Computing Vision
Our vision for Computing “To argue against the importance of ICT in the primary curriculum is to ignore the increasing digitisation of information worldwide”. Our society is constantly changing and the majority of work within the world is computer based. Computing arms our pupils with the technology based skills they need to succeed throughout their education and in their later life. We endeavour to make computers an integral part of classwork by basing work on our class novels and topics that term, and not as an added activity that bears no relation to the rest of their learning.
Children begin their computing journey as early as Nursery by exploring the various forms of technology that surround them in their environment. As they progress to Reception, pupils put their knowledge of technology into play as they create algorithms for Beebots and explore the use of an iPad. During their time in Year One, children progress their knowledge of using Beebots by debugging an algorithm that’s gone wrong. At the Year One stage, pupils will be introduced to the world of computers by practicing their mouse, keyboard and logging on skills. As children progress onto Year2, they are confident with the basic use of a computer and will begin to use these skills to produce files that display work that is linked to their topics such as a fact file about foxes or a description of the stone age man on Textease. In Year 3, pupils will progress their Textease skills to incorporate Microsoft Word. As well as perfecting their word processing skills, pupils will be introduced to Movie Maker as a form of coding and working with media to produce films about topics like the Mayan Civilisation or the Life of an Ancient Egyptian. Year 4 calls for a deeper understanding of Microsoft Office by introducing the use of Publisher, Excel and PowerPoint which are essential programs in their later life. As well as becoming Microsoft Office professionals, pupils will also expand their knowledge of Movie Maker by incorporating sound into their Elizabethan or Victorian films to add another dimension of difficultly. By Year 5, pupils will be experts in Microsoft Office, therefore pupils will focus on the various file structures that are required to successfully store data on a technological system, as well as progressing their use of Movie Maker to produce films that include a range of media such as videos based on Ancient Greece or slideshows of facts about Ancient Rome. At the final stage of our pupils computing journey (Year 6), we build up pupils confidence with the use of Microsoft Office, Movie Maker, use of technology and successfully storing information on a computing system.
We take our pupils’ safety very seriously therefore it is vital that we teach children how to stay safe online. Each year group focuses on a particular area of E-Safety and develops an arsenal of knowledge on how they should be safe online. In addition to our teaching, pupils receive visits from an external agency, D:Side, who deliver a stimulating and informative workshop all about how children can protect themselves online.
