Our vision statement & intent
In order to exceed in the adult world, we need to empower our children with the knowledge and skills to use technology positively, responsibly and safely. Through our teaching of the computing curriculum, we intend to equip our children to use computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world. We want our pupils to be creators not consumers and our broad curriculum encompassing ‘Computer Science’, ‘Digital Literacy & Information Technology’ and ‘Online Safety’ reflects this.
There is an emphasis on the importance of Online Safety for all year groups. We want our pupils to understand that there is always a choice with using technology and as a school we utilise technology (including social media) to model positive use. We recognise that the best prevention for a lot of issues we currently see with technology and social media is through education. We want our pupils to have a breadth of experience to develop their understanding of themselves as individuals and as responsible
digital citizens.
We want children to become autonomous, independent users of computing technologies, gaining confidence and enjoyment from their activities. We want the use of technology to support learning across the entire curriculum and to ensure that our curriculum is accessible to every child.
Not only do we want children to be digitally literate and competent end-users of technology but through our computer science lessons we want them to develop creativity, resilience and problem-solving and critical thinking skills, this will help our children in the next stage of their life preparing them for the ever-changing digital world. These key skills will give the children knowledge that they can draw upon and help them to demonstrate cultural
awareness to make them successful in society.
By the time they leave Sunnybrow Primary, children will have gained key knowledge and skills in the three main areas of the computing curriculum: computer science (programming and understanding how digital systems work), information technology (using computer systems to store, retrieve and send information) and digital literacy (evaluating digital content and using technology safely and respectfully). The objectives within each strand support the development of learning across the key stages, ensuring a solid grounding for future learning and beyond. Our aim is to make sure all of our children are digitally literate so that they are able to express themselves and develop their ideas through information and computer technology– at a level suitable for the future workplace and as active participants in a digital world.
We have produced a set of end-of-year expectations for where we intend pupils to be at the end of each academic year.
Implementation
Computing skills are taught explicitly at Sunnybrow Primary, with every pupil receiving a 2 hour dedicated computing lesson every fortnight. Each half-term includes an element of online safety, computer science and digital literacy activities. The skills acquired are then embedded throughout the curriculum in all subjects. Online Safety lessons are mapped to the ‘Education for a Connected World’ framework and some of these activities will be reinforced via RSE lessons and during in-class assemblies. We want our pupils to be fluent with a range of tools to best express their understanding and hope by Upper Key Stage 2, children have the independence and confidence to choose the best tool to fulfil the task and challenge set by teachers.
Our curriculum is detailed within each of the Medium Term Plans. Each year group focuses upon the common computing and ICT themes of:
- Algorithms and Programming
- Data Retrieving and Organising
- Communicating and Presenting
- Internet
- Online safety
Computing Planning Documents
Computing End of Year Expectations.
Sunnybrow Computing Curriculum
Computing Skills Progression – Information Technology
Computing Skills Progression – Computer Science
Computing Skills Progression – Computer Science (Theory)
Online Safety – Progression of Skills
We have an off-timetable day to focus on Internet Safety Day each year. This is where children will look at how to stay safe online and what to do if they feel uncomfortable or find anything that they feel is inappropriate. We include a weekly online safety ‘update’ on our school newsletter to ensure that our parents are provided with up-to-date information.
At present, each classroom contains at least one teacher’s PC that is linked to the interactive whiteboard. There are also either IPads or laptops in each classroom which are designated to all pupils. Every computer in the school is linked to the school’s filtered broadband connection, which means each child will be able to access the Internet and use the World Wide Web in a safe and respectful way.
Impact
Throughout lessons children will develop their skills and knowledge of the three main areas of the computing curriculum. Children will have their own log in details so teachers can easily access their work. If children are working in small groups or pairs they will all save the piece of work. For unplugged activities teachers will add this to a floor book to keep evidence.
We measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:
· Learning walks
· Lesson observations
· Scrutiny of work
· Pupils discussion and questionnaire
· Staff questionnaire
· Teacher assessment
Teachers assess children’s knowledge, understanding and skills in computing by making observations throughout lessons, through conversations with children in lessons and looking at the work saved in their folder. This helps teachers make a judgement and will input the data to our tracking system. This will then be looked at by subject leaders to see if there are any gaps to plug.
