Computing at Kenton Primary
Intent
At Kenton Primary 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 and hope by Upper Key Stage 2, children have the independence and confidence to choose the best tool to fulfil the task and challenge set by teachers.
Children have access to the internet, and a wide variety of software to develop their expertise. They are taught to make decisions as to when it is appropriate to use technology to enhance their leaning and rules for using IT safely. We want to prepare our children for life in this increasingly technological world.
Implement
At Kenton Primary we use Teach Computing. The Teach Computing Curriculum uses the National Centre for Computing Education’s computing taxonomy to ensure comprehensive coverage of the subject. All learning outcomes can be described through a high-level taxonomy of ten strands, ordered alphabetically as follows:
- Algorithms — Be able to comprehend, design, create, and evaluate algorithms
- Computer networks — Understand how networks can be used to retrieve and share information, and how they come with associated risks.
- Computer systems — Understand what a computer is, and how its constituent parts function together as a whole
- Creating media — Select and create a range of media including text, images, sounds, and video
- Data and information — Understand how data is stored, organised, and used to represent real-world artefacts and scenarios
- Design and development — Understand the activities involved in planning, creating, and evaluating computing artefacts
- Effective use of tools — Use software tools to support computing work
- Impact of technology — Understand how individuals, systems, and society as a whole interact with computer system
- Programming — Create software to allow computers to solve problems
- Safety and security — Understand risks when using technology, and how to protect individuals and systems
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Impact
We encourage our children to enjoy and value the curriculum we deliver.We will constantly ask the WHY behind their learning and not just the HOW.We want learners to discuss, reflect and appreciate the impact computing has on their learning, development and well being.
Finding the right balance with technology is key to an effective education and a healthy life-style.We feel the way we implement computing helps children realise the need for the right balance and one they can continue to build on in their next stage of education and beyond.We encourage regular discussions between staff and pupils to best embed and understand this. The way pupils showcase, share, celebrate and publish their work will best show the impact of our curriculum.We also look for evidence through reviewing pupil’s knowledge and skills digitally through tools like Google Drive and Seesaw and observing learning regularly.
Progression
All learning objectives have been mapped to the National Centre for Computing Education’s taxonomy of ten strands, which ensures that units build on each other from one key stage to the next.
Within the Teach Computing Curriculum, every year group learns through units within the same four themes, which combine the ten strands of the National Centre for Computing Education’s taxonomy.
This approach allows us to use the spiral curriculum approach to progress skills and concepts from one year group to the next. This means that each of the themes is revisited regularly (at least once in each year group), and pupils revisit each theme through a new unit that consolidates and builds on prior learning within that theme.
