Computing

Intent

The computing curriculum at St John's enables all children, including those with SEND, EAL, disadvantaged, Pupil Premium and those working at Greater Depth, to develop skills that they can transfer and use in many different areas of the curriculum.

Through teaching computing, we intend to equip our children with the skills to allow them to participate in a rapidly changing world where all areas of life are increasingly transformed by technology. Through our computing curriculum at St John’s we aim to give our pupils the life-skills that will enable them to embrace and utilise new technology in a socially responsible and safe way in order to flourish.

It is our intention to enable all children to find, explore, analyse, exchange and present information. We also focus on developing skills necessary for children to be able to use information in an effective way.

We want the use of technology to support learning across the entire curriculum and ensure that our curriculum is accessible to every child. We want them to not only be digitally literate but also competent users of technology, developing their creativity, resilience, problem solving and critical thinking skills.

Implementation

 At St John the Evangelist, the computing curriculum is taught using the Purple Mash scheme, which provides coverage in line with the National Curriculum.. This ensures children are able to develop depth in their knowledge and skills over the duration of each of their computing topics.  Teaching and learning facilitates progression across all key stages within the strands of digital literacy, information technology and computer science along with E-safety. 

In EYFS the children will learn how to complete a simple program on a computer. They will begin to use hardware to interact with age-appropriate computer software -such as Bug Club. The children will begin to recognise that a range of technology is used in places such as homes and schools as well as learn how to select and use technology for particular purposes.

In Key Stage 1 the children will learn to understand what algorithms are; how they are implemented as programs on digital devices; and that programs execute by following precise and unambiguous instructions. They will be taught to create and debug simple programs and use logical reasoning to predict the behaviour of simple programs. They will also be shown how to use a range of technology purposefully to create, organise, store, manipulate and retrieve digital content as well as recognise common uses of information technology beyond school. They will be taught to use technology safely and respectfully, keeping personal information private; identify where to go for help and support when they have concerns about content or contact on the internet or other online technologies. 

In Key Stage 2 the children will be taught how to design, write and debug programs that accomplish specific goals, including controlling or simulating physical systems; solve problems by decomposing them into smaller parts. They will be taught how to use sequence, selection, and repetition in programs; work with variables and various forms of input and output as well as how to use logical reasoning to explain how some simple algorithms work and to detect and correct errors in algorithms and programs. They will begin to 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. They will be taught how to use search technologies effectively, appreciate how results are selected and ranked, and be discerning in evaluating digital content as well as how to 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. They will be taught how to use technology safely, respectfully and responsibly; recognise acceptable/unacceptable behaviour; identify a range of ways to report concerns about content and contact.

Impact

After the implementation of this computing curriculum, children at St John the Evangelist Catholic Primary School will be digitally literate and able to join the rest of the world on its digital platform. 

The children will be equipped, not only with the skills and knowledge to use technology effectively and for their own benefit, and more importantly – safely.  As children become more confident in their abilities in Computing, they will become more independent and key life skills such as problem-solving, logical thinking and self-evaluation become second nature.