Computing

Computing Leader: Mr Keith Butler 

Curriculum Design 

Computing lessons at Old Mill Primary School are taught in accordance with the Teach Computing Scheme of Work, which begins in the Year 1 and continues until Year 6. Foundation Stage have their own separate ‘barefoot computing’ scheme to refer to with separate resources. 

The Teach Computing Curriculum is structured in units. For these units to be coherent, the lessons within a unit must be taught in order. However, across a year group, the units themselves do not need to be taught in order, with the exception of ‘Programming’ units, where concepts and skills rely on prior learning and 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 (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. This style of curriculum design reduces the amount of knowledge lost through forgetting, as topics are revisited yearly. It also ensures that connections are made even if different teachers are teaching the units within a theme in consecutive years.

Substantive knowledge in computing is understanding how to use technology, how to be safe and knowing how to program. This is developed through deliberate practice and by children applying their knowledge of how to be computational thinkers.

Disciplinary knowledge in computing is the use and interpretation of substantive knowledge in order to develop original digital content and programs.

Intent - what will we teach and why?

At Old Mill Primary School, 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.

Implementation - how do we teach to achieve excellence? 

The system is founded on the values and principles of the National Curriculum for computing and is intended to inspire all children, regardless of background, to be creative, self-confident, and self-disciplined, as well as to develop an interest in computational thinking.

The Teach Computing scheme of work consists of five-six units that cover all genres and techniques of music; the units are progressive, and as students continue through the school, they will build on their existing knowledge.

Computing in EYFS ensures that pupils enter Year 1 with a strong foundation, builds problem-solving abilities, encourages resilience and supports other areas of learning. By integrating computing into EYFS, pupils also begin to build their digital literacy and their understanding of e-safety.  

Impact - how are our pupils successful?

The impact of computing education is measured and developed throughout the school by assessing how students perform in each of the six units against the learning strands pertinent to the unit. This is evidenced by recording all children perform in groups or by themselves at the end of each unit. This is then uploaded into individual year group folders in the Staff Google Drive as well as being evident in the children’s own personal computing folders.  

The emphasis is on ‘computational thinking’ rather than necessarily using devices to achieve results. This begins in EYFS and continues throughout the school. 

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 wellbeing.

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. 

Progress of our computing curriculum is demonstrated through outcomes and the record of coverage in the process of achieving these outcomes.
 

Assessment 

Every lesson includes formative assessment opportunities for teachers to use. These opportunities are listed in the lesson plan and are included to ensure that misconceptions are recognised and addressed if they occur. They vary from teacher observation or questioning, to marked activities.

These assessments are vital to ensure that teachers are adapting their teaching to suit the needs of the pupils that they are working with, and you are encouraged to change parts of the lesson, such as how much time you Spend on a specific activity, in response to these assessments. The learning objectives and success criteria are introduced in the slides at the beginning of every lesson. At the end of every lesson, pupils are invited to assess how well they feel they have met the learning objectives using thumbs up, thumbs down, or thumbs sideways. This gives pupils a a reminder of the content that has been covered, as well as a chance to reflect. It is also a chance for teachers to see how confident the class is feeling so that they can make changes to subsequent lessons accordingly.

Every unit includes an optional summative assessment framework in the form of either a multiple-choice quiz (MCQ) or a rubric. All units are designed to cover both skills and concepts from across the computing national curriculum. Units that focus more on conceptual development include a MCQ. Units that focus more on skills development end with a project and include a rubric. However, within the ‘Programming’ units, the assessment framework (MCQ or rubric) has been selected on a best fit basis.