Computing

Computing at Greenhaugh Primary School

 

At our school we want pupils to be MASTERS of technology and not slaves to it. Technology is everywhere and will play a pivotal part in students' lives,. Therefore, we want to model and educate our pupils on how to use technology positively, responsibly and safely. We want our pupils to be creators not consumers and our broad curriculum encompassing computer science, information technology and digital literacy reflects this. We want our pupils to understand that there is always a choice with using technology and as a school we utilise technology to model positive use. We recognise that the best prevention for a lot of issues we currently see with technology/social media is through education. Building our knowledge in this subject will allow pupils to effectively demonstrate their learning through creative use of technology We recognise that technology can allow pupils to share their learning in creative ways. We also understand the accessibility opportunities technology can provide for our pupils. Our knowledge rich curriculum has to be balanced with the opportunity for pupils to apply their knowledge creatively which will in turn help our pupils become skilful computer scientists. We encourage staff to try and embed computing across the whole curriculum to make learning creative and accessible. We want our pupils to be fluent with a range of tools to best express their understanding.

We use a comprehensive progression document from the National Centre for Computing Education for staff to follow to best embed and cover every element of the computing curriculum. The knowledge/skills statements build year on year to deepen and challenge our learners.

 Each class now has an Interactive Whiteboard and 16 laptops which can be used to support all areas of the curriculum. In addition to the laptops, we now have iPads for use by all children, either individually or in small groups. 

Reception: There are many opportunities to introduce computational thinking, problem solving and creativity into the Early Years classroom.

We refer to  ‘Laying the foundations for computing in the early years’ by Miles Berry in which he summarises the importance of beginning to learn about the abundance of technology all around us and the benefits of having access to technology to play, create and collaborate in the Early Years classroom.

In School360 there are a wide range of activities for pupils to enjoy in the classroom or at home that encourage creativity, problem solving and confident use of digital devices. We also have Beebots for developing early programming skills.

Key Stage 1:Pupils will be taught to:  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.

Year 3 and 4 will 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.

​ A copy of our Computer Acceptable Use Policy is available to view on the website and at the beginning of the Autumn term the permission page from this policy is circulated for parents and pupils to read, sign and return to school.

 

We regularly share esafety updates with parents and children to ensure that they are aware of how to stay safe online.

 

Progress of our computing curriculum is demonstrated through outcomes and the record of coverage in the process of achieving these outcomes. Children we be able to use technology to support their learning in other subject areas and will also have an appropriate understanding of how technology works.  They will know how to keep themselves safe online and will enjoy opportunities to use a range of technology in school.