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Emmanuel Holcombe Computing vision

Intent 

At Emmanuel Holcombe Primary School, we understand the immense value that technology plays not only in supporting the Computing and the whole school curriculum but also in the day-to-day life of our school. Our aims are to fulfil the requirements of the National Curriculum for Computing whilst also providing enhanced collaborative learning opportunities, engagement in rich content and supporting pupil’s conceptual understanding of new concepts which support the needs of all our pupils.   

“A high-quality computing education equips pupils to use computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world…core of computing is computer science, in which pupils are taught the principles of information and computation, how digital systems work, and how to put this knowledge to use through programming. Building on this knowledge and understanding, pupils are equipped to use information technology to create programs, systems and a range of content.” - National Curriculum   

Our Computing curriculum aims to develop the heart and mind of every child. Our aim is to provide a broad and balanced curriculum whilst ensuring that pupils become digitally literate and digitally resilient. Technology is ever evolving, and we aim to develop pupils who can use and express themselves, develop their ideas through information and communication technology at a suitable level for the future workplace and as active participants in a digital world. 

Our Computing curriculum aims to develop pupils who: 

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

  • Know how to keep themselves safe whilst using technology and on the internet and be able to minimise risk to themselves and others. 

  • Become responsible, respectful and competent users of data, information and communication technology. 

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

  • Can analyse problems in computational terms, and have repeated practical experience writing computer programs in order to solve such problems. 

  • Can understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms and data representation. 

  • Become digitally literate and are active participants in a digital world. 

  • Are equipped with the capability to use technology throughout their lives. 

  • Understand the importance of governance and legislation regarding how information is used, stored, created, retrieved, shared and manipulated. 

  • Have a ‘can do’ attitude when engaging with technology and its associated resources. 

  • Utilise computational thinking beyond the Computing curriculum. 

  • Understand and follow the SMART E-Safety rules. 

  • Understand the E-Safety messages can keep them safe online. 

  • Know who to contact if they have concerns. 

  • Apply their learning in a range of contexts, e.g. at school and at home. 

 

 Implementation 

The Emmanuel Holcombe curriculum is shaped by the school vision to enable all children, regardless of background, ability or additional needs to flourish and live life to the full. Our Computing curriculum has been designed in line with the National Curriculum (2014), to produce clear skills and knowledge progression. This ensures that a broad framework is provided and that we have and outlines of the knowledge and skills taught in each key stage. 

Computing teaching will deliver these requirements through our half-termly units. Our Computing progression model is broken down into three strands that make up the computing curriculum. These are Computer Science, Information Technology and Digital Literacy. Computer Science underlines the knowledge and skills relating to programming, coding, algorithms and computational thinking. Information Technology underlines the knowledge and skills relating to communication, multimedia and data representation and handling. Digital Literacy underlines the knowledge and skills relating to online safety and technology uses all of which are covered combined or discreetly. 

At Emmanuel Holcombe, Computing is taught discretely each week, however, it is always integrated with the rest of the curriculum. As a result, children gain depth in their knowledge and skills over the course of their computing topics. Teachers use the ‘D.A.R.E.S’ scheme, published by Mr P ICT, to plan computing lessons, which are often richly linked to other subjects and topics. All year groups have access to iPads so they can use a range of devices and programs across the curriculum, as well as in discrete computing lessons. Making cross-curricular connections motivates children and helps them to remember what they have learned. Curriculum implementation also ensures a balanced approach to computer science, information technology, and digital literacy. Within each year group, children will learn about all three strands, but the subject knowledge imparted will become increasingly specific and in-depth and more complex skills taught, ensuring that their learning is built upon. For example, the children in Key Stage 1 learn what algorithms are, and in Key Stage 2 they design, write, and debug programs, explaining the reasoning behind their algorithms.

We follow D.A.R.E.S scheme of work from Nursery to Year 6, ensuring consistency and progression throughout the school. 

We recognise that computing is a specialist subject and not all teachers are computing specialists. Computing lessons are taught by our teaching staff with additional support from our Computing Lead. 

We provide a variety of opportunities for computing learning inside and outside the classroom. Computing and safeguarding go hand in hand and a we provide a huge focus on internet safety inside and outside of the classroom. Additional to all pupils studying an online safety unit through their computing lessons, every year we also take part in National Safer Internet Day in February. The Computing co-ordinator alongside class teachers will plan additional internet safety lessons and activities to take part in following a specific yearly theme. Internet Safety assemblies are also held as well as parent internet safety workshops and parent home activities. 

 

  Impact 

With our curriculum approach, we provide a fun, engaging, and high-quality computing education. The quality of children’s learning is evident through the variety of work recorded on Seesaw, a digital platform where they can share and evaluate their own work, as well as that of their peers. Evidence such as this is used to feed into teachers’ future planning, and as a topic-based approach continues to be developed, teachers are able to revisit misconceptions and knowledge gaps in computing when teaching other curriculum areas. This supports varied paces of learning and ensures all children make good progress. Much of the subject-specific knowledge developed in our computing lessons equip children with experiences which will benefit them in secondary school, further education and future workplaces. From research methods, use of presentation and creative tools and critical thinking, computing at Emmanuel Holcombe gives children the building blocks that enable them to pursue a wide range of interests and vocations in the next stage of their lives.

If children are keeping up with the curriculum, they are deemed to be making good or better progress. 

We measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods: 

  • Pupil discussions and interviewing the pupils about their learning (pupil voice). 

  • Monitoring with our subject computing lead visits. 

  • Opportunities for dialogue between teachers. 

  • Photo evidence and images of the pupils practical learning. 

  • Video analysis through recording of performance in lessons. 

  • A reflection on standards achieved against the planned outcomes. 

  • Learning walks and reflective staff feedback (teacher voice). 

  • Dedicated Computing leader time. 

  • Monitoring of children’s work. 

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