Computing
Computing at North Scarle Primary
At North Scarle Primary. our computing curriculum aims to equip children with the knowledge, skills and understanding they need to thrive in the digital world they will be a part of both today and in the future. Technology is becoming an everyday part of life. We hope to prepare our children for a future in an environment which is shaped by technology. We want to model and educate our children on how to use technology positively, responsibly and safely. We aim to encourage our pupils to be creators not consumers and our curriculum encompassing computer science, information technology and digital literacy reflects this.
Staff are encouraged to make links within computing across the whole curriculum to make learning creative and accessible for all children. We want children to become fluent with a range of tools to best express their understanding. We want children to feel comfortable and confident with using and exploring these tools independently by the time they reach Upper Key Stage 2.
Our four key threads are our vision and weave through everything we do at North Scarle Primary School:
Inclusivity: Our computing curriculum has been written to support all pupils with scaffolded activities and exploratory tasks to allow a deeper understanding of a concept. This encourages pupils to apply their learning to different contexts and make connections with other learning experiences.
Enriched: Our enriched computing curriculum provides children with opportunities to take part in online safety workshops, attend LEGO robot coding club and to become school digital leaders.
Aspirational: Our high expectations aim to stretch and challenge children’s knowledge, skills and safety to enable them to be confident in computing.
Inspirational: Our inspiring computing curriculum uses a wide range of apps, websites and devices to engage and support learning. We recognise that technology can allow pupils to share their learning in creative ways. We also understand the accessibility opportunities technology can provide for all learners.
How is computing taught at North Scarle?
At North Scarle Primary, our computing curriculum is built around our substantive and disciplinary concepts developed from the National Curriculum. The curriculum can be broken down into four key strands: computing systems and networks, programming, data and information and creating media.
Our scheme of work for computing is the ‘Teach Computing’ curriculum and covers all aspects of the National Curriculum. This scheme was chosen as it has been created by subject experts and is based on the latest pedagogical research. It provides an innovative progression framework where computing content (concepts, knowledge, skills and objectives) has been organised into interconnected networks called learning graphs.
Our computing curriculum begins in our Class 1 (EYFS/Y1) class where the EYFS children have an introducing to computing by learning to: take photos, digital maps, digital art and using timers and laptops. This will enable them to be ready to start with the year 1 Teach Computing units which they will cover every other term.
Children then progress into our Class 2 (Year 2/3) class, where units of study relating to year 2 are taught earlier in the year, with units of study relating to year 3 taught later in the year. Within Class 1 and Class 2, units of study are arranged in an A/B cycle format. Children then progress into our Class 3 (Y4/5/6) class where units of study are sequenced in a A/B/C cycle. Within each cycle, a strand of learning is separated and taught in a progressive manner starting with the year 4 unit, moving on to the year 5 unit and finally the year 6 unit to allow for a progression within a strand.
Computing is taught every week as a stand-alone lesson in addition to being embedded into the wider curriculum.
Children have access to a range of hardware: laptops, tablets, programmable equipment (crumbles, BeeBots, Microbits, dataloggers) and software that they need to develop knowledge and skills of digit systems and the applications.
Key knowledge and vocabulary are revisited regularly, and links are made within and between units which supports children in remembering their learning through spaced repetition. Teachers provide opportunities to retrieve previously taught content within lessons and through a weekly POP quiz.
What is our intended impact for computing?
By the time our Year 6 children leave for secondary school, we want them to be confident computer scientists. We aspire that all learners are digitally literate and able to join the rest of the world on its digital platform.
They will be equipped, not only with the skills and knowledge to use technology effectively and for their own benefit, but more importantly – safely. We want to empower our children with the knowledge and skills needed to safely utilise the internet and social media – as creators and consumers.