Asquith Primary School- Computing Overview

Growing to succeed - Computing The Asquith Way    

'Computing is not about computers anymore. It is about living.'

Nicholas Negroponte, author of Being Digital

'I have had fun learning how to write codes which I might need in the future.'

Asquith Pupil

• Computing Substansive Knowledge

• Computing Disciplinary Knowledge

• Computing Curriculum Texts

• Computing Vocabulary

At Asquith Primary School, we equip pupils with the skills and understanding to use computers effectively. This helps pupils become confident, responsible users of a range of technology. Our Computing curriculum is split into three strands. These are Computer Science, Information Technology and Digital Literacy.Our carefully sequenced lessons enable pupils to understand the importance of computing. We build strong foundations in the earliest years of schooling, support and challenge pupils on their journey through our school, ultimately ensuring that they are equipped with the skills and knowledge that they will need to succeed in the future and be citizens of tomorrow’s world. Our curriculum is underpinned by 5 golden threads: High aspirations for all, Fostering resilience, Embedding key skills, Respecting diversity and Creating global citizens- with the intent that all our children have the opportunity to grow and succeed in an ever-evolving digital world. 

Intent

At Asquith Primary School we believe pupils’ understanding of three strands and subsequent skills is essential to ensure they are competent and confident users of technology and, importantly, know how to use such technology in a safe and responsible manner. Our computing curriculum teaches pupils how they can keep themselves safe. This includes across a range of online and gaming platforms, including social media. Online safety is taught explicitly within computing sessions and wider curriculum activities. We work with pupils’ families to ensure our pupils know what to do to keep safe online. We share how pupils should deal with any problems and what they should do if they are concerned or worried.

We aim to:

Provide an engaging, thought-provoking, and pertinent range of lessons that are adapted for accessibility by all pupils.

• Develop pupils’ computational thinking and transferrable computing skills to enable our children to adapt to new technologies as they emerge. This ensures pupils know how to use technology and how to be creators of new technology.
• Provide pupils with the technological literacy skills they need to succeed in the digitally driven and increasingly complex technological age. 
• Teach children to use ICT equipment and software purposefully and confidently to communicate and handle information, solve problems and support their recording.
• 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. We want the use of technology to support learning across the entire curriculum and to ensure that our curriculum is accessible to every child.
• Enable children to be digitally literate and competent end-users of technology but also, through our computer science lessons, we want them to develop creativity, resilience and problem-solving and critical thinking skills. 
• Develop aspirations by children being given the opportunity to research people who have had a significant impact on the digital world from a range of diverse backgrounds, exploring both the positive and negative impacts of such events or movements.
  

Implementation

Computing at Asquith Primary School is taught in thematic topics, so that children can achieve depth in their learning.  The concepts, digital knowledge and skills have been mapped to ensure that pupils following our sequence of learning have ample opportunity to make progress by knowing and remembering more. Key knowledge and skills in each area of learning are mapped across the key stages, ensuring that knowledge builds progressively and that children develop skills systematically. Units of learning have been chosen to build sequentially, increasing knowledge and skills.

The focus on ensuring that the children grow to succeed is implemented by:

• Pupils exploring a range of age-appropriate programs with purpose and being taught how to program simple software using TeachComputing.
• Sequencing lessons that build on the learning from the previous lesson, and where appropriate, scaffolding activities so that all pupils can succeed and thrive.
• Exploratory tasks foster a deeper understanding of a concept, encouraging pupils to apply their learning in different contexts and make connections with other learning experiences. The units for key stages 1 and 2 are based on a spiral curriculum. This means that each of the themes is revisited regularly, and pupils revisit each theme through a new unit that consolidates and builds on prior learning within that theme.
• Teaching computing skills both discretely and cross-curricular, supporting other areas of learning across the school. Having a strong emphasis on ICT skills, helping the children secure their understanding of software that they will use as they develop and grow. This ranges from word processing tools to creating spreadsheets. A real strength in our implementation of this subject is our online safety. We teach this discretely in focus weeks to help our children to become confident and safe when accessing digital tools.
• Using interactive whiteboards. Children have regular use of our Ipads and laptops.

We ensure that access to the internet in our school is safe and is managed with the support of ICT specialists.

Impact

We aim to ensure our children are respectful users of digital technologies. Through continued work on online safety, children demonstrate a high level of understanding and can articulate a range of ways to keep themselves safe.  We ensure coverage and progression between year groups and across Key Stages. Learning in computing is enjoyed across the school. Teachers have high expectations. Children use digital and technological vocabulary accurately, alongside a progression in their technical skills. They are confident and produce high-quality purposeful products. Children see the digital world as part of their world, extending beyond school, and understand that they have choices to make. They are confident and respectful digital citizens and we equip them to lead.

Linked Texts:

EYFS- Chicken Clicking by Jeanne Willis

KS1- How to Code a Sandcastle- Josh Funk

KS2- The History of the computer by Rachel Ignotofsky 

KS2- Hello Ruby: Adventures in Coding by Linda Liukas

Places to Visit

Local libraries offer use of computers

Eureka, National Children's Museum, Halifax https://www.eureka.org.uk/

Bradford Media Museum www.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk