Intent (Why do we teach what we teach?)
At St. Bega's Catholic Primary School, we want our children to be masters of technology by nurturing our children’s thirst for new experiences.
We aim to prepare our children for a rapidly changing world through the use of technology at St. Bega’s School. Our high-quality Computing curriculum is designed to enable them to use computational thinking and creativity to understand the world.
Our curriculum design has deep links with mathematics, science and design technology. At the core of our Computing curriculum is Computing Science, in which pupils are taught the principles of information and computation, how digital systems work and how to put this knowledge to use through programming. Building on this knowledge and understanding, we intend for our children to use information technology to create programs, systems and a range of content. We aim to ensure that pupils become digitally literate – able to use and express themselves and develop their ideas through, information and communication technology, at a level suitable for the future workplace and as active participants in a digital world.
Online-safety, which means the safe and responsible use of the internet and other technology, such as gaming or social media use, is carefully included within the teaching programme. We aim to encourage our children to consider their role within the wider world through online-safety; teaching about their online relationships, reputations and how to manage information online. We strongly encourage parents to be supportive of this, monitoring the use of technology, social media and gaming within the home.
Implementation (How do we teach it?)
Our Computing curriculum uses the planning and assessment components of the scheme of work through Purple Mash. It is comprised of three aspects – Computer Science, Digital Literacy and Information Technology.
Through teaching computing, discretely and cross-curricular, we will build on prior learning and prepare our children to be explorative and resilient in the ever-changing technological world. By regularly using computing equipment and software in a variety of subjects and lessons, children will have the confidence to make decisions through peer and self-reflection, as well as becoming independent and collaborative learners.
Through modelling to children and to the wider school community, they will be equipped to use technology responsibly, safely and successfully. With technology playing such a significant role in society, children will gain enquiry skills to be able to participate in life beyond St. Bega’s School.
The National Curriculum for computing aims to ensure all pupils:
- Can understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms and data representation (Computer Science)
- Can analyse problems in computational terms, and have repeated practical experience of writing computer programs in order to solve such problems (Computer Science)
- Can evaluate and apply information technology, including new or unfamiliar technologies, analytically to solve problems (Information Technology)
- Are responsible, competent, confident and creative users of information and communication technology. (Digital Literacy)
A key part of implementing our computing curriculum is to ensure that safety of our pupils is paramount. We take online safety very seriously and we aim to give children the necessary skills to keep themselves safe online. Children have a right to enjoy childhood online, to access safe online spaces and to benefit from all the opportunities that a connected world can bring them, appropriate to their age and stage. Online safety and responsible use of technology are topics covered in Computing and PSHE lessons and during events such as Safer Internet Day.
Impact (What has been the impact and how do we know?)
Children will leave St. Bega’s Catholic Primary School as competent, confident and skilled technology users who are able to use their skills to support their next steps in their learning journey.
In order to demonstrate that we have accomplished our aims, pupils at St Bega’s Catholic School should:
- Be enthusiastic and confident in their approach towards Computing.
- Present as competent and adaptable ‘Computational Thinkers’ who are able to use identified concepts and approaches in all of their learning.
- Be able to identify the source of problems and work with perseverance to ‘debug’ them.
- Create and evaluate their own project work.
- Have a secure understanding of the positive applications and specific risks associated with a broad range of digital technology.
- Transition to secondary school with a keen interest in the continued learning of this subject.
Computing Long Term Overview
Progression of Skills Document