Computing

Computing is an important teaching and learning area of the curriculum and taught to equip children with the foundational skills, knowledge and understanding they will need for the rest of their lives.

Whilst it is taught weekly across the key stages in discrete lessons, using the Purple Mash scheme of work alongside other important apps and programs, it is also used creatively in other areas of the curriculum to both consolidate and stretch the children’s understanding of digital literacy.

Within the curriculum, children will develop many skills such as;

• CREATING: The children learn to select and use a range of digital applications to create, organise, manipulate, store, retrieve, review and present varied digital content, e.g. word-based, still and moving images, sound, animation.
• RESEARCHING: Learning to use digital research tools effectively and responsibly, and evaluating the resulting data.
• ORGANISING INFORMATION: Collecting, organising, evaluating and analysing data to present it as information using a range of tools including databases, spreadsheets and any form of graph, chart, diagram, table or list.
• COMMUNICATING: Children develop an understanding of the networks and systems used for digital communication and use a range of tools safely and appropriately for communication and collaboration both within and beyond school.
• CODING: Children will learn to develop an understanding of programming in the context of automated devices, as well as that of simulations and games. They will relate this to the creation of algorithms and their use as computer programs, applying reasoning and precision to break problems into smaller parts so that they can be resolved.

Underpinning all of these aspects of Computing is the children learning to be safe, effective and respectful users of technology, recognising both acceptable and unacceptable behaviour, and knowing how to respond if they have concerns. This is taught in discrete computing lessons, PSHE and across the curriculum.

For information about online safety please visit our eSafety page.