Computing

Computing at Bryn St Peter’s 

Intent

At Bryn St Peter’s Primary School, we want pupils to be independent, forward thinkers of technology and not passive learners. Technology is ubiquitous and will play a pivotal role in shaping and influencing pupils’ lives. Therefore, we aim to model and educate our pupils’ on how to use technology that reflects our school rules; being safe, responsible and respectful. When teaching computing, we equip children with the skills required to use computers effectively to enable them to maximise their potential. To do so, we deploy teaching strategies through the Purple Mash scheme of work that promotes resilience, independence, critical thinking, communication skills and problem solving. We intend on delivering a broad curriculum which encourages a LOVE of learning for children within a progressive sequence. We want our pupils to understand that there is always a choice when accessing technology, and as a school, in particular with ‘social media’ - we aim to model positive use. We understand that preventative methods of online/ social media misuse can be addressed through education, embedded within our school values: Faith, Hope, Love, Respect and Compassion. We recognise that Computing unlocks pathways for children to be INQUISITIVE individuals and provides a balance of structure and a canvas for digital artists to share their learning in CREATIVE ways. We understand that accessibility opportunities of hardware/ software and unplugged resources, either in school or from home, creates EQUALITY for all children and our knowledge rich curriculum will aim to cultivate a COMMUNITY of computer-skilled scientists. We encourage our staff to immerse Computing to make learning creative and accessible. We aspire for our children to take PRIDE in their work and to become competent with a varied range of tools that best expresses their understanding. Upon leaving Bryn St Peter’s, we aim for children to become confident users of computing and responsible digital citizens who are ready to meet the challenges of their digital future.

The aim of the National Curriculum is that all pupils can:

• understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms and data representation.
• analyse problems in computational terms, and have repeated practical experience of writing computer programs in order to solve such problems.
• 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.

Implementation

From Year 1 upwards, the children are designated one lesson of Computing learning a week. We use Purple Mash as a cohesive scheme of work addressing the statutory aspects of the National Curriculum. Computing is branched into three aspects: Computer Science; Information Technology; and Digital Literacy, so that our pupils are set a relevant, challenging continuum of age-related skills and knowledge for their own year groups.

Pupils will 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; generate appropriate inputs and predicted outputs to test programs.
• 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 world-wide web; and the opportunities they offer for communication and collaboration.
• 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.
• 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.

Impact

We encourage our children to enjoy and value the curriculum that we deliver. Fundamentally, we ask the ‘why’ and not just the ‘how’ to explore the depth of each objective within a stimulating environment that encourages children to discuss, reflect and appreciate the impact that Computing has on their learning, development and wellbeing. Finding the right balance with technology is key to an effective education and a healthy lifestyle. We feel the way that we implement Computing within cross curricular channels at Bryn St Peter’s helps children realise the need for the right balance and one they can build on in their next stage of education and beyond. We encourage regular discussions between staff and pupils to best embed and understand this. The way pupils showcase, share, celebrate and publish their work will best show the impact of our curriculum. We look for positive impact through observing learning regularly, early intervention where necessary and reviewing pupil’s digital skills through tools across Purple Mash. Progress of our Computing curriculum is measured through outcomes and the record of coverage through work saved in pupils’ personal document folders and saved ‘to do’ content electronically.

Things to try at home to develop your childs (and your own!) coding skills:

• Codecademy – a great starting point to get familiar with code for free.
• Scratch – learn to program your own interactive stories, games and animations and share them around the world.
• Kids Ruby – a fun and easy way to help your child learn Ruby programming.
• The Tynker iPad app is free and offers coding puzzles and games to get you started.
• BBC Bitesize has a Computing area for KS1 and KS2, packed with films and simple explanations.
• Kodu allows children as young as 5 to code their own games. Free download (PC only).
• Try the Barclays Digital Driving Licence for a free online course to computing.

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