Computing

"Everybody should learn to program because it teaches you how to think." - Steve Jobs, former Apple CEO

In order to prepare children adequately for the future world and give them the highest aspirations possible, our vision at OLSJ for Computing is to:

Deliver a high-quality computing education in line with the national curriculum expectations
Teach children on how to keep themselves safe whilst using the Internet
Engage with parents to give them the skills they need to support their children’s learning and safety online
Provide every child with the skills and ability to be create digital technology
Provide children and staff with modern and safe IT resources for teaching and learning
Use technology as a tool to transform learning and break down barriers across the entire school curriculum
Develop staff skills and confidence so they can be leaders of computing in the classroom setting

At OLSJ, Computing is taught using a blocked curriculum approach for discrete programming lessons with purposeful cross curricular opportunities for the creativity and productivity strands of the curriculum. This ensures children are able to develop depth in their knowledge and skills over the duration of each of their computing topics.

Teachers use the Teach Computing curriculum published by the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE) and funded by the Department of Education. It is a starting point for the planning of their computing lessons, which are often richly linked to engaging contexts in other subjects and topics. Knowledge and skills are mapped across each topic and year group to ensure systematic progression. We have a 1:1 system of chromebooks where all learners have access to an individual chromebook along with other hardware and software to support the delivery of the curriculum.

Employing cross-curricular links motivates pupils and supports them to make connections and remember the steps they have been taught. The implementation of the curriculum also ensures a balanced coverage of computer science, information technology and digital literacy. The children will have experiences of all three strands in each year group, but the subject knowledge imparted becomes increasingly specific and in depth, with more complex skills being taught, thus ensuring that learning is built upon. For example, children in Key Stage 1 learn what algorithms are, which leads them to the design stage of programming in Key Stage 2, where they design, write and debug programs, explaining the thinking behind their algorithms.

Children’s work will be stored on Google Drive for reference and assessment. We want to ensure that Computing is embedded in our whole school curriculum and that opportunities for enhancing learning by using technology are always taken.

Parent E-Safety Resources

Overviews

All learning outcomes throughout a child’s entire Computing journey 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

Pedagogy

Computing

Parent E-Safety Resources

Overviews

Pedagogy

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