Computing Curriculum – Statement of Intent

It is our intent that the Computing curriculum at St Richard’s engages pupils to use their computational thinking and creativity to understand and make a difference to the world. We will strive to link their skills in computing to all areas of the curriculum due to its deep links to other subjects and its importance and prevalence in everyday life. We aim to ensure pupils are digitally literate, allowing them to develop and express their ideas through information and communication technology (ICT) at a level that will allow them to be successful in the future work place and active participants in a digital world.

Teaching of the Computing curriculum will endeavour to encourage pupils to be curious about the world, opening their eyes to life beyond Evesham. We will aim to provide opportunities for pupils to not only be confident, competent and creative users of ICT, but also to be safe, responsible and respectful operators. This will be in line with our core Christian values and curriculum drivers.

In Key Stage 1, our aim is for pupils to understand the fundamental principles of computer science including understanding algorithms and instructions, and creating, debugging and using reasoning to predict the behaviour of simple programs.  Pupils should recognise common uses of ICT beyond St Richard’s and use technology safely and respectfully for a range of purposes.

In Key Stage 2, we strive for pupils to develop their logical reasoning and problem-solving skills through designing, writing and debugging programs. They should be able to understand and use a range of computer networks and search technologies safely, responsibly and respectfully, identifying suitable ways to report concerns about content and contact.

Purpose of Study

A high-quality computing education equips pupils to use computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world. Computing has deep links with mathematics, science, and design and technology, and provides insights into both natural and artificial systems. The core of computing is computer science, in which pupils are taught the principles of information and computation, how digital systems work, and how to put this knowledge to use through programming. Building on this knowledge and understanding, pupils are equipped to use information technology to create programs, systems and a range of content. Computing also ensures that pupils become digitally literate – able to use, and express themselves and develop their ideas through, information and communication technology – at a level suitable for the future workplace and as active participants in a digital world.

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.

Computing lessons at St Richard's

Children have access to laptop computers and iPads that are used to teach children specific computing skills and are used to enhance other curriculum areas. A wide variety of apps are used in maths, art and music.

Please see the E-Safety section for further information on how to keep your child safe on the internet.