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Computing

Computing at Stocksbridge Junior School

At Stocksbridge Junior School, every child is a computer scientist. We want our pupils to appreciate the power of computing and to have no limits to their ambitions; to grow up wanting to be software programmers, coders, website creators or innovators! Through our computing curriculum, we want all of our pupils to be inspired, be ambitious and confident in their ability, using the knowledge and skills they have been taught to explore their own unlimited creativity. We want our children to become digitally literate – able to use, 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. Through the teaching of computing along with our RSHE curriculum, we want our children to know and understand how to keep themselves safe online.

Intent

Through our computing curriculum, we hope that each Stocksbridge Junior School pupil is equipped to ‘use computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world’. We aim to instil a sense of enjoyment around using technology safely and to develop pupils’ appreciation of its capabilities and the opportunities technology offers to create, manage, organise and collaborate. In an ever evolving and changing landscape of technology, we believe that it is through skills like tinkering and debugging, collecting, searching and scrutinising, designing and presenting that our pupils will not only become digitally competent with a range of transferable skills, but also be responsible online citizens. Whether our pupils wish to be as pioneering as Tim Berners-Lee, as innovative as Steve Jobs or as ambitious as Mary Coombs, we want our computing curriculum to show that there are no limits to the possibilities found in a virtual world. Our children will be taught to use technology responsibly and carefully, being mindful of how their behaviour, words and actions can affect others. Our children will be taught Computing in a way that ensures progression of skills, and follows a sequence to build on previous learning. Our children will gain experience and skills of a wide range of technology in a way that will enhance their learning opportunities, enabling them to use technology across a range of subjects to be creative and solve problems.

Implementation

The National curriculum purpose of study states:

‘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.’

At Stocksbridge Junior School, our computing teaching is organised into ‘Key Concepts’:

  • Computer systems and networks
  • Programming
  • Creating Media
  • Data Handling
  • Online Safety

Each of these concepts allow our pupils to develop their computing knowledge and skills by revisiting and building on previous learning as they progress from Year 3 to Year 6. Our ‘Skills Showcase’ units provide pupils with the opportunity to learn and apply transferable skills. Children’s work will be showcased on their Seesaw journals for reflection and assessment.

Online safety is taught through Computing, through our RSHE curriculum and is embedded into our broader safeguarding and child protection approach. Further information about our online safety curriculum, can be found on our Online Safety webpage. 

Whilst our implemented computing curriculum ensures a broad and balanced coverage of the National Curriculum requirements, where possible, we have utilised the opportunity to interleave concepts and skills across other subjects such as Art & Design, Design & Technology, Music and Science. This enables our pupils to develop further transferable skills and genuine cross-curricular learning. During these lessons, acquired skills and knowledge are applied in a number of ways: during independent tasks, paired or group work as well as unplugged and digital activities. We want to ensure that Computing is embedded in our whole school curriculum and that opportunities for enhancing learning by using technology are always taken.

Impact

Children at Stocksbridge Junior School will understand and appreciate the value of Computing in the context of their personal wellbeing and the technological, creative and cultural industries and their many career opportunities. Our children should leave school equipped with a range of skills to enable them to succeed in their secondary education and be active participants in the ever-increasing digital world.

By implementing the Kapow Computing scheme of work, the children will:

  • Be critical thinkers and able to understand how to make informed and appropriate digital choices in the future.
  • Understand the importance that computing will have going forward in both their educational and working life and in their social and personal futures.
  • Understanding how to balance time spent on technology and time spent away from it in a healthy and appropriate manner.
  • Understand that technology helps to showcase their ideas and creativity. They will know that different types of software and hardware can help them achieve a broad variety of artistic and practical aims.
  • Show a clear progression of technical skills across all areas of the National Curriculum – computer science, information technology and digital literacy.
  • Be able to use technology both individually and as part of a collaborative team.
  • Be aware of online safety issues and protocols and be able to deal with any problems in a responsible and appropriate manner.
  • Have an awareness of developments in technology and have an idea of how current technologies work and relate to one another.
  • Meet the end of key stage expectations outline in the National Curriculum for Computing.

Progress in Computing is demonstrated through regularly reviewing and scrutinising children’s work to ensure that progression of skills is taking place. Namely through:

  • Looking at pupils’ work via their Seesaw journals, especially over time as they gain skills and knowledge
  • Observing how they perform in lessons
  • Talking to them about what they know.

The Computing curriculum will contribute to children’s personal development in creativity, independence, judgement and self-reflection. This would be seen in them being able to talk confidently about their work, and sharing their work with others.

Stocksbridge Junior School Curriculum for Computing

The National Curriculum for Computing

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.

Aims

The national curriculum for computing aims to ensure that all pupils:

  • can understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms and data representation
  • can analyse problems in computational terms, and have repeated practical experience of writing computer programs in order to solve such problems
  • can evaluate and apply information technology, including new or unfamiliar technologies, analytically to solve problems
  • are responsible, competent, confident and creative users of information and communication technology

Subject content: Key Stage 2

Pupils should 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
  • use logical reasoning to explain how some simple algorithms work 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
  • use search technologies effectively, appreciate how results are selected and ranked, and be discerning in evaluating digital content
  • select, use and combine a variety of software (including internet services) on a range of digital devices to design and create a range of programs, systems and content that accomplish given goals, including collecting, analysing, evaluating and presenting data and information
  • use technology safely, respectfully and responsibly; recognise acceptable/unacceptable behaviour; identify a range of ways to report concerns about content and contact

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