Computing

The national curriculum for computing aims 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 and confident

Technology is changing the lives of everyone worldwide and these changes are happening and evolving at an incredible rate. We want to equip children with the computing skills, knowledge and understanding needed to flourish socially, academically and professionally online in the 21st century. We want to prepare children as much as we can for the future so they leave our school with the confidence, creativity and aspirations to want to make a difference in the world whatever they may choose to do.

Computing Implementation

At Hook Junior School, our whole curriculum is shaped by our school vision which aims to create responsible citizens, ensure children have personal fulfilment, be confident and competent within themselves, be individual and ultimately to become lifelong learners. Our core learning values - collaboration, independence, thinking, creativity, reflection and curiosity - are rooted within our computing lessons.

Computing is taught in explicitly as a distinct subject in weekly computing lessons so that children have regular interaction with technology. However, some units of computing are taught in blocked units where it is appropriate to do so and computing is also a tool for learning in other subjects across the curriculum. Technology and computing are embedded throughout the curriculum to ensure it is embedded and linked across all learning. By embedding computing across the curriculum children are able to develop, consolidate and apply their skills in different environments and contexts, utilising all strands of the computing curriculum.

We teach the national curriculum which we have broken down into a clear skills progression document for each year group which identifies the necessary age appropriate skills, knowledge and understanding for each unit. This ensures that all areas of the computing curriculum are covered whilst also ensuring year on year progression to further develop the pupils’ learning and computing ability.

Our computing curriculum is separated into four main strands:

  • Information technology
  • Computing science
  • Digital literacy
  • Online safety

At Hook Junior School, we are committed to safeguarding children, our online safety strand of the computing curriculum is a substantial programme and is continuously taught throughout the year.

To further supplement we utilise Project Evolve to support teaching each aspect of online safety as follows:

  • Self-image and identity
  • Online relationships
  • Online reputation
  • Online bullying
  • Managing online information
  • Health, wellbeing and lifestyle
  • Privacy and security
  • Copyright and ownership

Additional guides and support are sent out to support parents to keep their children safe online at home too.

All computing lessons are focused on a learning target so progression in learning can be easily identified and assessed. Feedback in lessons is in accordance with our feedback for learning and marking policy. Lessons are fun and engaging, linked to topics and contextualised to achieve purposeful outcomes. Children learn from experiences and we provide plenty of planned opportunity for children to use our well-resourced computing equipment to develop their learning.

Assessment for learning is at the heart of our teaching and we continually assess children throughout lessons to identify what they already know, what they can do and build upon that prior learning. By the end of Year 6, our aim is for children have developed a range of skills, knowledge and understanding to express themselves and be creative in the use of digital media. They will also be equipped with problem solving skills and resilience to be able to debug problems independently, to be reflective and evaluative of their end product and be able to identify improvement areas. Children each have class folders on a shared drive that they are able to save their work into. Across all year groups, we aim for children to be confident with their computing abilities and skills to ensure their work is saved accurately, in the correct folders.

Computing – how we measure impact

The implementation of our computing curriculum ensures that children leave Hook Junior School as competent and safe users of ICT and have a solid understanding of how technology can be used to suit a range of purposes.

The teaching and learning of the computing curriculum is driven through the Computing school strategic plan and under constant review by the Computing Leader through books, saved work within the class folders and planning monitoring, learning observations, end of term pupil data analysis and pupil conferencing. The Computing Leader delivers staff training and feedback to team leaders and teachers to support with improvements in subject knowledge, teaching and learning.