Computing
Computing Lead
Daniel Pitts
The purpose of study and rationale for Computing at Holden Clough
A high-quality computing education equips pupils with the ability to use computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world. At Holden Clough our school motto is ‘a family of independent learners that reach for the stars’ and the computing content we deliver enables children to become just that, by being digitally literate – able to use and express themselves and develop their ideas through information and communication technology so each child can be active participants in the ever-developing digital world.
This rationale supports the school’s vision that children that attend the school as well as its staff become independent users of digital technology, doing so safely, respectfully and responsibly and recognise acceptable/unacceptable behaviour and can identify a range of ways to report concerns about content and contact. We fully believe that children need exposure to such information and teaching guidance as they will navigate many social media platforms, games and electronic technologies in their lifetimes.
An outline of the computing coverage at Holden Clough:
Aims
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, confident and creative users of information and communication technology
Key Stage One
Pupils are 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
- 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 or other online technologies
Key Stage Two
Pupils are 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 worldwide 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
Our Computing Curriculum Implementation
Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2
Our pupils will learn via the Junior Jam scheme of work, which is delivered by expereinced teaching specialists to all year groups. In addition to this, children will engage with some of the objectives in the computing curriculum through exposure to the school's Dimensions Curriculum. The Dimensions Curriculum scheme of work is topic based and is used from Years 1 - 6 to ensure a wide exposure to different elements of computing, with lots of practical opportunities to explore and develop computing skills through cross-curricular links.
