Computing (Old)

Our school curriculum is driven and shaped by our school vision, which informs everything that we do.

St Nicholas provides a welcoming, inclusive and aspirational learning environment at the heart of its community. We nurture, encourage and support all children, adults and their families to be the best as God intended. Following God’s example of love and trust, we develop resilience and creativity in all we do.

Learning, loving and encouraging through Christ.

An uncompromising focus on pupils’ personal development has made St Nicholas Church of England Primary Academy a place where pupils always come first. Ofsted 2019

Computing is an ever growing, integral part of modern-day life. Through the teaching of computing at St Nicholas we aim to develop independent learners who are equipped with the skills, confidence and competencies they need to access digital technology safely and accurately.

The national curriculum defines three clear aspects of computing curriculum:

Computer Science
Information Technology
Digital Literacy

A St-Nicholas, children are given the opportunity to develop their knowledge and understanding in each area from Reception/ Foundation Stage to Year 6. Work within each year group is planned to build continuity and progression of skills. Where possible it is linked to other areas of the wider curriculum.

The aims of teaching Computing, as outlined in the National Curriculum are to ensure that all pupils:

can understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms and data representation
can analyse problems in computational terms, and have repeated practical experience of writing computer programs in order to solve such problems
can evaluate and apply information technology, including new or unfamiliar technologies, analytically to solve problems
are responsible, competent, confident and creative users of information and communication technology

Key Stage 1

Pupils should be taught to:

understand what algorithms are; how they are implemented as programs on digital devices; and that programs execute by following precise and unambiguous instructions
create and debug simple programs
use logical reasoning to predict the behaviour of simple programs
use technology purposefully to create, organise, store, manipulate and retrieve digital content
recognise common uses of information technology beyond school
use technology safely and respectfully, keeping personal information private; identify where to go for help and support when they have concerns about content or contact on the internet or other online technologies.

Key Stage 2

Pupils should be taught to:

design, write and debug programs that accomplish specific goals, including controlling or simulating physical systems; solve problems by decomposing them into smaller parts
use sequence, selection, and repetition in programs; work with variables and various forms of input and output
use logical reasoning to explain how some simple algorithms work and to detect and correct errors in algorithms and programs
understand computer networks including the internet; how they can provide multiple services, such as the world wide web; and the opportunities they offer for communication and collaboration
use search technologies effectively, appreciate how results are selected and ranked, and be discerning in evaluating digital content
select, use and combine a variety of software (including internet services) on a range of digital devices to design and create a range of programs, systems and content that accomplish given goals, including collecting, analysing, evaluating and presenting data and information
use technology safely, respectfully and responsibly; recognise acceptable/unacceptable behaviour; identify a range of ways to report concerns about content and contact.

Progression

Progression in computing is assessed throughout each key stage through the children’s ability to know, apply and understand the matters, skills and processes specified in the curriculum. We assess the children through:

Teacher observation of children at work during weekly computing sessions.
Questioning the children in relation to their programme of study in order to assess their understanding and comprehension.
Assessment of the work produced by the children and discussion of next steps.

For more information about the primary computing curriculum please visit: www.bbc.co.uk/schools/0/computing/28972462