Digital Vision

To deliver a curriculum that will model and educate our pupils on how to use technology positively, responsibly and safely, while developing the knowledge and skills they will need to become creative, digitally literate computational thinkers.

Intent

At Springhead Primary School, the teaching of the Computing curriculum has been carefully considered to enable our pupils to develop as computational thinkers and digital citizens. Therefore, it is our school’s aim to equip children with the relevant skills and knowledge that are required to understand the three core areas of Computing (Computer Science, Information Technology and Digital Literacy) and to offer a broad and balanced approach to providing quality first teaching of this subject. We believe we have thought through the progression of skills and ensured that the objectives for each year group are progressively mapped out with the intention that our pupils develop the acquired skills and knowledge for their Key Stage 3 journey and beyond.

We want pupils to be masters of technology. Technology is everywhere and will play a pivotal part in their lives. The latest government research and review series (2022) for Computing states:

'Digital technology is driving extraordinary global changes that some are calling the Fourth Industrial Revolution.'

A recent study by the ‘UK Digital Survey’ states:

‘£63 billion GDP p/a is lost to the UK economy due to digital shortages.’

‘The UK needs an estimated 1.2 million new digitally skilled people by 2022 to satisfy future skills needs.’

A study carried out by BT states:

’12 million people do not have the skills to thrive in the digital era.’

With all of this information in mind, we strive to deliver a Computing curriculum that will not only model and educate our pupils on how to use technology positively, responsibly and safely, but supports the skills and knowledge they will need to become creative, digitally literate computational thinkers. We also understand the accessibility opportunities technology can provide for our pupils. Many future jobs will require a level of technological proficiency and digital skill and we want our pupils to be equipped to ensure their future success.

Implementation

We have created a comprehensive progression document for teachers to follow to best embed and cover every element of the computing curriculum. The knowledge/skills statements, which begin in the Foundation Stage, build year on year to deepen and challenge pupils. We do not follow a specific scheme, but source from a variety of published resources whilst also adding and adapting learning to fit with our specific school context. All classes have access to the school’s computer suite for discrete computing lessons, as well as a trolley of iPads for classroom use for all subject needs. As well as using the computer suite as a means of delivering the computing curriculum, other methods and approaches are also encouraged. Our teachers do use unplugged teaching strategies in some areas to allow pupils to access important computing concepts without the physical use of a computer. Computing is, where applicable, also used cross-curricular to enrich and deepen learning, as well as to show our pupils how technology can be used in a meaningful context.

Aside from our main Computing curriculum, we also offer enrichment opportunities to further develop the computing knowledge and skills of our pupils. The school’s ‘Code Club’ gives children from year 4 to year 6 the opportunity to work alongside an industry expert who supports them in the development of their computer science knowledge. Our annual ‘Aspirations Week’ provides our pupils with the opportunity to talk and ask questions to visitors who work in computing employment roles. We have a weekend ‘Minecraft Club’ that pupils from foundation stage to year 6 are welcome to book onto and a key stage 2 weekly ‘Photography Club’.

Impact

The impact of the Computing curriculum we offer is assessed continuously against the age-related expectations in computing for each year group. In doing so, we are ensuring that the necessary support is provided for all children to have a good understanding of the primary Computing curriculum whilst allowing us to effectively differentiate tasks for pupils.

Other methods of judging the impact of the Computing curriculum are through the following methods:

• Pupil discussions and interviewing the pupils about their learning (pupil voice).
• Monitoring planning of lessons by the subject lead and providing feedback.
• Photo evidence and images of practical learning.
• Monitoring of work saved into pupil’s individual accounts.