Computing

In today’s world, using information technology is an integral part of everyone’s lives, including the very young.

At East-the-Water Primary School, we intend to equip our children with the ability to participate in the digital world safely and effectively.  We believe that ‘Computational Thinking’: problem solving, analysing and evaluating is an essential skill that needs to be explicitly taught at every stage of learning.  

We aim to ensure that our computing curriculum is fully integrated throughout all areas of the curriculum and effectively modelled by competent and knowledgeable staff.  This will enable our children to be effective users of technology and give them opportunities to apply key concepts and aspects of Computer Science.  We intend to provide them at least 2 half terms focusing on computing each year, allowing them to build key skills and embed their learnt knowledge by revisiting prior learning.

At East-the-Water Primary School, the use of information technology is threaded through our curriculum.  Key knowledge and skills for computing have been mapped out across the school from EYFS to Year 6 to ensure progression between year groups.  In our Early Years, children will experience the basics of programming by taking part in a range of activities, including using Beebots.  From Year 1-6, children will be taught the three aspects of the curriculum:

• Information technology: pupils will be taught how to use information technology to create programmes, systems and a range of content, and be shown how to use, develop their ideas and express themselves through information and communication technology, at a level suitable for the future workplace and as active participants in a digital world.  
• Computer Science: this is the core of computing in which pupils are taught the principles of information and computation, how digital systems work, and how to put this knowledge to use through programming.
• Digital Literacy: pupils will be taught how to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate and communicate information, requiring both cognitive and technical skills.

A major component of our Computing and RSE curriculum is Online Safety.  Pupils will be taught the rules and principles of keeping safe online.  This will include how to recognise risks, harmful content and contact and how and to whom to report issues.  Pupils will be taught to understand how data is generated, collected and shared, including how it is captured on social media.  We will equip our children with the knowledge that they need to keep themselves and others safe online. 

We teach British Values through Computing by promoting tolerance, cultural diversity and in turn mutual respect. We link this to pupils’ behaviour online and how mutual respect and tolerance is applicable to the online world as well as in society. Respect is key to ensure that our children know that their actions online can affect the feelings of others. We teach our pupils to behave responsibly and to take accountability for their actions online. But overall we ensure that they become programmers of information and communication technology and use this for positive purposes.

Teachers will plan using the school’s progression map to ensure differentiation and that prior learning is built upon. Children will be assessed on their computing skills formatively by their class teacher to ensure progress and suitable challenge. In addition, IT leaders will be monitoring the impact of whole school computing by assessing small groups of children from each year group.  

By the end KS1 children will be taught to:

• understand what algorithms are; how they are implemented as programs on digital devices; and that programs execute by following precise and unambiguous instructions.
• create and debug simple programs.
• use logical reasoning to predict the behaviour of simple programs. 
• use technology purposefully to create, organise, store, manipulate and retrieve digital content. 
• recognise common uses of information technology beyond school.
• use technology safely and respectfully, keeping personal information private; identify where to go for help and support when they have concerns about content or contact on the internet or other online technologies. 

By the end KS2 children will be taught to:

• design, write and debug programs that accomplish specific goals, including controlling or simulating physical systems; solve problems by decomposing them into smaller parts. 
• use sequence, selection, and repetition in programs; work with variables and various forms of input and output. 
• use logical reasoning to explain how some simple algorithms work and to detect and correct errors in algorithms and programs. 
• understand computer networks including the internet; how they can provide multiple services, such as the world wide web; and the opportunities they offer for communication and collaboration. 
• use search technologies effectively, appreciate how results are selected and ranked, and be discerning in evaluating digital content. 
• select, use and combine a variety of software (including internet services) on a range of digital devices to design and create a range of programs, systems and content that accomplish given goals, including collecting, analysing, evaluating and presenting data and information. 
• use technology safely, respectfully and responsibly; recognise acceptable/unacceptable behaviour; identify a range of ways to report concerns about content and contact.

We believe our children will:

• be digitally literate and able to access the digital world that we live in.
• be equipped with the knowledge and understanding of how to use IT safely and effectively.
• be aware of how to keep themselves safe online and be respectful to others.
• understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms and data representation.
• analyse problems in computational terms, and have repeated practical experience of writing code to solve problems.
• be able to evaluate and apply information technology to solve problems.
• be responsible, competent, confident and creative users of information and communication technology.