Computing

WELCOME TO THE COMPUTING PAGE

Mr Greaves - Subject Leader

The intent of the curriculum at St. Bede’s Catholic Junior School is to ensure children are able to function competently, safely and creatively in all areas of technology. We intend, as practitioners, to be well-equipped to support our pupils during their time at St. Bede’s with a quality curriculum that is both challenging, interesting and relevant to the world around them ensuring progression throughout.

The school utilises the MGL World scheme of work and the planning is adapted for the needs of our pupils. To implement our work in E Safety, we have adopted the eAware Safety scheme and these lessons are taught regularly throughout the year.

In Computing, we implement teaching and learning using a variety of whole class, individual and group work, direct teaching, pupil investigation and skills practice. Staff deliver the curriculum along with a specialist teacher from MGL World (a Liverpool-based computing educational specialist company) but are also encouraged to find opportunities for children to apply their computational understanding across the curriculum. To ensure implementation of the curriculum, all classes have access to a large set of iPads or laptops, and teachers can request additional time when cross-curricular links present themselves. They are also able to loan equipment from MGL if required such as BeeBots, Spheros or even drones. Teachers identify links with other areas of the curriculum wherever possible so that previously gained skills can be reinforced and applied in new contexts, as well as supporting learning in other areas.

The teaching and learning of Computing at St. Bede’s Catholic Junior School ensures children make progress in-line with or better than national expectations. We strive to ensure that children are given opportunities to achieve the greater depth standard whilst appropriately supporting those pupils working towards the expected standard. We also hope that the impact of engaging, challenging, relevant and stimulating Computing experiences will develop a life-long love of technology and the immense possibilities it will hold in the future of our pupils’ lives.

If you have any questions about Computing at St. Bede's, please email [email protected]

Below, I have attached some great links to use at home with your children. Please also refer our E Safety page for reminders and news on how to stay safe (click HERE).  Additionally, I have detailed the intentions of Computing at school below, how we implement our intentions and the impacts this will have on our pupils.

Thank you for visiting the Computing Curriculum Page!

Coding fun!              BBC Bitesize          E Safety Games           Typing       

INTENT STATEMENT FOR COMPUTING

The intent of the curriculum at St. Bede’s Catholic Junior School is to ensure children are able to function competently, safely and creatively in all areas of technology. We intend, as practitioners, to be well-equipped to support our pupils during their time at St. Bede’s with a quality curriculum that is challenging, interesting and relevant to the world around them ensuring progression throughout.

To enable our pupils to experience, enjoy and learn from new technology at St. Bede’s Catholic Junior School, our intentions are:

• To present computing as a creative and fascinating process in which children are encouraged to use their own initiative, imagination, reasoning, investigative skills and independent learning;

• That children appreciate the relevance of computing in our society and regard it as an essential tool for learning, communication, finding information and for controlling and understanding their environment;

• That children receive equal opportunity to develop their computational capability, with the use of computing being planned for in line with its status as a core National Curriculum subject;

• We intend that children learn to work individually and collaboratively and that they are aware of the need for safety when using the Internet;

• Our intention is that children can understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms and data representation;

• We intend for children to analyse problems in computational terms, and apply their digital literacy skills in a range of technology-based activities.

IMPLEMENTATION AND PLANNING

Computing at St. Bede’s Catholic Junior School has been divided into three areas: Computer Science, Information Technology and Digital Literacy (which includes  E Safety).  The aims and intentions of the Programmes of Study, issued by the Department of Education, have been categorised into these three main areas, applicable to Key Stage 2.

The school utilises a fantastic resource to implement our teaching and learning intentions from MGL World’s online scheme of work. To implement our work in E Safety, we have adopted the eAware Safety scheme. These resources are shared on the Teacher Share in Year Group Planning Folders.

In Computing and Information and Communication Technology, as with all subjects, we implement teaching and learning using a variety of whole class, individual and group work, direct teaching, pupil investigation and skills practice. Staff confidence and expertise in the understanding and implementation of the curriculum has been developed by employing a specialist teacher from MGL World (a Liverpool-based computing educational specialist company). Staff consult regularly with the specialist teacher to develop the teaching and learning intentions along with the most effective implementation methods for each term, alongside the Computing Subject Adviser. Termly assessments of pupils taught are made and progression monitored.

To ensure implementation of the curriculum, all classes are timetabled in the ICT Suite, and teachers can request additional time when cross-curricular links present themselves.  Teachers identify links with other areas of the curriculum wherever possible so that previously gained skills can be reinforced and applied in new contexts, as well as supporting learning in other areas. ICT times are listed on the weekly planning document.

In addition to the PCs in the ICT Suite, there is a PC in each classroom and each teacher has a laptop.  All of these machines are linked to the school network. We also have 60 i-Pads to further enhance learning opportunities and implementation of the curriculum objectives in a variety of different settings.  

SKILLS PROGRESSION IN DIGITAL LITERACY

At St. Bede’s Catholic Junior School, we have adopted MGL World's scheme of work. For the purposes of the scheme of work, Digital Literacy is broken down into two areas: Digital Creativity and Digital Citizenship & Technology (E Safety).  This ensures that we cover what is a vast subject area and offer a balanced curriculum to our children.   This is demonstrated in the diagram below. This time, instead of linking to the programme of study, we have given examples of skills children will develop in covering these topics.  We hope this will allow teachers to make the link between the programme of study and the scheme of work.

LONG TERM PLANNING

Teachers use MGL World's online scheme of work and support resources to plan their Computing and ICT activities in-line with the long term plan which maps progression of skills alongside a Progression Document. Medium term plans for each term detail what will be taught each week and teachers are free to annotate the scheme where necessary to support the delivery of each session.  If cross-curricular work is planned, this is indicated on teachers’ weekly plans as appropriate.  Also, it is important to recognise that some aspects of traditional ICT are still required to be taught discretely and should not be forgotten; in KS2, children should be taught to: “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”.

An overview of the long term planning is attached as a PDF.

IMPACT STATEMENT

We intend that the impact of the teaching and learning of ICT and Computing at St. Bede’s Catholic Junior School ensures children make progress and attain in-line with or better than national expectations. We strive to ensure that children are given opportunities to achieve the greater depth standard whilst appropriately supporting those pupils working towards the expected standard.

We also hope that the impact of engaging, challenging, relevant and stimulating Computing experiences will develop a life-long love of technology and the immense possibilities it will hold in the future of our pupils’ lives.

“The Web as I envisaged it, we have not seen it yet.

The future is still so much bigger than the past.”

Tim Berners-Lee, Inventor of the World Wide Web.

NAACE Quality Mark

This year, St Bede's were proud to have been re-awarded the NAACE Quality Mark. The school was praised in particular for its vision of embedding future technologies and for delivering a creative and innovative curriculum. When discussing our Online Safety work, pupils were, " clear about the risks of unwanted contact through social media" and, "spoke knowledgeably about misinformation, disinformation, hacking and phishing."

Computing is certainly a subject which will continue to grow and stimulate the minds of children over the coming years.

Files to Download