Computing

Intent

We believe that a well-rounded Computing Curriculum that encompasses all aspects of high- quality digital curriculum will lead your child to success. A strong Online Safety Education enhances this. Alongside Online Safety lessons, we offer every year group units in: Computing Systems and Network, Media, Programming and Data and Information. These areas will be built upon each year as your child continues their journey though Even Swindon Primary School.

We have carefully designed our computing curriculum to provide your child with the confidence to develop their independence and become resilient digital citizens, with many opportunities for experience rich learning and in depth problem solving. To achieve this, we use many digital, physical and paper based resources and activities.

Implementation

• Class teachers teach a weekly lesson based on the unit of work, including online safety. We also provide the children with termly online safety assembly themes.
• We use a DfE funded scheme called Teach Computing as the basis of our digital learning throughout the school. The scheme reflects our aims and values, ensuring the children can take part in our digital community and are confident to cope with the demands of 21^st century technologies. As well as this, the scheme and its corresponding units are experience-rich and resource heavy, allowing the children to learn through dynamic sessions, which motivate and inspire. At Even Swindon Primary School, we also use National Online Safety (NOS) to support our online safety curriculum and give support to our parents and guardians.
• The units for key stages 1 and 2 are based on a spiral curriculum. This means that each of the themes is revisited regularly (at least once in each year group), and pupils revisit each theme through a new unit that consolidates and builds on prior learning within that theme. This style of curriculum design reduces the amount of knowledge lost through forgetting, as topics are revisited yearly. It also ensures that connections are made even if different teachers are teaching the units within a theme in consecutive years.
• There is a clear progression from Year 1 to Year 6, which builds upon all previous learning and links to the national curriculum. These are online safety, computer systems and networks, media, programming data and information. Children become familiar and confident with each aspect of computing. All learning outcomes can be described through a high-level taxonomy of ten strands, ordered alphabetically as follows:
  ■ Algorithms — Be able to comprehend, design, create, and evaluate algorithms
  ■ Computer networks — Understand how networks can be used to retrieve and share information, and how they come with associated risks
  ■ Computer systems — Understand what a computer is, and how its constituent parts function together as a whole
  ■ Creating media — Select and create a range of media including text, images, sounds, and video
  ■ Data and information — Understand how data is stored, organised, and used to represent real-world artefacts and scenarios
  ■ Design and development — Understand the activities involved in planning, creating, and evaluating computing artefacts
  ■ Effective use of tools — Use software tools to support computing work
  ■ Impact of technology — Understand how individuals, systems, and society as a whole interact with computer systems
  ■ Programming — Create software to allow computers to solve problems
  ■ Safety and security — Understand risks when using technology, and how to protect individuals and systems
• All units taught have opportunities for Assessment for Learning through effective questioning, addressing misconceptions and problem solving. At the end of session, children will complete a self-assessment where they reflect on their levels of confidence. At the end of each unit, teachers will make a summative assessment.
• All children can access our computing curriculum. Teachers take lesson units directly from Teach Computing but adapt the lessons for individuals. Where children struggle to access the curriculum, they are able to complete units from the year before, as each unit builds on previous learning and knowledge. Each lesson has the opportunity for some learners to explore the learning objective further by completing the Explorer’s Activity.
• At Even Swindon, we have ensured we have the right resources to support all learners at all ages with a full STEM library full of hands on resources to support each unit taken from Teach Computing scheme. Children have access and experience to digital programs, physical resources and paper-based activities.
• Where appropriate, skills linked to the wider topics will be noted on our termly knowledge organisers, which are sent out to parents and children prior to beginning the term.
• Although there is no statement for EYFS on the computing national curriculum or on the Teach Computing scheme, our foundation stage pupils have many opportunities to begin to develop their knowledge of technology through online safety teaching, exploring floor robots and using devices within a safe school environment and within the community. This is provided to them through our indoor and outdoor continuous provision.
• Each year, we take part in online safety week and partake in various activities throughout the week. There are numerous assemblies throughout the year; these are termly assembly themes provided by the national online safety website. We hold 3 yearly parent workshops to support adults in ensuring their child is staying safe online and have regular information and communication in our school newsletter, linked to ongoing online themes.
• Both National Online Safety and Teach Computing has CPD opportunities and videos for teacher to access online video and CPD support. Teachers have had opportunities for staff meeting based CPD linked to online safety and the Teach Computing scheme.

Impact

We believe high quality learning in computing has been achieved when pupils have an understanding of coding, have a good understanding of online safety, understand how computers work and how they contact with each other and use computers to produce a wide range of multimedia. 

This will be evident through pupil voice, evidence shared online, discussions with the children, as well as a range of completed projects.

The impact of our computing curriculum will be overseen by the subject leader(s) through learning walks, team teaching, book looks, pupil and staff voice, planning feedback, and ongoing data analysis.