Purpose of study

A high-quality computing education equips pupils to use computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world. Computing has deep links with mathematics, science and design and technology, and provides insights into both natural and artificial systems. The 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. Computing also ensures that pupils become digitally literate – able to use, and express themselves and develop their ideas through, information and communication technology – at a level suitable for the future workplace and as active participants in a digital world.

Intent - What Do We Aspire for Our Children?

At St Anne's we believe that every child should have the right to a curriculum that champions excellence; supporting pupils in achieving to the very best of their abilities. We understand the immense value technology plays not only in supporting the Computing and whole school curriculum but overall in the day-to-day life of our school. We believe that technology can provide: enhanced collaborative learning opportunities; better engagement of pupils; easier access to rich content; support conceptual understanding of new concepts and can support the needs of all our children.

Aims

• Provide an exciting, rich, relevant and challenging Computing curriculum for all children.
• Enthuse and equip children with the capability to use technology throughout their lives
• Give children access to a variety of high quality hardware, software and unplugged resources.
• Teach children to become responsible, respectful and competent users of data, information and communication technology
• Teach children to understand the importance of governance and legislation regarding how information is used, stored, created, retrieved, shared and manipulated
• Equip children with skills, strategies and knowledge that will enable them to reap the benefits of the online world, whilst being able to minimise risk to themselves or others.
• Use technology imaginatively and creatively to inspire and engage all children, as well as using it to be more efficient in the tasks associated with running an effective school.
• Provide technology solutions for forging better home and school links.

Safeguarding: Online safety

Online safety has a high profile at St Anne's for all stakeholders. We ensure this profile is maintained and that children's needs are met by the following:

• A relevant up-to-date online safety curriculum which is progressive from Early Years to the end of Year 6.
• A curriculum that is threaded throughout other curriculums and embedded in the day-to-day lives of our children.
• Training for staff and governors which is relevant to their needs and ultimately positively impacts on the children.
• Through our home/school links and communication channels, parents are kept up to date with relevant online safety matters. They know who to contact at school if they have concerns.

Characteristics of a Techie

• Competence in coding for a variety of practical and inventive purposes, including the application of ideas within other subjects.
• The ability to connect with others safely and respectfully, understanding the need to act within the law and with moral and ethical integrity.
• An understanding of the connected nature of devices.
• The ability to communicate ideas well by using applications and devices throughout the curriculum.
• The ability to collect, organise and manipulate data effectively.

Implementation - How Will We Deliver the Curriculum?

As a school, we have chosen the Purple Mash Computing Scheme of Work from Reception to Year 6. The scheme of work supports our teachers in delivering fun and engaging lessons which help to raise standards and support all  children to achieve to their full potential. We are confident that the scheme of work more than adequately meets the national vision for Computing. It provides immense flexibility, strong cross-curricular links and integrates perfectly with the 2Simple Computing Assessment Tool. Furthermore, it gives excellent supporting material for less confident teachers.

Early Years
We aim to provide our youngest children with a broad, play-based experience of Computing in a range of contexts. We believe the following:

• Early Years learning environments should feature ICT scenarios based on experience in the real world, such as in roleplay.
• Children gain confidence, control and language skills through opportunities to ‘paint’ on the interactive board/devices or control remotely operated toys.
• Outdoor exploration is an important aspect, supported by ICT toys such as metal detectors, controllable traffic

Key Stage 1 outcomes

• Understand what algorithms are, how they are implemented as programs on digital devices, and that programs execute by following a sequence of instructions.
• Write and test simple programs.
• Organise, store, manipulate and retrieve data in a range of digital formats.
• Communicate safely and respectfully online, keeping personal information private, and recognise common uses of information technology beyond school.

Key Stage 2 outcomes

• Design and write programs that accomplish specific goals, including controlling or simulating physical systems; solve problems by decomposing them into smaller parts.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 worldwide web; and the opportunities they offer for communication and collaboration.

Aspirations For The Future

Pupils develop an understanding of how subjects and specific skills are linked to future jobs.

Here are some of the jobs you could aspire to do in the future as a Techie:

• Head of Architecture
• Building Society Manager
• Ethical Hacker
• Cartoonist

For more careers, please visit First Careers.

Impact - How Do We Know Our Computing Curriculum is Effective?

Purple Mash units are split into three different areas:

• Digital Literacy
• Computer Science
• Information Technology

Our curriculum is designed in such a way that the children are involved in the evaluation, dialogue and decision making about the quality of their outcomes and the improvements they need to make. By taking part in regular discussions and decision-making processes, children will not only know facts and key information about art, but they will be able to talk confidently about their own learning journey, have higher metacognitive skills and a growing understanding of how to improve.

The impact of learning within each unit is constantly monitored through formative assessment opportunities in lessons including observation of skills, dialogue with children, unit quizzes and retrieval activities.