| Philosophy |
| In Thornhill Primary School, our ‘Promise for the Future’, is to enable children to feel confident, capable, passionate and safe when using technology. We understand that technology is everywhere and will play a pivotal part in their lives; consequently, we model and educate our pupils on how to use technology positively, responsibly and safely. We want our pupils to be creators and our broad curriculum encompassing computer science, information technology and digital literacy reflects this. We recognise that the best prevention for many issues that we currently see relating to technology and social media is through education. |
| Intent: What we are trying to achieve through our curriculum… |
| At Thornhill Primary School, it is our intent to provide all of our children with a high-quality education in computing which provides access to an ever changing and expanding digital world. We wish to develop a love of computing and provide children with the ability to enhance their knowledge, skills and understanding through different types of media whilst keeping safety at the forefront of their minds. This is our ‘Promise to the Future’ for our children in ensuring that they have the tools needed to succeed in a digital world.
Our aims are to fulfil the requirements of the National Curriculum for Computing whilst also providing enhanced collaborative learning opportunities, links to other subjects within the curriculum and giving pupils rich and purposeful opportunities to be creative whilst developing their understanding of technology. An example of this is the class assembly, where children are able to present their learning to parents using a variety of applications. “A high-quality computing education equips pupils to use computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world…core of computing is computer science, in which pupils are taught the principles of information and computation, how digital systems work, and how to put this knowledge to use through programming. Building on this knowledge and understanding, pupils are equipped to use information technology to create programs, systems and a range of content.” National Curriculum In regards to online safety, GDPR will play an important role in allowing children to recognise what information is personal to them and who and when it is safe to share it. To do this effectively, children must have a clear understanding of the meaning of personal information and recognise their own responsibility in safeguarding this. Children will be taught about their digital footprint and where to seek support and advice should they need it. We believe a strong understanding of these things will enable children to access modern technologies and communicate effectively whilst developing an ever-increasing understanding of how to keep themselves safe from evolving dangers in the digital world. At Thornhill Primary school, we want children to become digitally literate by developing a range of transferrable skills, which can make them active participants in a digital world and prepare them for the world of work. We aim to encourage children to use, express themselves and develop their ideas through a range of information technology. A core aspect of our computing teaching will be the teaching of computer science in which pupils are taught the principles of information and computation, how digital systems work, and how to put this knowledge to use through programming. We aim to make explicit links to maths, science and design and technology. |
| Implementation: How our curriculum is delivered… |
| We have a comprehensive progression document for staff to follow to best embed and cover every element of the computing curriculum. The knowledge and skills throughout the document build each year to deepen and challenge our learners (See Long Term Plans). Our Computing LTP is broken down into three strands that make up the computing curriculum. These are Computer Science, Information Technology and Digital Literacy. Computer Science underlines the knowledge and skills relating to programming, coding, algorithms and computational thinking. Information Technology underlines the knowledge and skills relating to communication, multimedia and data representation and handling. Digital Literacy underlines the knowledge and skills relating to online safety and technology uses.
We believe that in order to guarantee that learning is engaging, broad and balanced, teachers should ensure that the children’s interests are considered and that tasks are purposeful. We believe that the skills and knowledge gained through out computing curriculum should be developed and used across all of our core and foundation subjects. We have a range of resources, tools, programs and apps that children have access to throughout their time at Thornhill Primary. We give them the opportunities and time to build up their skill base in order to become digitally literate. By Upper Key Stage 2, children have the independence and confidence to choose the best tool to fulfil the task and challenge set by teachers. Whilst we feel that the majority of computing can be embedded across the curriculum, a regular ‘computing session’ is also timetabled to focus on specific skills as some parts of our LTP do require a more explicit approach to teaching and developing a skill. These sessions also support all children being able to access the range of devices that we have in school and will support them on their journey through our computing curriculum, as it will give children the time to become effective users of not just the software but also develop key skills, e.g., keyboard typing. We are also aware that these ‘discreet sessions’ are more appropriate when teaching online safety, GDPR and personal information. Here, children will learn the importance of having secure passwords and other procedures to ensure their safety online. Children are encouraged to be creative thinkers and designers by first accessing systematic guides of key program building in a range of programs and apps before creating their own designs in a variety of areas. To implement our curriculum, our resources include iPads, laptops, bee-bots, and software or apps that allow pupils to create, edit and evaluate their own work across the curriculum. Teachers and pupils are also aware of the importance of health and safety and pupils are always supervised when using technology and accessing the internet. Furthermore, pupils at Thornhill Primary are fully encouraged to engage with ICT and technology outside of school. Pupils have logins for a range or apps linked to Maths and English and staff monitor their progress. We also have systems in place to enable children to send in work or projects completed at home through the use of Seesaw and Office 365. |
| Impact: The difference our curriculum is making… |
| Progress of our computing curriculum is demonstrated through outcomes and the record of coverage in the process of achieving these outcomes. Children will have developed the knowledge, skills and understanding to help them access and use a range of technology in a safe and creative way. Children will have developed skills that equip them to use computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world. Children’s skills will have progressed to enable them to have met the requirements of the National Curriculum and to enjoy using technology to develop knowledge and ideas as well as express themselves safely and creatively as responsible citizens.
The way pupils display, share, celebrate and publish their work will best show the impact of our curriculum. We also look for evidence through reviewing pupil’s knowledge and skills digitally through tools such as Office 365, Seesaw and observing learning regularly during lessons and completed tasks on our internal network. Online safety work will also be evidence in their PSHE books. Alternative ways in which we can measure the impact of our curriculum include the following: · Pupil discussions and interviewing the pupils about their learning. · Governor monitoring with our subject computing link governor. · Moderation staff meetings with opportunities for dialogue between teachers. · Photo evidence and images of the pupils’ practical learning. · Video analysis through recording of performance in lessons and for class assemblies. · A reflection on standards achieved against the planned outcomes. · Work scrutiny and reflective staff feedback. · Dedicated Computing leader time.
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