Computing

Our Intent

Our school vision is at the heart of St Mary’s Computing Curriculum, aspiring for all our children to flourish and to empower our children to let their light shine in all they do.  We want the use of technology to support learning across the entire curriculum and to ensure that our curriculum is accessible to every child. Not only do we want them to be digitally literate and competent end-users of technology but through our computer science lessons we want them to develop creativity, resilience and problem-solving, and critical thinking skills.  We aim for our children to grow into responsible people who can positively contribute to their school community and beyond, as well as work co-operatively with others developing a continued love for learning. We want our pupils to have 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. We want our pupils to be able to operate in the 21st century workplace and we want them to know the career opportunities with Digital organisations.

Our Implementation

The computing curriculum at St Mary’s focuses and builds upon the three core aspects of Computing; Digital Literacy, Computer Science, and Information Technology. We do so with a progression framework of skills and knowledge that allows the pupil to make the necessary connections within their learning as they progress through the Computing Curriculum. We use this framework to create a scheme of work for each year group building upon the skills learned in previous years.

Our scheme of work for 2022-2023 uses DFE funded Teach Computing (https://teachcomputing.org) which has been customised for schools to include relevant digital and learning resources. We also use a range of localised Online Resources from LGFL (Inc. Busythings & J2E), and Discovery Education, while maximising the best national and global open resources for teaching Computing including Phil Bagge, Barefoot Computing and Common-Sense Media. Through doing so we embed effective legacy of Remote Learning, enable improved Progress and Portfolio Development, and provide more structured weekly Computing lessons and half termly units of work for all three strands of the curriculum.

Our Impact

Our approach to the curriculum results in a relevant, engaging, and high-quality computing education. The quality of children’s learning is evidenced in online folders and portfolios including Google Classroom, Scratch, and Seesaw.

Evidence such as this is used to feed into teachers’ future planning, and as a topic-based approach continues to be developed, teachers are able to revisit misconceptions and knowledge gaps in computing when teaching other curriculum areas. This supports varied paces of learning and ensures all pupils make good progress.

By the end of Year 6 at St Mary’s, pupils should feel confident in using a range of technology. They should be able to recognise how to keep themselves safe online, and they should understand the importance of being an exceptionally good digital citizen. Pupils should have a sound knowledge of up to date technologies and how they can be used to enhance their learning and the curriculum.

Pupils are introduced to a wide range of technology including Beebots, Probots, iPads, Chromebooks, VR headsets, and interactive whiteboards which allow them to continually improve and develop their ideas and skills. The sequence of learning develops pupils’ understanding of how digital technology and other computational systems are designed, programmed and operated. As pupils progress through the school and build upon their computational thinking skills they then feel confident in drawing upon familiar and unfamiliar technology and software.

At St Mary’s, we also believe that Computing enhances our teaching and learning in invaluable ways and so we aim to use our computing skills in as many subjects as possible. Through allowing computing to be used in creative ways across the curriculum, pupils recognise the benefits of becoming digitally literate for both their present and future selves. Not only are the ideas of Computing applied to the wider curriculum, they are also applied to the understanding of real-world systems and products. We encourage pupils to be creative, innovative, purposeful and resourceful in all of their endeavors – we believe that being critical thinkers who are digitally literate will empower our pupils to strive for all of these traits.

From EYFS through to KS2 the pupils of St Mary’s are taught how to use digital technology safely, respectfully and responsibly. Younger pupils are regularly taught what to do if something makes them feel uncomfortable whilst using technology. As our pupils progress through the school they learn the importance of keeping personal information private. We pride ourselves in our pupils’ ability to recognise differences between acceptable and unacceptable behaviour online and how to approach this. Pupils learn from EYFS where they can go for help and support when they have concerns about content. KS2 pupils are able to recognise a range of ways to disclose concerns about content and uncomfortable experiences when using technological devices.

From the moment the children enter the EYFS setting they have the opportunity to use a range of technology, from using iPads to record their work, to scanning QR codes to listen to stories in a range of languages. The pupils in EYFS also have access to talking clipboards, and talking story books which enable them to listen to instructions from the teacher, as well as recording their own ideas/ stories to aid with sentence writing. We also provide pupils with defunct IT equipment to encourage them to construct their own imaginative role-play scenarios. Pupils in EYFS are also given the opportunity to use remote control toys, and programmable toys to enhance multiple areas of the curriculum. Through exposing pupils in EYFS to a range of digital technology, we are ensuring they understand the world around them whilst ensuring that they are building skills to aid them in key stage learning.

In keystage 1, pupils continue to recognise digital technology in the wider society and they begin to explore the use and impact of technology in the world around them. They gain an understanding of what algorithms are, how they are used as programmes on digital devices and the importance of precise instructions. With this knowledge our KS1 pupils create and debug simple programs, they also programme robotic toys while predicting the outcome of simple algorithms. Our pupils also begin to learn how to create, edit, store, and retrieve digital content using apps and online software.

