Computing

At St Barnabas and St Helena's Federation, our aim is to provide a high-quality and comprehensive computing education which unlocks the potential of every child.  Over time, our computing curriculum equips our pupils to work in unity, to use computational thinking and creativity, supporting them to understand how this learning helps them to flourish and live safely in a digital world.  The experiences offered leads pupils  to consider how they use computing skills and knowledge to solve real-life problems, seeking positive change in the world.

Computing is not just about learning how to use technology; it's about developing the critical thinking, problem-solving, and creative skills needed to flourish in a rapidly evolving digital world, where our pupils are developed for the future workplace and as active participants in an ever-evolving digital world.

Our Computing Curriculum has been designed and mapped out to provide children with opportunities to understand and apply computing theory.  Our computing curriculum is carefully mapped against the requirements of the National Curriculum in phases which run over a two-year cycle (KS1) and a four-year cycle (KS2). We use the ‘Teach Computing’ scheme provided by the National Centre of Computing Education (NCCE) which is a government funded initiative. This progressively maps out 5 key areas which cover all statutory attainment targets in the National Curriculum.

Our pupils are taught the key knowledge about how computers and computer systems work, how they are designed, and how they are programmed. They will have the opportunity to gain an understanding of computational systems of all kinds, whether they include computers or not.

Our teaching throughout the year groups is progressive and by the time the children leave they will have gained key knowledge and skills in the three main areas of the computing curriculum:

• computer science (programming and understanding how digital systems work)
• information technology (using computer systems to store, retrieve and send information)
• digital literacy (evaluating digital content and using technology safely and respectfully).

Each Computing lesson has a skills-based learning objective with focussed computing vocabulary. Skills and knowledge are taught through a wide range of unplugged (no device needed) and plugged (use of hardware/software) activities. The objectives within each strand support the development of learning across the key stages, ensuring a solid grounding for future learning in key stage 3 and beyond.

We make links with other subjects of the National Curriculum, where appropriate e.g. Maths, Science and Design and Technology, to strengthen and enhance children’s learning using skills and knowledge acquired in computing lessons.