Computing
Intent
Crowton Christ Church C of E Primary School believes that every child has the right to a curriculum that champions excellence enabling children to achieve the very best of their abilities. We understand the immense value technology plays not only in supporting the Computing and whole school curriculum but overall in the day-to-day life of our school.
We believe that technology can provide: enhanced collaborative learning opportunities; better engagement of pupils; easier access to rich content; support conceptual understanding of new concepts and can support the needs of all our pupils.
Our aims:
- Provide an exciting, rich, relevant and challenging Computing curriculum for all pupils.
- Teach pupils to become responsible, respectful and competent users of data, information and communication technology.
- Provide technology solutions for forging better home and school links.
- Enthuse and equip children with the capability to use technology throughout their lives.
- Teach pupils to understand the importance of governance and legislation regarding how information is used, stored, created, retrieved, shared and manipulated.
- Utilise computational thinking beyond the Computing curriculum.
- Give children access to a variety of high quality hardware, software and unplugged resources.
- Equip pupils with skills, strategies and knowledge that will enable them to reap the benefits of the online world, whilst being able to minimise risk to themselves or others.
Safeguarding: Online Safety
Online safety had a high profile at Crowton Christ Church C of E. We ensure this profile is maintained and that pupil needs are met by the following.
- A relevant up-to-date online safety curriculum which is progressive from Foundation Stage to the end of Year 6.
- A curriculum that is threaded throughout other curriculums and embedded in the day-to-day lives of our pupils.
- Training for staff and governors which is relevant to their needs and ultimately positively impacts on the pupils.
- Scheduled pupil voice sessions and learning walks steer changes and inform training needs.
- Through our home/school links and communication channels, parents are kept up to date with relevant online safety matters, policies and agreements. They know who to contact at school if they have concerns.
- Our online safety policy (part of our safeguarding policy) clearly states how monitoring of online safety is undertaken.
- Filtering and monitoring systems for all our online access.
- Data policies which stipulate how we keep confidential information secure.
Implementation
As a school, we have chosen the Purple Mash Computing Scheme of Work from Reception to Year 6. The scheme of work supports our teachers in delivering fun and engaging lessons which help to raise standards and allow all pupils to achieve to their full potential. We are confident that the scheme of work more than adequately meets the national vision for Computing. It provides immense flexibility, strong cross-curricular links and integrates perfectly with the 2Simple Computing Assessment Tool. Furthermore, it gives excellent supporting material for less confident teachers.
Early Years
We aim to provide our pupils with a broad, play-based experience of Computing in a range of contexts. We believe the following: Recording devices can support children to develop their communication skills. This is especially useful for children who have English as an additional language. Early Years learning environments should feature ICT scenarios based on experience in the real world, such as in roleplay. Pupils gain confidence, control and language skills through opportunities to ‘paint’ on the interactive board/devices or control remotely operated toys.
Impact
As children progress throughout the school, they develop a deep knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the Computing. Outcomes in pupils’ books and on Purple Mash Portfolios evidence a broad and balanced Computing curriculum.
Assessment for learning is continuous throughout the planning, teaching and learning cycle. Assessment is supported by use of the following strategies:
- Observing children at work, individually, in pairs, in a group and in class during whole class teaching.
- Using differentiated, open-ended questions that require children to explain and unpick their understanding.
- Providing effective and reflective feedback, including interactive marking to engage children with their learning and to provide opportunities for self-assessment and further consolidation.
- Book moderation and monitoring of outcomes of work, to evaluate the range and balance of work and to ensure that tasks meet the needs of different learners, with the acquisition of key knowledge of each topic being evidenced through the outcomes.
- Regular formative assessment by the class teacher is recorded half-termly via the school tracker to ensure progress is made by every child.