Intent
At St Joseph’s we believe that children should aim to master computing skills in preparation for the increasingly digital world. We aim for our children to not only learn core computing skills but also to use technology in a way which develops their creative and logic skills. To ensure this, we have adopted a curriculum which offers a broad curriculum, covering computer science, information technology and digital literacy. While we aim to present technology in a positive light, we recognise that for children to navigate the digital world safely, a strong grounding in online safety is vital.
Throughout their school life, we aim for children to become fluent in a range of tools which can be used and adapted to enhance other areas of the curriculum, including, but not limited to, exploration, recording, research and presentation skills.
We recognise that a creative use of computing skills can aide and support learners by presenting their ideas and knowledge in different ways, offering a variety of methods to explore a theme, as well as focused apps for developing key skills, such as reading, spelling and times tables.
Implementation
We have chosen a curriculum which we feel provides comprehensive coverage of curriculum skills as well as supporting teacher ’s own continued computing development. The curriculum is taught as skills in standalone lessons with the expectation that these skills will be applied in other topic areas. Our curriculum works on a two year rolling programme to ensure that all objectives are covered in mixed year group classes.
Impact
We want our children to recognise the value of computing and role of technology in their life: how it can aide their learning, enhance their experiences and develop their computational thinking skills.
We ensure that children understand that technology is one aspect of their life and that balance is needed. We do this by asking whether technology is the best way we could achieve something. Children should know that there can be a range of ways to present their work and have the necessary technological skills to select and use the method which best suits their requirements or creates their desired effect.
To monitor the impact, we use assessment and questioning throughout lessons, use built in assesment tasks and look for evidence from digitally recorded work.