Computing

At Gorseland Primary School, we aim to instil a sense of enjoyment around using technology and to develop pupils’ appreciation of its capabilities, knowing the opportunities technology offers to, create, manage, organise, and collaborate. We want to develop pupils’ confidence when encountering new technology, which is a vital skill in the ever evolving and changing landscape of technology. Additionally, we want to equip children for life in the digital world, including their understanding of appropriate online behaviour and ensure each child has a healthy use of technology. 

It is fundamental that children should know, understand and use key vocabulary, as outlined in our curriculum, and have a secure understanding of the three strands of computing: computer science, information technology and digital literacy.

At Gorseland, our computing curriculum ensures full National Curriculum coverage. our curriculum provides engaging lessons which cover the following strands of computing:

Computer Science

• 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 computer programs in order to solve such problems.

Information Technology

• evaluate and apply information technology, including new or unfamiliar technologies, analytically to solve problems.

Digital Literacy

• become responsible, competent, confident and creative users of information and communication technology.

Our Computing scheme of work has been designed as a spiral curriculum, which is cyclical, in that pupils revisit the five key areas throughout KS1 and KS2. There is increasing depth within the curriculum, whereby each time one of the five key areas (outlined below) is revisited, it is covered with greater complexity. The curriculum is also designed so that upon returning to each key area, prior knowledge is utilised so pupils can build on previous foundations, rather than starting again. The curriculum is designed so children build computing knowledge in the following 5 areas:

• Computing Systems and Networks

• Programming

• Creating Media

• Data Handling

• Online Safety

Lessons incorporate a range of teaching strategies from independent tasks, paired and group work as well as unplugged and digital activities. This variety means that lessons are engaging and appeal to those with a variety of learning styles. 

The intended impact of our Computing curriculum is that children will:

• Be critical thinkers and able to understand how to make informed and appropriate digital choices in the future.

• Understand the importance that computing will have going forward in both their educational and working life and in their social and personal futures.

• Understand how to balance time spent on technology and time spent away from it in a healthy and appropriate manner.

• Understand that technology helps to showcase their ideas and creativity. They will know that different types of software and hardware can help them achieve a broad variety of artistic and practical aims.

• Show a clear progression of technical skills across all areas of the National curriculum - computer science, information technology and digital literacy.

• Be able to use technology both individually and as part of a collaborative team.

• Be aware of online safety issues and protocols and be able to deal with any problems in a responsible and appropriate manner.

• Have an awareness of developments in technology and have an idea of how current technologies work and relate to one another.

• Meet the end of key stage expectations outlined in the National curriculum for Computing.

Children complete quizzes at the end of the majority of lessons which assess the key knowledge from that lesson as well as prior knowledge from previous lessons. Teachers use the information gathered from these quizzes to address misconceptions and move the children's learning on. At the end of each unit, children complete a quiz which assesses the key knowledge from the whole unit. The children's quiz scores are used alongside teachers' observations of learning to form a termly judgment as to whether each child has met, exceeded or is working towards the expected standard in Computing.  

Subject leaders monitor teaching and learning in their subject through observing teaching and learning in lessons, analysing the work produced by children, talking to samples of children in different year groups about what they know and remember from their learning and termly data analysis to track the progress of learning in their subject across the school.