Computing

Intent

At our school we want pupils to be MASTERS of technology and not slaves to it. Technology is everywhere and will play a pivotal part in students' lives,. Therefore, we want to model and educate our pupils on how to use technology positively, responsibly and safely. We want our pupils to be creators not consumers and our broad curriculum encompassing computer science, information technology and digital literacy reflects this. We want our pupils to understand that there is always a choice with using technology and as a school we utilise technology (especially social media) to model positive use.

We recognise that the best prevention for a lot of issues we currently see with technology/social media is through education. Building our knowledge in this subject will allow pupils to effectively demonstrate their learning through creative use of Technology.

We recognise that technology can allow pupils to share their learning in creative ways. We also understand the accessibility opportunities technology can provide for our pupils. Our knowledge rich curriculum has to be balanced with the opportunity for pupils to apply their knowledge creatively which will in turn help our pupils become skilful computer scientists.

We encourage staff to try and embed computing across the whole curriculum to make learning creative and accessible. We want our pupils to be fluent with a range of tools to best express their understanding. We hope by the time our children leave New Moston, they  have the independence and confidence to choose the best tool to fulfil the task and challenge set by teachers, and that they’re fully prepared to face the digital challenges of the 21st Century. 

Implementation

We have a designated IT Suite which opened in January 2022.  We use Purple Mash as a cohesive scheme of work addressing the statutory aspects of the National Curriculum. 

Computing is branched into three aspects: Computer Science; Information Technology; and Digital Literacy, so that our pupils are set a relevant, challenging continuum of age-related skills and knowledge for their own year groups.

Pupils 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; generate appropriate inputs and predicted outputs to test programs.

● Use logical reasoning to explain how a simple algorithm works 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.

● Describe how internet search engines find and store data; use search engines effectively; be discerning in evaluating digital content; respect individuals and intellectual property; use technology responsibly, securely and safely.

● Select, use and combine a variety of software (including internet services) on a range of digital devices to accomplish given goals, including collecting, analysing, evaluating, and presenting data and information.

Our Digital Leaders further strengthen our Computing coverage through a computing club - a lunchtime club that helps children develop confidence and leadership skills through coding and blogging activities. 

Impact

We encourage our children to enjoy and value the curriculum we deliver. We will constantly ask the WHY behind their learning and not just the HOW. We want learners to discuss, reflect and appreciate the impact computing has on their learning, development and well being.

Finding the right balance with technology is key to an effective education and a healthy life-style. We feel the way we implement computing helps children realise the need for the right balance and one they can continue to build on in their next stage of education and beyond. We encourage regular discussions between staff and pupils to best embed and understand this. The way pupils showcase, share, celebrate and publish their work will best show the impact of our curriculum. 

We also look for evidence through reviewing pupil’s knowledge and skills digitally through tools like Google Drive, Tapestry, Purple Mash and observing learning regularly.

Progress of our computing curriculum is demonstrated through outcomes and the record of coverage in the process of achieving these outcomes on Google and Purple Mash.