In keystage 2 pupils are confident in their safe use of the internet, and they understand the opportunities the World Wide Web offers for collaboration and communication. They learn about the various search engines available to them and how these computing networks communicate with each other and the user. Pupils acquire a secure understanding and ability to engage with a range of programs, software, devices, and websites through lessons that are underpinned with the principles of Digital Literacy and Online Safety with safe and best practices referenced whenever appropriate.

Pupils also continue to develop and expand their knowledge of computational systems and digital technology. Pupils in KS2 design, write and debug programmes that have specific goals and target audiences. They use sequence, selection, and repetition in programmes and understand how variables, inputs, and outputs can affect the programmed algorithm. Pupils further build on their logical reasoning skills to decompose problems into smaller, more manageable parts in order to both build their program, recognise problems, debug, and correct errors in code written by both themselves and their peers. KS2 pupils are able to evaluate their work, and recognises ways to improve.

Curriculum Information

PRIMARY_national_curriculum_-_Computing

Educational websites and apps

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https://www.barefootcomputing.org/homelearning

Online Safety for Parents and Carers – To find out more visit the Thinkuknow website.

Top Ten Tips to keep your child safe online

• Talk to your child about what they’re up to online. Be a part of their online life; involve the whole family and show an interest. Find out what sites they visit and what they love about them, if they know you understand they are more likely to come to you if they have any problems.
• Watch Thinkuknow films and cartoons with your child. The Thinkuknow site has films, games and advice for children from five all the way to 16.
• Encourage your child to go online and explore! There is a wealth of age-appropriate sites online for your children. Encourage them to use sites which are fun, educational and that will help them to develop online skills.
• Keep up-to-date with your child’s development online. Children grow up fast and they will be growing in confidence and learning new skills daily. It’s important that as your child learns more, so do you.
• Set boundaries in the online world just as you would in the real world. Think about what they might see, what they share, who they talk to and how long they spend online. It is important to discuss boundaries at a young age to develop the tools and skills children need to enjoy their time online.
• Keep all equipment that connects to the internet in a family space. For children of this age, it is important to keep internet use in family areas so you can see the sites your child is using and be there for them if they stumble across something they don’t want to see.
• Know what connects to the internet and how. Nowadays even the TV connects to the internet. Make sure you’re aware of which devices that your child uses connect to the internet, such as their phone or games console. Also, find out how they are accessing the internet – is it your connection, or a neighbour’s wifi? This will affect whether the safety setting you set are being applied.
• Use parental controls on devices that link to the internet, such as the TV, laptops, computers, games consoles and mobile phones. Parental controls are not just about locking and blocking, they are a tool to help you set appropriate boundaries as your child grows and develops. They are not the answer to your child’s online safety, but they are a good start and they are not as difficult to install as you might think. Service providers are working hard to make them simple, effective and user friendly.

How do I talk to my child about what they’re doing online?

Let them teach you

The people who know best about what your children are up to online, are your children! Get them to tell you about the sites they’re using. Ask them questions such as:

• Why do they like the site?
• What can they do on it?
• What’s so fun about it?
• Who uses it at school?
• Who you can talk to?
• Who are their friends on it?

This is a good way to develop a trusting relationship with your child about what they are up to online.

Reach an agreement

A good way to set boundaries with your child about what they can and can’t do online is to set an agreement with them.

Here are some examples of the areas you might want to discuss:

• Limits on the amount of time your child spends online, or playing computer games.
• Having regular screen breaks.
• Not sharing any pictures they wouldn’t be happy to share with you.
• Not giving out personal details, such as mobile phone number and address, to people they don’t know and trust.
• Coming to you if they are concerned. Or, if not, knowing where they can go for independent help and support.

Parental controls

As a parent or carer it can be difficult to monitor what your child is up to online. Most parents and carers trust their children online, but it can be easy for a child to stumble across things that might upset or disturb them.

Filtering and moderation packages are a good way to stop the majority of inappropriate and harmful content coming into your home. They are a tool to help you set and change online boundaries in line with your child’s development.

The 4 big internet providers in the UK – BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media – provide their customers with free parental controls which can be activated at any time. They have come together to produce these helpful video guides to help you to download and set-up the controls offered by your provider.

If you would like to find out how to set up filters on your home internet to help prevent age inappropriate content being accessed on devices in your home, click here.

Reporting a concern

When should I report to Child Exploitation & Online Protection (CEOP)?

We help children stay safe online. Has someone acted inappropriately towards your child online, or to a child or young person you know? It may be inappropriate chat, being asked to do something that makes them feel uncomfortable or someone being insistent on meeting up. You can report it to CEOP.

• UK Safer Internet Centre

Curriculum Information

• Computing Progression of Skills
• Computing Medium Term Plan

For more information about our curriculum please contact our Computing Curriculum Leader Patrick McLaughlin on 020 7359 1870 or email at school@stmarys.islington.sch.uk