Computing

Computing

Intent

At Templefield Lower School we appreciate that technology is everywhere and will play a pivotal part in our students' lives. Therefore, we want to model and educate our pupils on how to use technology positively, responsibly and safely.

Through our computing curriculum we aim to prepare our children for their future by giving them the opportunities to gain knowledge and develop skills that will equip them for an ever changing and technological world. We understand that computational confidence and digital skills are going to be of increasing importance for future generations where work and leisure activities are increasingly transformed by technology.

Through our computing curriculum, we aim to give our pupils the life-skills that will enable them to embrace and utilise new technology in a socially responsible and safe way in order to flourish. Our scheme of work provides progression and a breadth of knowledge across all year groups. New technologies require children to be able to interact fully with computers, laptops, tablets and a growing number of other devices, programs and software in order to fully support their learning in a number of contexts.

Implementation

At Templefield computing is taught in discrete computing lessons, using Chromebooks or iPads, but the use of technology is encouraged to support learning across all curriculum areas and with further technologies, such as BeeBots. Online safety is taught in both computing lessons and PSHE lessons. We also participate in ‘Internet Safety Week’ in which each class is provided with age appropriate texts and tasks. We want to ensure our children know how to safely navigate the digital world as well as the real one and the children will have the opportunity to explore and respond to key issues such as digital communication, cyberbullying, online safety, security, plagiarism and social media.

We use the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE) resources as a basis for providing a clear and comprehensive scheme of work which covers the three areas of the Computing National Curriculum: Digital literacy, Computer Science and Information Technology. Children in all year groups are exposed to a range of topics which encourage progression across the key strands. Every year group has their learning assignments set on Google Classroom, so they familiarise themselves with using Google Drive and the related programmes, as well as uploading files. This also enables easy communication with anyone completing home learning.

Impact

Within Computing we encourage a creative and collaborative environment in which pupils can learn to express and challenge themselves. we want every child to be a confident user of technology, during and after their time here, able to use it to accomplish a wide variety of goals, both at home and in school. They will have a secure and comprehensive knowledge of technology and digital systems, enabling them to confidently progress with future studies and modern life in this digital age.

By the end of each key stage, pupils are expected to know, apply and understand the matters, skills and processes specified in the relevant programme of study. This will be measured by teacher assessments made against the planned outcomes using the NCCE success criteria for each area of computing. Other measurements of the impact will take place through pupil and staff voice; reflective discussion and feedback, as well as monitoring of lessons and work, alongside photo evidence of practical learning.

We want children to know how to be responsible, safe and respectful online. They are able to recognise the dangers that exist from the use of technology and articulate well about the potential risks of being online. They will be able to talk about ways to keep safe online and know what to do if they feel unsafe or see something that they do not like.