“Tell me and I forget.  Teach me and I remember.  Involve me and I learn.”

– Benjamin Franklin 

 

Subject Lead: Mr Hunt

Intent

At St Joseph’s, we have designed a broad, balanced and progressive curriculum. We aim to ensure all pupils:

  • know how digital systems work, and how to put this knowledge to use through programming.
  • use computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world.                                                           
  • become digitally literate at a level suitable for the future workplace and as active participants in a digital world.

Computing has deep links with mathematics, science, and design and technology, and provides insights into both natural and artificial systems.

Implementation

At St Joseph’s weekly computing lessons are taught using a scheme called ‘Teach Computing’ and every lesson is supplemented with an e-safety element taken from ‘Project Evolve’. Our Computing lessons focuses on computing systems and networks, creating media, programming and data and information. A clear and comprehensive overview and a progression of skills, in each strand of computing, shows how learning progresses within and across year groups.  Each lesson builds upon prior knowledge and develops new concepts.

Within lessons, children are given opportunities to develop their knowledge and understanding of how to stay safe online at the beginning of a lesson. They actively take part in discussions based around different scenarios and identify practical ways to ensure they are safe online. A review of previous learning is then undertaken to ‘link’ previous and new learning. Following this, children are then introduced to a new computing concept. It provides children with the opportunity to develop why? and why not? questions. The majority of children progress through the lesson at the same pace with individual support given where needed. At the end of the lesson, children have the opportunity review their learning.

Throughout the Computing curriculum children are assessed in a variety of different ways. At St Joseph’s, we use formative assessment which takes place day- to- day within the lesson. This informs future planning.

Impact

When pupils leave St Joseph’s, they will have developed their knowledge and understanding in key end points linked to topics such as computing systems and networks, creating media, programming and data and information.

The majority of pupil will achieve age related expectations in computing and clear progress will be evident in their weekly lessons.

They will have the firm foundations in computing and will be well placed to make good progress in their future education.