COMPUTING

Core Values:

At Havannah we want our children to love computing.

We want to show pupils the links between knowledge, skills and real life employment opportunities, for them to have no limits to what their ambitions are.

We want our children to grow up having the option to be software engineers, video game designers, web developers or IT consultants.

We want them to embody our core values and encourage them to dream big!

We have recently had a computing ‘overhaul’ to ensure that our computing curriculum has been carefully crafted so that our children develop their digital literacy.

We have made it our aim to ensure that children experience engaging, memorable computing lessons in school.

We want our children to leave Havannah with cherished memories and the ability to embrace the opportunities they are presented with in relation to computing and IT.

Intent:

We want pupils to be masters of technology and not slaves to it. Technology is everywhere and will play a pivotal part in students' lives,. Therefore, we want to model and educate our pupils on how to use technology positively, responsibly and safely.

We want our pupils to be creators not consumers and our broad curriculum encompassing computer science, information technology and digital literacy reflects this. 

We want our pupils to understand that there is always a choice with using technology and as a school we utilise technology (especially social media) to model positive use. We recognise that the best prevention for a lot of issues we currently see with technology/social media is through education.

We recognise that technology can allow pupils to share their learning in creative ways. We also understand the accessibility opportunities technology can provide for our pupils. Our knowledge rich curriculum has to be balanced with the opportunity for pupils to apply their knowledge creatively which will in turn help our pupils become skilful computer scientists.

We encourage staff to try and embed computing across the whole curriculum to make learning creative and accessible. We want our pupils to be fluent with a range of tools to best express their understanding and hope by Upper Key Stage 2, children have the independence and confidence to choose the best tool to fulfil the task and challenge set by teachers.

Implementation:

We have created a comprehensive progression document for staff to follow to best embed and cover every element of the computing curriculum. The knowledge/skills statements build year on year to deepen and challenge our learners.

Information Technology

Word Processing / Typing, Data Handling, Presentations, Web design and eBook , Animation, Video Creation, Photography and Digital Art, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, Sound

Computer Science

Computational Thinking, Programming, Computer Networks      

Digital Literacy

Self Image and Identity, Online Relationships, Online Reputation, Online Bullying, Managing Online Information, Health, Wellbeing and Lifestyle, Privacy and Security, Copyright and Ownership

The majority of computing will be embedded across the curriculum. There is a timetabled Computing session each week to focus on one of two elements: An Explicit Computer Science lesson or A ‘Tinkering’ Session.

The computer science part of the computing curriculum will often, but not always, need a more explicit approach. A tinkering session looks at introducing a new app or tool and giving children opportunity to experiment and familiarise themselves with the different elements and tools before it can be applied in a more focused approach across the curriculum.

Impact:

We encourage our children to enjoy and value the curriculum we deliver. We will constantly ask the WHY behind their learning and not just the HOW.

We want learners to discuss, reflect and appreciate the impact computing has on their learning, development and well being. Finding the right balance with technology is key to an effective education and a healthy life-style. We feel the way we implement computing helps children realise the need for the right balance and one they can continue to build on in their next stage of education and beyond.

We encourage regular discussions between staff and pupils to best embed and understand this. The way pupils showcase, share, celebrate and publish their work will best show the impact of our curriculum. We also look for evidence through reviewing pupil’s knowledge and skills digitally and observing learning regularly.

Progress of our computing curriculum is demonstrated through outcomes and the record of coverage in the process of achieving these outcomes.

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