing programme of study.

All learning outcomes can be described through a high-level taxonomy of five strands:

  • Computer networks – understand how networks can be used to retrieve and share information, and how they come with associated risks
  • Computer systems – understand what a computer is, and how its constituent parts function together as a whole
  • Creating media – select and create a range of media including text, images, sounds, and video
  • Data and information – understand how data is stored, organised, and used to represent real-world artefacts and scenarios
  • Programming – create software to allow computers to solve problems

The curriculum has been written to support all pupils. Each lesson is sequenced so that it builds on the learning from the previous lesson, and where appropriate, activities are scaffolded so that all pupils can succeed and thrive. Exploratory tasks foster a deeper understanding of a concept, encouraging pupils to apply their learning in different contexts and make connections with other learning experiences. The units for key stages 1 and 2 are based on a spiral curriculum. This means that each of the themes is revisited regularly (at least once in each year group), and pupils revisit each theme through a new unit that consolidates and builds on prior learning within that theme. This style of curriculum design reduces the amount of knowledge lost through forgetting, as topics are revisited yearly.

 

IMPACT

The impact of our Computing curriculum is that pupils develop their curiosity, enjoyment, and confidence necessary to succeed in the digitally driven world of today. We measure the impact of our curriculum through monitoring and assessment. All Computing lessons incorporate opportunity for formative assessment - ranging from teacher observation and questioning to marked activities - to ensure that misconceptions are addressed. Pedagogically, when we assess, we ensure that we are assessing a pupil's understanding of Computing concept and skills, rather than their reading and writing skills. Therefore, we encourage observational assessment and believe it is the most reliable method of capturing an accurate measure of learning. Monitoring of Computing may take the form of informal discussions with staff and pupils, observation of lessons, monitoring children’s work, and analysis of assessment data.

ONLINE SAFETY

Queensway Primary School prides itself on ensuring every child is safe, happy and inspired, including when online. While regulation and technical solutions are particularly important within online safety, their use must be balanced by educating learners to take a responsible approach. The education of learners in online safety is therefore an essential part of the school’s online safety provision. Learners need the help and support of the school to recognise and avoid online safety risks and develop their resilience. The statutory Keeping Children Safe in Education legislation states:

“Governing bodies and proprietors should ensure online safety is a running and interrelated theme whilst devising and implementing their whole school or college approach to safeguarding and related policies and procedures. This will include considering how online safety is reflected as required in all relevant policies and considering online safety whilst planning the curriculum…”

Online safety should be a focus in all areas of the curriculum and staff should reinforce online safety messages across the curriculum. The online safety curriculum should be broad, relevant and provide progression, with opportunities for creative activities.

Online safety is taught through the teaching of computing; personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE); and relationships and health education (RHE). At Queensway, we want to equip children with the knowledge needed to make the best use of the internet and technology in a safe, considered and respectful manner, so they can reap the benefits of the digital world.

At Queensway, we teach online safety explicitly using the Project Evolve curriculum. Project Evolve is an evolving scheme of work based on the UK Council for Internet Safety (UKCIS) framework “Education for a Connected World” and covers the knowledge, skills, behaviours and attitudes across eight strands of online living across the primary phase. The curriculum covers progression across all strands from Early Years to Year .6. The eight strands covered through the curriculum are:

  • ·       Self-image and identity
  • ·       Online Relationships
  • ·       Online Bullying
  • ·       Heath Wellbeing & Lifestyle
  • ·       Privacy & Security
  • ·       Copyright and Ownership
  • ·       Managing Online Information

Online safety is taught during the first morning of each half-term and is coordinated by the Computing subject leader to ensure appropriate coverage of all objectives throughout the academic year. Knowledge maps are used to assess children’s prior knowledge of an online safety topic. Knowledge maps incorporate a concept cartoon generator to illustrate children and young people's understanding of an online safety topic.

The impact of our online safety education is that pupils are equip with the knowledge and skills needed to make the best use of the Internet and technology in a safe, considered, and respectful manner, so that they can succeed in the digitally driven world of today. In addition, we measure the impact of our curriculum through monitoring and assessment.

image

Computing documentation

NameFormat
Files
Computing policy.pdf .pdf
Computing curriculum map.pdf .pdf
Online safety education.pdf .pdf
KS1 vocabulary list.pdf .pdf
KS2 vocabulary list.pdf .pdf