Computing Curriculum Intent and Implementation

 

At Westwood we offer a high quality, engaging Computing curriculum which, wherever possible, is taught in context through our adventure approach to learning.

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 digital world. Our aim is to enable all our children and staff to be confident, competent, and independent users of ICT.

We enable our children to develop computing skills, knowledge, understanding and capability through taught computing lessons whilst also providing opportunities for them to apply and consolidate their capability across all curriculum contexts, in an environment where access to ICT resources is natural and commonplace.

Implementation

We teach the National Curriculum, supported by a clear skills and knowledge progression using the Purple Mash program of study along with other resources. This ensures that skills and knowledge are built on year by year and sequenced appropriately to maximise learning for all children.

Wherever possible our Computing curriculum is linked to each year group’s Adventure, to allow cross-curricular links to be made and to maintain the sense of ‘botherdness’ that we believe is crucial to our children’s learning.

We offer our children memorable, exciting and fun learning experiences through a variety of teaching strategies including practical and real-life opportunities, active learning and use of the outdoors, always encouraging them to share their learning and articulate their achievements.  

Our Computing curriculum focuses on a progression of skills in digital literacy, computer science, information technology and online safety to ensure that children become competent in safely using, as well as understanding, technology. These strands are revisited repeatedly through a range of themes during children’s time in school to ensure the learning is embedded and skills are successfully developed.  

 

Digital Literacy

Within digital literacy, children develop practical skills in the safe use of ICT and the ability to apply these skills to solving relevant, worthwhile problems, for example understanding safe use of Internet, networks and email.

KS1: Children will recognize 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

 

KS2: Children will use technology safely, respectfully and responsibly; recognise acceptable/unacceptable behaviour; identify a range of ways to report concern about content and contact.

 

Computer Science

In computer science we teach children to understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms and data representation. Children analyse problems to computational terms, and have repeated practical experience of writing computer programs in order to solve such problems. We also teach a progression of Computing vocabulary to support children in their understanding.

KS1: Children will understand what algorithms are and how they are implemented as programs; create and debug simple programs; use logical reasoning to predict the behavior of simple programs.

 

KS2: Children will design, write and debug programs that accomplish specific goals, including controlling or simulating physical systems; solve problems by decomposing them into parts; use sequence, selection and repetition and work with 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.

 

Information Technology

As part of information technology, children learn to use and express themselves and develop their ideas through ICT for example writing and presenting as well as exploring art and design using multimedia.

Online safety is taught as individual units throughout the year to every year group and through a rolling programme of assemblies, activity days and awareness events. Our school website provides E-Safety zones for both parents and children which reinforce online safety topics and provide advice and information on how to stay safe online.

KS1: Children will use technology purposefully to create, organise, store, manipulate and retrieve digital content.

KS2: Children will 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 on a range of digital devices to design and create programs, systems and content that accomplish given goals, including collecting, analysing, evaluating and presenting data and information.

 

Impact

The implementation of this curriculum ensures that when children leave Westwood Primary School, they are competent and safe users of ICT with an understanding of how technology works. They will have developed skills to express themselves, will be creative in using digital media and will be equipped to apply their skills in Computing to different challenges going forward.