Computing

At St Joseph’s we want pupils to be MASTERS of technology - not slaves to it. We want to remove the barriers to technological careers that our children face! 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.Building our knowledge in this subject will allow pupils to effectively demonstrate their learning through creative use of technology.

The Computing curriculum atSJPS aims to equip our children with a foundation of skills, knowledge and understanding of computing that they will need for the rest of their lives. Through a variety of learning experiences from both Teachers and experts from the Computing field, they learn how computers and computer systems work, they design and build programs and machines, develop their ideas using technology and create a range of content. Through this the children develop a knowledge of computing language and how this impacts on society equipping them with the tools to be good digital citizens. We offer a structured sequence of lessons, helping teachers to ensure that they have covered the skills required to meet the aims of the national curriculum. The content allows for a broad, deep understanding of computing and how it links to children's lives.It offers a range of opportunities for consolidation, challenge and variety. This allows children to apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science.They develop analytical problem-solving skills and learn to evaluate and apply information technology. It also enables them to become responsible, competent, confident and creative users of information technology. This progression map supports computing subject leaders in readiness for an Ofsted ‘deep dive’.

At St Joseph’s we have created a comprehensiveprogression document for staff to use to best embed and cover every element of the computingcurriculum. The knowledge/skills statements build year on year to deepen and challenge our learners.

Each lessoncontains revision, analysis and problem-solving. Through the sequence oflessons, we intend to inspire pupils to develop a love of the digital world, see its place in their future and give teachers confidence. Cross-curricular links are also important in supporting other areas of learning and this is reflected in the links made with our Commando Joe’s curriculum. Our lesson plans and resources help children to build on prior knowledge at the same time as introducing new skills and challenges.In KS1, the focus is on developing the use of algorithms, programming and how technology canbe used safely and purposefully. In KS2, lessons still focus on algorithms, programming and coding but in a more complex way and for different purposes.Children also develop their knowledge of computer networks,internet services and the safe and purposeful use of the internet and technology. Data Handling is featured more heavily in UKS2. Skills learnt through KS1 and LKS2 are used to support data presentation. Adult guides, support and training are offeredenabling staff to feel confident inthe progression of skills and knowledge and that outcomes have been met.An example of keywords/vocabulary has beenincluded, showing the progression of specificlanguage involved in children’s learning so that teachers can also assessunderstanding and progress through vocabulary. We suggest a specific sequence of lessons for each year group, offering structure and narrative. These are not to be used exclusively but support teachers' planning. Teachers are encouraged to adapt and enhance the structure using other recognised Computing educational providers such as NCCE, Barefoot andCAS.

To support implementation, we have 45 laptops, 10notebooks that can be used for remote learning, shared class sets of iPads for EYFS, KS1, Lower KS2 and upper KS2 and each to ensure that all year groups have the opportunity to use a range of devices and programs for many purposes across the wider curriculum, as well as in discrete computing lessons. The computing curriculum is also enhanced by local resources and loan equipment fromNorth Tyneside’s Computing team along with our comprehensive Lego equipment funded by SAGE group.

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Our design and implementation of the Computing curriculum will result in a fun, engaging, and high- quality computing education which is enjoyed by all children. The quality of children’s learning will be evident in our digital portfolio on Seesaw and in the progression of skills documented on Insight - our assessment tool.

Using Seesaw will enable pupils to share and evaluate their own work with confidence, as well as that of their peers. Evidence such as this will be used to feed into teachers’ future planning, and as a cross-curricular approach continues to develop, teachers will be able to revisit misconceptions and knowledge gaps in Information Technology, Computer Science and Digital Literacy when teaching other curriculum areas. This supports varied paces of learning and will ensure all pupils make good progress.

Teachers will have high expectations and quality evidence will be presented in a variety of forms. Children will use digital and technological vocabulary accurately, alongside a progression in their technical skills. They will be confident using a range of hardware and software and will produce high- quality purposeful products. Children will see the digital world as part of their world, extending beyond school, and understand that they have choices to make. They will be confident and respectful digital citizens going on to lead happy and healthy digital lives.

Every child will leave our school with mouse control, typing skills, keyboard shortcut awareness and file management. We have subject specialist staff who are passionate and confident in teaching computing and instil independence and growth mind-set into our children. Much of the subject- specific knowledge developed in our computing lessons equip pupils with experiences, which will benefit them in secondary school, further education and future workplaces. From research methods, use of presentation and creative tools and critical thinking, computing at St Joseph’s gives children the building blocks that enable them to pursue a wide range of interests and vocations in the next stage of their lives.

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