"Whether you want to uncover the secrets of the universe, or you just want to pursue a career in the 21st century, basic computer programming is an essential skill to learn." - Stephen Hawking

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The member of staff responsible for Computing is Mrs Gould.

 

How Dovecotes Primary School’s Computing Curriculum Promotes Our Core Values:

 

Be Ambitious - To be inspired to pursue roles in the digital technology industry should we wish to. To become independent users of computing technologies, gaining confidence and enjoyment from the activities set as part of the curriculum. 

 

Be Kind - To take responsibility for how we use technology respectfully both at home and in school, reflecting on how our own digital behaviours impact upon others.

 

Be Honest – To recognise unacceptable behaviour and content that has been witnessed in the digital world, reporting concerns safely.

 

Be Brave - To have the confidence to take risks with technology and find the resilience to bounce back when things go wrong. 

 

Be Creative - To use technology to create programs, express ourselves and solve problems using critical thinking skills and a logical approach. 

 

Be Healthy - To use technology in a healthy manner that minimises the risks to ourselves and others and keeps ourselves safe whilst online.

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Intent – What Do We Aspire For Our Children? 

 

Technology is an integral part of 21st Century living. At Dovecotes, we want pupils to understand the enormous potential of technology within their lives now and in the future. We want to ensure that our children leave primary school computer literate with the necessary knowledge and skills to be able to use technology in a socially responsible way in order to find, explore, analyse, communicate and present information.

 

We want the use of technology to support learning across the entire curriculum. Our Computing curriculum focuses on a progression of skills in digital literacy, computer science, information technology and online safety. These strands are revisited repeatedly through a range of themes during children’s time in school to ensure that learning is embedded and skills are successfully developed.

 

By the end of Early Years, children will be able to:

• Recognise that a range of technology is used in places such as homes and schools;

• Select and use technology for particular purposes and role play with ‘old’ pieces of technology such as phones, computers, cameras;

• Explore the smartboards and other technology within Early Years as appropriate.

 

By the end of KS1, children will be able to:

• Develop the basic skills of computer science in order to create simple programmes which employ the use of algorithms with an understanding of what algorithms are;

• Find errors in their programmes and predict outcomes;

• Know how to keep themselves safe online as digital citizens in a range of ways including how to respond to inappropriate contact and content;

• Understand how to keep their information private and also be able to identify cyber-bullying, knowing what actions to take if they encounter it;

• Use a range of information technology skills including for digital music and artistry;

• Locate and handle information from a range of digital sources including the online world.

 

By the end of KS2, children will be able to:

• Develop further skills to create and manipulate programs, using elements such as variables and debugging and be able to talk about intended and specific outcomes;

• Have a secure understanding of the role of algorithms and be able to successfully use them;

• Have a secure understanding as digital citizens of how to keep themselves safe online. (This includes identity and password security, identifying inappropriate and inaccurate content and being aware of cyber-bullying and knowing how to respond to it);

• Act responsibly as a positive member of the online community;

• Select and manipulate software and online resources to create their own digital content;

• Use a range of skills confidently including for digital music and artistry and including being able to analyse, evaluate and present information on a range of devices for specific purposes.

 

Implementation – How Will We Deliver The Curriculum? 

 

Our computing curriculum is organised into 2-yearly cycles in each phase, with each phase having activities linked to all four key strands (programming, data and information, creative media and computer networks/systems). Due to our structure of mixed-age classes, the devised computing curriculum at Dovecotes ensures all areas are covered and sequenced for all children, ensuring time is given to explore and progress throughout each strand of the computing curriculum with the opportunity to practise and refine skills before applying them to cross-curricular themed topics. Key vocabulary will be shared with the children and they will be expected to use and understand vocabulary relating to their unit of work.

 

We use the NCCE Teach Computing scheme to teach computing; teachers are expected and supported to explicitly model skills children need in order to complete given tasks. Together with external agencies, and local authority support where needed, our children receive skilled computing teaching.

