Computing

Intent 

At Salehurst we value the significant part technology plays within our community and acknowledge its ever-evolving nature.  Through our Computing curriculum, we endeavour to impart the knowledge and skills that will enable our pupils to embrace and utilise new technology in a socially responsible and safe way.  We aim to equip them to be able to operate in the 21st century workplace, to be aware of the career opportunities that will be open to them if they study computing and to be active participants in a digital world.   

We want our pupils to become autonomous, independent, and competent users of computing technologies, gaining confidence and enjoyment from their activities.  Not only do we want them to be digitally literate, but through our computer science lessons, we want them to develop creativity, resilience and problem-solving skills by learning how to be ‘computational thinkers’ so that they understand, challenge and potentially shape the future digital world.  

We want the use of technology to support learning across the entire curriculum and to ensure that our curriculum is accessible to every child in an ever-changing digital world.  We aim to offer our pupils a breadth of experience to develop their understanding of themselves as individuals within their community, but also as members of a wider global community and as responsible digital citizens. 

Implementation 

The progression of our Computing curriculum allows the children to develop the depth of their knowledge and skills during their time at Salehurst. We use the ‘Teach Computing’ educational programme provided by the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE) to deliver the majority of our curriculum.  Teach Computing has been designed to create a balanced coverage of computer science and information technology, with digital literacy naturally occurring throughout.   The programme is structured into six units for each year group, and each unit is broken down into lessons with high quality support and resources for teachers.  It is a spiral curriculum, with strands revisited each year.  

We employ cross-curricular links, so that children are more motivated to embed the learning from discrete computing lessons in other curriculum areas.   

Through the guidance of ‘Education for a Connected World’, we teach our pupils about online safety. The strands from this are taught throughout the year.  Teachers are also able to use the resources should a particular issue relevant to their class occurs.   

Impact 

Children demonstrate their progress in Computing across the curriculum; they will understand and use the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including logic, algorithms and data representation. They will be reflective and resilient to manage problems and problem-solve using technology. 

Pupils showcase, share, celebrate and publish their work in a variety of ways, which will best show the impact of our curriculum. Progress is demonstrated through outcomes and the record of coverage in the process of achieving those outcomes. 

Finding the right balance with technology is key to an effective education and a healthy lifestyle.  The way we implement our Computing curriculum helps children realise the need for the right balance and one they can continue to build on in their next stage of education and beyond.