Computing

Computing

INTENT

In line with the 2014 National Curriculum for Computing, our aim is to provide a high-quality computing education which equips children to use computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world. The curriculum will teach children key knowledge about how computers and computer systems work, and how they are designed and programmed. Learners will have the opportunity to gain an understanding of computational systems of all kinds, whether or not they include computers.

By the time the children leave The Icknield Primary School, they will have gained key knowledge and skills in the three main areas of the computing curriculum: computer science (programming and understanding how digital systems work), information technology (using computer systems to store, retrieve and send information) and digital literacy (evaluating digital content and using technology safely and respectfully). The objectives within each strand support the development of learning across the key stages, ensuring a solid grounding for future learning and beyond.

IMPLEMENTATION

Our computing curriculum is based on the ‘Teach Computing’ curriculum which has been created by subject experts, using the latest pedagogical research and teacher feedback. It is structured in units. For these units to be coherent, the lessons within a unit must be taught in order. However, across a year group, the units themselves do not need to be taught in order, with the exception of ‘Programming’ units, where concepts and skills rely on prior learning and experiences.

Our curriculum uses the National Centre for Computing Education’s computing taxonomy to ensure comprehensive coverage of the subject. This has been developed through a thorough review of the KS1-4 computing programme of study. All learning outcomes can be described through a high-level taxonomy of ten strands, ordered alphabetically as follows:

• Algorithms — Be able to comprehend, design, create and evaluate algorithms
• 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
• Design and development — Understand the activities involved in planning, creating, and evaluating computing artefacts
• Effective use of tools — Use software tools to support computing work
• Impact of technology —Understand how individuals, systems, and society as a whole interact with computer systems
• Programming —Create software to allow computers to solve problems
• Safety and security —Understand risks when using technology, and how to protect individuals and systems The taxonomy provides categories and an organised view of content to encapsulate the discipline of computing. Whilst all strands are present at all phases, they are not always taught explicitly.

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. It also ensures that connections are made even if different teachers are teaching the units within a theme in consecutive years.

Our 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. Scaffolded activities provide pupils with extra resources, such as visual prompts, to reach the same learning goals as the rest of the class. 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.

IMPACT

The spiral curriculum approach is used to progress skills and concepts from one year group to the next so that 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.