 

We also ensure that online safety is threaded through our computing curriculum as well as within our RSE/PSHE curriculum because we want to ensure that our children are fully equipped to negotiate the ever-changing digital world, both safely and responsibly, but are also able to make links between the digital and real world regarding their safety around technology. We use Project Evolve to explicitly teach focus strands, including privacy and security, health, well-being and lifestyle, online bullying, online relationships and self-image/identity, developing and revisiting important aspects of online safety throughout the years. The computing curriculum ensures these are reinforced and links are made with copyright and ownership being discretely delivered within our computing lessons. Our school group of digital leaders not only support with decision making regarding online safety and use of technology within school, but they also support in lessons to ensure pupils receive the best, most up-to-date expertise from both staff and their peers. Our Online Safety Group has been established, with members from the governing board, senior and middle school leaders, parents and we aim to meet termly with pupil representation where suitable involving our digital leaders.

 

Further to in-school learning, Dovecotes offers a computing club where children have the opportunity to explore and develop their computing skills further; digital leaders are invited to this to support their subject knowledge and prepare them for in-class support.

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We encourage a love of computing and are keen to celebrate our pupils’ successes. Therefore, we regularly hold computing showcase presentations which allow children from across the school community to share their work with each other.

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Dovecotes Whole School Computing Curriculum 

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EYFS

EYFS teach through exploration and play through themes which are heavily led by the children’s interests – to include exposure to Code-a-Pillars/ programmable devices such as our robot mice, IWB use and iPads/laptops.

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KS1

• Cycle A

  • Computer Systems and networks

  • Creating Media: Digital Writing

  • Programming A: Beebots/Floorbots

  • Creating Media: Digital Painting

  • Data and Information: Pictograms

  • Programming B: Scratch Junior

• Cycle B

  • Computer Systems and networks

  • Creating Media: Digital Writing

  • Programming A: Beebots/Floorbots

  • Data and Information: Block charts

  • Creating Media: Digital Photography

  • Programming B: Scratch Junior

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Y3/4

• Cycle A

  • Computer Systems and networks

  • Creating Media: Stop-frame animation

  • Programming A (Y3): Sequencing sounds

  • Data and Information: Databases

  • Creating Media: Desktop Publishing

  • Programming A (Y4): Repetition in Shapes

• Cycle B

  • Computer Systems and networks

  • Creating Media: Photo editing

  • Programming B (Y3): Events and Actions in Programs

  • Creating Media: Audio Editing

  • Data and Information: Data Logging

  • Programming B (Y4): Repetition in games

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Y5/6

• Cycle A

  • Computer Systems and networks

  • Creating Media: Vector Drawing

  • Programming A (Y5): Selection in physical computing

  • Data and Information: Fact file databases

  • Creating Media: 3D Modelling

  • Programming A (Y6): Variables in games

• Cycle B

  • Computer Systems and networks

  • Creating Media: Video Editing

  • Programming B (Y5): Selection in Quizzes

  • Creating Media: Webpage creation

  • Data and Information: Spreadsheets

  • Programming B (Y6): Sensing

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Impact - How Do We Know Our Computing Curriculum Is Effective? 

 

Pupil Voice

 

Pupil voice is used to gain an insight into how our children are developing their knowledge and understanding in computing as we believe children who have learned and understood can articulate and share their knowledge. Our curriculum is progressive and builds on previously learned skills, enabling our children to make connections as they move through units and year groups. Pupil voice is also used to understand children's enjoyment of computing and make adaptations accordingly.

 

Assessment

 

As well as continuous, formative assessment of pupils’ learning by both teachers and the computing lead, end-of-unit summative assessments are also used to assess the impact of units. These are in the form of either a multiple choice quiz or a rubric and are used through the NCCE Teach Computing scheme. All units are designed to cover both skills and concepts from across the computing national curriculum. Units that focus more on conceptual development include a multiple choice quiz. Units that focus more on skills development end with a project and include a rubric. In addition to this, we use the pre- and post-assessment surveys on Project Evolve. The pre-assessment identifies the areas of learning requiring most focus during teaching, ensuring the needs of pupils within each class are being met, and then the impact of pupils’ learning from these sessions is then assessed in a post-assessment survey where learning can be revisited if/where required.

 

For further information about the Computing curriculum please contact Mrs. Gould our subject lead through the school email address.