Intent

Computing at Worthington School intends to develop ‘thinkers of the future’ through a modern, ambitious and relevant education in computing. We want to equip pupils to use computational thinking and creativity that will enable them to become active participants in the digital world. It is important to us that the children understand how to use the ever-changing technology to express themselves, as tools for learning and as a means to drive their generation forward into the future.

Whilst ensuring they understand the advantages and disadvantages associated with online experiences, we want children to develop as respectful, responsible and confident users of technology, aware of measures that can be taken to keep themselves and others safe online.

Our aim is to provide a computing curriculum that is designed to balance acquiring a broad and deep knowledge alongside opportunities to apply skills in various digital contexts. Beyond teaching computing discreetly, we will give pupils the opportunity to apply and develop what they have learnt across wider learning in the curriculum.

Implementation

Our scheme of work for Computing is adapted from the ‘Teach Computing’ Curriculum and covers all aspects of the National Curriculum. This scheme was chosen as it has been created by subject experts and based on the latest pedagogical research. It provides an innovative progression framework where computing content (concepts, knowledge, skills and objectives) has been organised into interconnected networks called learning graphs.

The units are based on a spiral curriculum. This means that each of the themes is revisited regularly and pupils revisit each theme through a new unit that consolidates and builds on prior learning within that theme.

The curriculum aims to equip young people with the knowledge, skills and understanding they need to thrive in the digital world of today and the future. The curriculum can be broken down into 3 strands: computer science, information technology and digital literacy, with the aims of the curriculum reflecting this distinction.

The national curriculum for computing aims to ensure all pupils:

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

Impact

Every lesson includes formative assessments opportunities for teachers to use. These may include questioning to marked activities. Each lesson introduces the learning objective and success criteria. Pupils assess at the end of the lesson how well they feel they have met the learning objective.

During the lessons teachers assess a pupil understanding of computing concepts and skills through observational assessment. At the end of each unit, teachers collate the observations across each of the lessons to determine an overall snapshot of a pupil’s understanding of the content from that unit. This information is passed onto the Subject Leader for computing.

Each child has a folder saved on the computer, where their work is saved. Pupils build up a portfolio of their computing work, demonstrating how their skills and their thinking have developed over their years at the school.

Computing Long Term Plan

Cycle A	Autumn Term		Spring Term		Summer Term
EYFS Year 1 / Year 2	Creating media Digital Painting 1	Creating Media Digital Writing 1	Creating Media Digital Photography 2	Creating media Digital Music 2	Computing systems and Networks Technology around us 1	Computing Systems and networks IT around us 2
Year 3 and 4	Creating Media Stop Frame Animation 3	Creating Media Desktop Publishing 3	Creating Media Audio Production 4	Creating Media Photo Editing 4	Computing systems and Networks Connecting computers 3	Computing systems and Networks Networks and the internet 4
Year 5 and 6	Creating Media Video Production 5	Creating Media Intro into vector Graphics 5	Creating Media Web page creation 6	Creating Media 3D Modelling 6	Programming B Sensing movement 6	Computing systems and Networks Communication and Collaboration 6

 

Cycle B	Autumn Term		Spring Term		Summer Term
EYFS / Year 1 / Year 2	Programming A Moving a robot 1	Programming B Programming animation 1	Programming A Robot Algorithms 2	Programming B Programming quizzes 2	Data and information Grouping Data 1	Data and information Pictograms 2
Year 3 and 4	Programming A Sequencing sounds 3	Programming B Events and actions in programs 3	Programming A Repetition in shapes 4	Programming B Repetition in games 4	Data and information Branching databases 3	Data and information Data Logging 4
Year 5 and 6	Programming A Selection in physical computing 5	Programming B Selection in quizzes 5	Programming A Variables in games 6	Computing systems and Networks Sharing Information 5	Data and information Fact file databases 5	Data and information Spreadsheets 6