Computing

‘A high-quality computing education equips pupils to use computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world.’

(National Curriculum, 2014)

INTENT

The intent of teaching and learning Computing at Dogmersfield Primary School is to develop children so they can become:

• Empowered Learners - Students leverage technology to take an active role in choosing, achieving, and demonstrating competency in their learning.
• Digital Citizens - Students recognise the rights, responsibilities and opportunities of living, learning and working in an interconnected digital world, and they act and model in ways that are safe, legal and ethical.
• Knowledge Constructors - Students critically curate a variety of resources using digital tools to construct knowledge, produce creative artefacts and make meaningful learning experiences for themselves and others.
• Computational Thinkers - Students develop and employ strategies for understanding and solving problems in ways that leverage the power of technological methods to develop and test solutions.
• Creative Communicators - Students communicate clearly and express themselves creatively for a variety of purposes using the platforms, tools, styles, formats and digital media appropriate to their goals.

Computing skills are embedded within units of work throughout all key stages. This enables children to apply their skills, knowledge and understanding across a range of contexts and makes the skills they are mastering purposeful.

IMPLEMENTATION

Pupils have IT resources available within the classroom for them to use. Apps on the I-pads have been carefully curated to match the skills we are aiming to develop, and vary between Key Stages. This creates opportunities to develop skills, such as researching and presenting, on a daily basis.  It helps them hone their competencies in Digital Literacy and also allows for constant retrieval of E-safety guidelines.  We believe explicit lessons are necessary to help teach the skills the children can then embed in a cross-curricular way in the classroom, and children explore one specific area of Computing per half term.

We base our discrete Computing lessons on planning from Twinkl.  Using a scheme as the basis for our lessons ensures consistency across the curriculum.  Teachers will adapt the planning based on the needs of their cohort and to ensure the most appropriate resources are used.  These units provide opportunities for children to develop skills across the breadth of the Computing curriculum, covering computational thinking and digital literacy, while also allowing the children to see how IT can be used in creative, productive ways.

Our Digital Citizenship programme is based on a programme created by Common Sense Media, and is supplemented by Heartsmart, linking well with our PHSE curriculum. 

IMPACT

We believe that children should leave Dogmersfield Primary School with a solid understanding of how to utilise technology in a safe way.  They will have a strong grasp of digital literacy and be confident in applying a computational approach to problem solving.