Computing

What is the intent of our Computing curriculum?

At St Margaret’s C of E Junior School, we aim to embrace technology as it has become an integral part of everyday life. Through our Computing curriculum, we aim to 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 our pupils to be able to operate in the 21st century workplace and to know the career opportunities that will be open to them if they study Computing and aspire to achieve these. We want children to become autonomous, independent users of computing technologies, gaining confidence and enjoyment from their activities and we recognise that Computing can allow children to share their learning in creative ways. We want our pupils to be creators not consumers and our broad curriculum encompassing computer science, information technology, digital literacy and online safety reflects this. Through the use of various digital mediums, children at St Margaret’s will develop problem-solving and critical thinking skills that enable them to become reflective, creative learners who are not afraid of the ever-changing digital world.

How do we implement our Computing curriculum?

Computing lessons are taught using the Rising Stars scheme of work as a guide, with six units per academic year for each year group. We are flexible in our approach to teaching Computing in order to meet the needs of our class and may opt to teach weekly Computing sessions or teach a unit within a longer grouped block. The knowledge/skills statements build year on year to deepen and challenge our learners. Where appropriate, meaningful links will be made between the Computing curriculum and the wider curriculum.

How do we assess the impact of our Computing curriculum?

Our approach to the curriculum results in a fun, engaging and high-quality Computing education. The quality of children’s learning is evident through sharing good examples, where examples of work and photos of learning are viewed. As a topic-based approach continues to be developed, teachers are able to revisit misconceptions and knowledge gaps in computing when teaching other curriculum areas. This supports varied pace of learning and ensures all pupils make good progress. Much of the subject-specific knowledge developed in our Computing lessons equips pupils with experiences which will benefit them in secondary school, further education and future workplaces. By Year 6, we aim for all our pupils to leave school with digital literacy and confidence in both using technologies safely for work and study, but also understanding the science and systems behind it, as active participants of a digital world.