Intent
Our pupils have never known a world before the Internet. The Internet, continued development of computing technologies and collaborative activities has transformed the way people communicate, trade and live their daily lives. The impact of this has created jobs that would never have existed a few years ago. As the digital world continues to evolve, children currently of primary age will be entering jobs in the future that don’t currently exist. It’s therefore paramount that children are given skills, knowledge and opportunities to embrace the digital world confidently, yet safely.
At HCJS Computing is embraced as an important subject by all stakeholders. We value its importance and strive for the very best outcomes of learning. Although there is discrete learning in the subject, we aim to foster a culture amongst our staff and children that there are skills and knowledge that should permeate across our whole curriculum offering. We use Kapow to deliver our computing lessons.
The Kapow scheme of work fulfils the statutory requirements for computing outlined in the National Curriculum (2014) and, alongside the Jigsaw PSHE curriculum, also covers the government’s Education for a Connected World -2020 edition framework.
Kapow have identified 3 strands of work which run throughout their scheme of work:
Computing Science
All pupils:
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can understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms and data representation.
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can analyse problems in computational terms, and have repeated practical experience of writing computer programs in order to solve such problems.
Information Technology
All pupils:
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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.
Digital Literacy
All pupils:
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are responsible, competent, confident and creative users of information and communication technology.
Children are given challenges and opportunities to showcase their learning. This develops oracy, pupils’ personal development, promotes critical thinking, problem-solving, analytical skills, teamwork and communication skills (skills that are also taught in mathematics and science).
Lessons are scaffolded to provide a variety of levels of challenge. The spiral curriculum, revisiting the 3 core strands each year enables pupils to build on prior knowledge and skills.
Year 3 curriculum is designed to introduce children to skills such as using a mouse, opening and logging on to a Chromebook and typing using a keyboard that they may not have access to yet in their learning journey. Using a variety of devices and platforms is important to the child’s knowledge and practical skill set for the future.
Across all years the curriculum is adapted to enable all pupils to access computing. Lesson content and devices are adapted to suit children’s needs. Learning from computing is applied when technology is used outside of the computing curriculum to support children in their learning of other subjects. Children have access to Chromebooks and iPads throughout their time at HCJS.
Children are given opportunities outside of the classroom with a coding club, touch typing club (run by Digital Leads) and assemblies that reinforce the links between their learning in class and the wider world (including careers).
Implementation
The 3 core strands are taught through 5 key primary areas:
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Computing systems and networks
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Programming
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Creating media
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Data handling
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Online safety
These 5 areas return each year and enable the children to showcase any previous learning and make connections throughout their primary learning.
The children are also asked to take part in a skills showcase in year 4, 5 and 6. These units give children the chance to combine and apply skills and knowledge gained, from a range of the five key areas above, to produce a specific outcome.
Computing is taught in class or in the STEM room. Children have access to Chromebooks or iPads (depending on the unit of work). Some units of work do not require any devices and are based on written work or learning outside the classroom. The lessons will be block-taught or taught weekly, however the skills of typing and logging on are repeatedly used across a variety of subjects (not just computing).
Lessons are taught using interactive presentations, videos and children then practically apply these skills. The lesson structure is as follows:
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Recap & recall - to check pupils prior knowledge and understanding and inform what is already known (needs to be re-capped). These activities are usually fun games played with the children.
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Attention grabber - to engage the children in the unit of work they will be learning about. Linking it with the real-world and making connections with what they already know. This is a fun fact or exploration activity.
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Main event - teaching new knowledge, skills and vocabulary. These are usually step-by-step activities that involve practical resources.
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Wrapping up - giving the children an opportunity to share what they have learned and ask questions to clarify anything that is mis-understood.
Ahead of each lesson, staff have access to CPD videos that explain each lesson and provide examples of completed activities. They are also provided with a list of resources they need for each lesson.
Impact
Computing is assessed throughout the lesson. Teachers use questions and activities to check understanding of each individual.
Each lesson has opportunities for supporting or extending the learning.
Activities are evidenced through photographs of work, print outs or written work.
Kapow reference statements (3 statements for each lesson - children working at the expected level, towards the expected level and exceeding the expected level) are used to help the teacher to make an assessment at the end of each lesson.
At the end of each unit, a quiz is carried out (low-stakes assessment) to check individual understanding. This includes vocabulary from the unit.
The teachers' judgement, evidence of practical work and quiz all feed into a marking sheet and overall end of unit assessment for each child. An overall assessment on each child’s attainment in computing is shared in parents evenings and on the end of year school report.
As subject lead, teacher and pupil voice surveys are conducted twice a year. These help to inform the effectiveness of the computing curriculum alongside pupil progress data (which is monitored by the Assistant Head). Analysis is shared with the Subject Lead to feed into the Subject Action Plan for the forthcoming period.
We have two Governors working alongside the Subject Lead on computing. Meetings are held twice a year (minimum).
Lesson drop-ins are also conducted across the year to inform future training needs, support or adaptations to the curriculum or ways of teaching.
