'Oh the places you will see, oh the places you will go with technology'

At Heartwood CE VC Primary and Nursery School we encourage the use of ICT in a safe and fun environment that allows children to become technologically savvy. We teach Computing through three key areas; Computer Science (including programming), Information Technology (using and manipulating data or content), and Digital Literacy (e-Safety). Each component is taught in a cross-curricular way during our exciting Topics and allows children to experience computing and technology in real life scenarios. This includes using the iPads on a regular basis for a variety of different reasons; taking photos, recording videos, recording voices or sounds (such as story telling), games to enhance learning, and coming soon the opportunity to create videos and movie trailers!

The Computing policies and Codes of Conduct below highlight how we support the safe use of ICT at our school and the roles and responsibilities of all adults and pupils to ensure the safe and fun teaching of Computing.

We follow the Purple Mash curriculum for the main parts of teaching the Computing curriculum along with other programmes and resources to provide rich and varied opportunities to apply the knowledge they have acquired. Children are issued an access code for home use. 

How do we teach computing?

We have a wide range of technical resources for children to independently use to access and thrive in the computing curriculum. These include class sets of iPads, bee-bots and other programmable toys, cameras and brand new laptops. We always build in longterm budgeting to ensure that we have the technology for children to be computing scientists of the future!

Technical Vocabulary 

Vocabulary as in all subjects is essential for success in computing, although some of it very complex and new. Please see our year group glossaries for computing vocabulary and terms to know more. 

Online Safety

In simple terms, online safety refers to the act of staying safe online. It is also commonly known as internet safety, e-safety and cyber safety. It encompasses all technological devices which have access to the internet from PCs and laptops to smartphones and tablets. 

We must give our children the declarative and procedure knowledge and vocabulary to keep themselves safe online.

At Heartwood online safety is: 

• Taught as a discrete unit in Computing from Purple Mash  
• Taught within each Computing session and when using technology
• Taught on the first Monday of every half term in Life Skills (see below) this will respond to current issues and build on the prior learning  
• Taught in immediate response to any media, parent, pupil disclosures and relevant concerns ie. Squid Game 
• Taught through online safety book spine 

Although the new EYFS curriculum does not specifically include computing and technology any more we have built into our curriculum at Heartwood to ensure that our children are coming into Year 1 prepared to thrive in comporting. 

The National Curriculum 

A high-quality computing education equips pupils to use computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world. Computing has deep links with mathematics, science, and design and technology, and provides insights into both natural and artificial systems. The 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. Computing also ensures that pupils become digitally literate – able to use, and express themselves and develop their ideas through, information and communication technology – at a level suitable for the future workplace and as active participants in a digital world.

Aims

The national curriculum for computing aims to ensure that all pupils:

• can understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms and data representation

• can analyse problems in computational terms, and have repeated practical experience of writing computer programs in order to solve such problems

• can evaluate and apply information technology, including new or unfamiliar technologies, analytically to solve problems

• are responsible, competent, confident and creative users of information and communication technology.

Key stage 1

• understand what algorithms are; how they are implemented as programs on digital devices; and that programs execute by following precise and unambiguous instructions

• create and debug simple programs

• use logical reasoning to predict the behaviour of simple programs

• use technology purposefully to create, organise, store, manipulate and retrieve digital content

• recognise common uses of information technology beyond school

• use technology safely and respectfully, keeping personal information private; identify where to go for help and support when they have concerns about content or contact on the internet or other online technologies.

• Key stage 2

  Pupils should be taught to:

• design, write and debug programs that accomplish specific goals, including controlling or simulating physical systems; solve problems by decomposing them into smaller parts
• use sequence, selection, and repetition in programs; work with variables and various forms of input and output
• use logical reasoning to explain how some simple algorithms work and to detect and correct errors in algorithms and programs
• understand computer networks including the internet; how they can provide multiple services, such as the world wide web; and the opportunities they offer for communication and collaboration
• use search technologies effectively, appreciate how results are selected and ranked, and be discerning in evaluating digital content
• select, use and combine a variety of software (including internet services) on a range of digital devices to design and create a range of programs, systems and content that accomplish given goals, including collecting, analysing, evaluating and presenting data and information
• use technology safely, respectfully and responsibly; recognise acceptable/unacceptable behaviour; identify a range of ways to report concerns about content and contact.

The Nicholas Hamond Academy

Our curriculum is designed to prepare the children for the next stages in their education in each subject. Our curriculum map plans to support the declarative and procedural knowledge needed for the children to access and thrive in computer science in KS3

TNHA ICT Curriculum Page