Computing
Computing Curriculum Statement - 2022/23
Computing Intent:
Through our computing curriculum at Mount Carmel 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. Their Computing education will enable them to live safely online in the 21st century alongside learning the skills necessary to take place in a modern technological workplace. We want our learners to be digitally literate and become adept in different aspects of modern technology. Through our programming lessons we want them to develop coding skills and in turn develop their creativity, resilience and problem-solving skills. Furthermore, we want our pupils to understand themselves as individuals within their community but also as members of a wider global community and as such behave as responsible digital citizens. SEND pupils will access the full Computing curriculum with modifications made in certain circumstances, while more able pupils are encouraged to extend their skills in programming and digital literacy in greater depth across various platforms.
Implementation:
At Mount Carmel, we implement a curriculum that is progressive from nursery to year 6. Pupils learning is assessed against the 2014 national curriculum computing objectives for the three strands of computing: computer science, digital literacy (DL) and information technology (IT). In KS1, Computing is split into these three strands and each year group teaches one strand per term. These are Programming (Computer Science), Creating Media (IT) and Computer Systems and Networks (DL). In KS2 there are four strands, three of which are taught yearly (Programming, Creating Media and Computer Systems and Networks) and one which is taught per phase (Data and Information). One strand is taught each term for half a term, focusing on the knowledge and skills outlined in the National Curriculum. At the beginning of each unit of work, we review previous learning, children retrieve knowledge and recall previously learnt skills and to begin to contextualise the new unit of study.
Mount Carmel provides different technology to use in different circumstances. In each year group from Y1-6, students will complete at least one unit on iPads and at least one unit on laptops or another digital device. The core of computing is computer science, the majority of which is taught on iPads. In Mount Carmel we offer a bespoke curriculum intended to teach several different programming languages, from pictorial representations of code in Early Years through to Blockly in KS1, written code in lower KS2 and more complex programming languages (HTML and CSS) in Year 6. Students will also have the chance to program a set of Jimu robots to play football.
In Digital Literacy, students will study how computers work, progressing their knowledge from simple computer systems to more complex networks from Year 1 to Year 6, most importantly the internet. Students will be able to use a range of different technology, including laptops and iPads to retrieve and store data. In IT students will use these to create and store media in different, exciting and challenging ways, including word documents, photo editing and movie making.
One of our fundamental aims in Computing is to address e-safety in accordance with helping our children become computer literate. This is vital as our ever-evolving society of social media and the use of sharing apps can pose risks to our children. It is therefore a priority to not only educate our children on how to stay safe online, but also keep our parents and school community updated in terms of what new and current apps are, age-restrictions on these and how to encourage safe usage/monitoring. This will be implemented through events throughout the year linking to e-safety, whereby all children in the school will have the opportunity to participate in age-appropriate activities linking to e-safety. In addition, regular updates and links will be uploaded to our website and newsletter to help our parents and staff become aware of the latest social media and gaming trends.
Impact:
As the computing curriculum at Mount Carmel is implemented, our children will be equipped with the skills and the knowledge of computer science, information technology and digital literacy that will enable them to access the modern technological world. Most significantly, our children will be able to do so safely, respectfully and responsibly: understanding the structure, responsibilities and consequences of the internet.
Through pupil voice, evidence in folders and work completed electronically, pupils will be able to express the skills and knowledge they have acquired. Pupil’s progress is teacher assessed using the variety of evidence uploaded to form their grade. This is presented through class folders with paper work, plus work stored in our shared drive, which are monitored termly. Assessment and monitoring will show a high standard is expected in the subject and pupils are achieving age related expectations in Computing using the progression map.
