Computing
Intent
At Sacred Heart RC Primary and Nursery School through our computing curriculum we aim to give our pupils the life-skills that will enable them to embrace and utilise new technology in a socially responsible and safe way in order to flourish. Digital Literacy is vital in today’s modern world. We aim to allow the pupils to use and express themselves and develop their ideas through information and communication technology at a level suitable for the future workplace or study and as active citizens of the digital world. We want children to become independent users of computing technologies, gaining confidence and enjoyment from their activities. 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 users of technology but through our computer science lessons we want them to develop creativity, resilience and problem-solving and critical thinking skills. 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. It is of paramount importance that our pupils develop an awareness of online safety, knowing the dangers and how to keep themselves safe whilst embracing all the opportunities that technology provides.
Implementation
At Sacred Heart RC Primary and Nursery School Computing is taught in discrete computing lessons. Every lesson has been individually planned so that it can be effectively taught using the infrastructure we have in place at school and so that it can meet the needs of all our pupils. Lessons are planned using the 2014 National Curriculum attainment targets in order to ensure progression and coverage. Having discrete lessons means that the children are able to develop depth in their knowledge and skills over the duration of each of their computing topics. Where appropriate, meaningful links will be made between the computing curriculum and the wider curriculum. ICT is used to support cross curricular learning across the school. In computing lessons the children will use either the iPads or the laptops and Chromebooks in order to access a range of apps and software. Discrete computing lessons will focus on the curriculum skills of information technology, digital literacy and computer science.