Computing at Sutton Bonington

Curriculum Intent

At Sutton Bonington Primary School, we recognise the increasing use of digital technology in everyday life at home, school and in the wider world. We acknowledge that Computing will play a huge part in future generation’s lives and we therefore want our children to become digitally literate and become independent users of digital technologies. In order to achieve this, our aim is to prepare our children with the skills and knowledge required to access the three core areas of Computing: Computer Science, Information Technology and Digital Literacy. At Sutton Bonington, we also want our children to develop their creativity, resilience and problem-solving skills through Computing lessons. We want to ensure that the use of technology supports learning across the entire curriculum and is accessible to every child. Because of this, we follow the National Curriculum for Computing (2014), which will teach children key knowledge about how computers and computer systems work and how they are programmed. 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.

In order to follow the curriculum, our aims are to:

• Use technology safely, responsibly and respectfully to interact with others.
• Deepen an understanding of the use of digital technology in the wider world and understand how it can support us in future careers.
• Be able to communicate ideas effectively, across the curriculum, through the use of devices and applications, e.g. through presenting data and information.
• Develop the ability to use information technology effectively, e.g. through collecting, organising, manipulating and analysing to solve problems.
• Become computational thinkers, including coding for different purposes and using skills and knowledge in other areas of the curriculum.

Curriculum Implementation

At Sutton Bonington Primary School, we follow the iLearn2 scheme of work. This involves three key aspects:

• Computer Science – this covers programming (both block-based and text-based), including computational thinking using web-based software such as Scratch. Pupils across Key Stage 1 and 2 will write code to program physical and on-screen objects, interactive games and use text-based language, such as HTML and Python by the end of Key Stage 2.
• Information Technology – this covers the use of applications to create digital content, including document creation and editing, video making, digital art, graphic design, animation, 3D modelling and website building. 
• Digital Literacy – covers skills to find, evaluate, utilise and share using technologies and the Internet. This includes important e-safety and internet research skills, as well as an understanding of computer networks in Key Stage 2. 

Our curriculum recognises that Computing can be taught both as a discrete subject as well as within our wider curriculum, e.g. Science, Geography, Art, English and Maths. Our school has a bank of iPads to support the learning of Computing, both discrete and cross-curricular, which contain varied programmes that can be used to meet the three core areas, for example Scratch Jr/Scratch, Numbers, Keynote, Our Story 2 and Pages. We also have interactive whiteboards in every classroom to aid and enhance learning.

At Sutton Bonington, we teach online safety as an explicit part of our computing curriculum but also through the ‘Media Literacy and Digital Resilience’ section of our PSHE lessons, such as: keeping personal information private, what to do if something makes us feel uncomfortable online and trusting people and sources online. We also take part in ‘Internet Safety Day’ every year, where each class usually has a book to look at or an area of online safety to focus on.

Curriculum Impact

By the end of KS2, children will leave with a breadth of knowledge, skills and understanding, in the three core areas (computer science, information technology and digital literacy), to help them use a range of technology in a safe, responsible and respectful way, which that will support them moving on to KS3 and within their everyday lives. Children will have developed their computational thinking and creativity to help them understand and flourish in an ever-changing world. Our children will enjoy using technology to develop their knowledge and skills but also express themselves and their ideas, safely, using different programmes and systems. The success of the computing curriculum is monitored through pupil voice sessions, resource audits and observations, which will inform future adaptations. Staff are supported through CPD, including training on how to use iPads, the Apple Teacher training and how to use OneDrive to collect evidence.