Intent + Implementation

Curriculum

INTENT

At Heene, we aim that all children have a competent and clear understanding of all aspects of the computing curriculum. The children will know what aspect of the computing curriculum they are being taught and how it will help them as they develop their computing skills.

It is essential that every child knows how to keep safe on the internet and is respectful of other users. They can recognise that the internet can be a dangerous tool and how to use it appropriately. We spend half a term each year focused on internet safety as well as taking part in the global Safer Internet Day.

We intend that all children will have a good understanding of word processing that will put them in the best possible situation as they progress into secondary school. They will have a competent understanding of typing skills, saving and retrieving as well as publishing work for different criteria.

We intend that every child from our school will have a firm knowledge of how to use a computer in everyday life that will help them to become well rounded individuals as they grow up in the ever-changing modern world. This will be achieved through discreet computing lessons where they are taught a depth of knowledge and skills and these are then applied through meaningful links in other subjects. Our lessons will be planned by the teachers using knowledge organisers based on the national curriculum.

We live in a technological world and our children need the skills to be digitally literate and to 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.


IMPLEMENTATION

At Heene Primary School, computing is taught once a week as discrete lessons as well as our range of hardware being used to compliment other subjects. We teach a block of computing each term so that all three strands of computing are taught over the year. The teachers follow knowledge organisers that have been created by the Computing subject lead so that each unit follows directly on from the unit that was taught at the same time of year in their previous years. This means that there is a definite flow and progression of the computing curriculum that starts in Early Years and progresses up to Year 6. The knowledge and skills are mapped across each topic and year group to ensure systematic progression. It also gives each teacher the opportunity to make strong and meaningful cross curricular links or allow the children to demonstrate their knowledge on a topic they feel passionately about that may otherwise not be taught.

We have 60 Chrome books in school, one class set for Year 1 to Year 3 to use and another class set for Year 4 to Year 6. We also have 45 iPads in school which are kept within three charging units. 15 iPads are designated to Early Years while the further 30 can be shared within the school. Each teacher also has a Samsung tablet that they can use as a further resource as well as Smartboard. All this hardware means that all year groups have the opportunity to use a range of devices and software for many purposes across the wider curriculum, as well as in discrete computing lessons.

EYFS
Our Early Years children will be given planned opportunities to engage with different areas of computing. They will have simple coding programmes such as Beebots and Caterpillars as well as learning how to take photos and videos on iPads. 

KS1
In Key Stage 1 the children will be introduced to Chrome books and learn how to access them. They will be taught specific internet safety skills about personal information and how to keep safe on the internet at a basic level. They will also be taught how to search the internet and what to do if they see something that is upsetting. Children will continue their simple coding from Early Years, controlling Beebots with more accuracy and fixing simple bugs when they go wrong. They will progress on to coding in simple games on computers. Children will learn to use the keyboard and mouse to navigate different software and learn to save and retrieve their work using different programmes.

LKS2
In Lower Key Stage 2 will continue their computing curriculum using the Chromebooks. The children will be reminded how to keep safe on the internet and then move on to spotting false information on the internet. They will learn about how the internet works and how results are ranked on search engines. This will range from learning about phishing to spotting fake news and how to sort facts from fiction – linking to book ‘Question Everything! An investigator’s toolkit’. The children will continue to develop their coding knowledge and start to learn how to design, debug and test their own coding games. After learning about different software the children will learn how to use different software for different purposes and different audiences. Children will learn how to input from other areas such as images and hyperlinks with cross curricular links.

UKS2
Children in Upper Key Stage 2 are being prepared for their journey into secondary school. We will refresh their knowledge on staying safe online and keeping personal information private, moving them on to social media and cyber bullying. Although our children are not old enough to use social media we understand that some parents have allowed their children to have social media accounts as well as messaging each other on APPs, so they need to know about being respectful online and the law about sending inexplicit content. Children will continue to use the Chrome books and learn how the internet works and how different people can add to the internet and that once something is uploaded, it becomes very hard to take back down again. To continue on their coding knowledge they will learn to design, debug and test their own coding games. These are to include different inputs and outputs with variable conclusions. Children will learn how to use a variety of software efficiently for different purposes and different audiences. They will learn to add their own voices to different programmes as well as uploading their own content onto computers from other devices such as their own photos/videos from iPads.