Intent

At St Mary’s, we believe that computing is an essential part of the curriculum; a subject that not only stands alone, but also is woven and should be an integral part of all learning. Computing is changing the lives of everyone. Through teaching computing, the school aims to equip our children to use computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world. We believe that children should be at the forefront of new technology, with a thirst for learning what is out there. Through the study of computing, children at St Mary’s will be able to develop a wide range of fundamental skills, knowledge and understanding that will equip them for the rest of their life. We aim to deliver computing lessons that inspire children, with a range of skills and concepts in the modern computing curriculum. Our children will be taught computing in a way that will allow them to participate effectively and safely in the digital world, not only during their primary education, but also beyond.

 

Implementation

The school focuses on developing the skills necessary for children to be able to analyse problems in computational terms and have repeated practical experience of writing programs in order to solve such problems. We will explore their attitudes towards computing and its value to them and society in general.

Computing is an integral part of learning in the Foundation Stage as it is incorporated in everyday learning. The computing aspects of the children’s work relate to the objectives set out in the early learning goals (ELGs).

In KS1, the children will begin by learning what algorithms are, how they are implemented as programs on digital devices and how programs are executed using unambiguous and precise directions. They will also learn how to use technology purposefully to create, manipulate, store, organise and retrieve. Online safely is paramount at St Mary’s; children will be taught how to use technology safely and respectfully.

In KS2, children will begin to look more closely at programs and decide how they can be debugged. Our children will begin to use logical reasoning to predict the behaviour of simple programs. We will introduce the concepts of designing, writing, and debugging programs that accomplish specific goals. More to this, they will understand how computer networks, including the internet, work, having the opportunity to learn about communication and collaboration with the use of technology. Lessons at our school will be taught in an engaging way to stimulate learning and promote computational thinking, through half-termly units. As the children move into UKS2, they will be able to select, use and combine a variety of different software to design and create a range of programs that have a specific purpose.

 

Impact

Children at St Mary’s will be digitally literate and be able to join the rest of the world on its digital platform. They will have developed computing capability in finding, selecting and using information; they will be able to use computing for effective and appropriate communication, understanding the risks involved with communicating online. Computing and computational thinking is now a way of life and our children will be readily equipped for the future, with the necessary skills to progress in the digital world.