The Computing Curriculum at Parochial
'Parochial Cares', our mission is to prepare children for the future by living, learning and growing together in God.
To live life... life in all its fullness (John 10:10)
Computing curriculum handbook available upon request
Vision:
At Parochial, we aim to equip children to use computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world. Our children will learn about the principles of information and computations leading to digital literacy; building foundations to prepare for the future workplace as an active member of the digital world.
Our pupils will be able to apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms and data representation creating responsible, competent, confident and creative users of information and communication technology.
Implementation:
At Parochial we are:
Educating for Wisdom, knowledge and skills in Computing through the development of a clear progression in skills and knowledge which builds upon strong foundations across a range of subjects including Maths, science and DT.
In Key Stage 1, children begin to understand what algorithms are by programming Beebots to follow a set of instructions in order to travel through increasingly complex mazes. Children continue to develop this skill on screen using ‘2Logo’. Children begin to use iPads to create, organise, store manipulate and retrieve digital content through the use of TTRockstars, Sumdog, Reading+ and Class Dojo.
In Key Stage 2, Children continue to develop computing knowledge and skills to understand programming through Purple Mash software. Our KS2 children learn about how the internet works and critically evaluate the opportunities presented for communication and collaboration through Microsoft Teams and dojo. Children will learn how search engines are designed and work including how results are selected and ranked. Children in KS2 also continue to use iPads to create, organise, store manipulate and retrieve digital content through the use of TTRockstars, Sumdog, Reading+ and Class Dojo. This is through the use of our 1:1 iPads in KS2 as part of the Digital Strategy.
Educating for hope and aspiration through Computing by ensuring that a comprehensive computing curriculum experience is provided for our children with up to date technology and software. Our Apple educated staff ensure that the use of technology is interwoven throughout the school day, in all subject areas, to expose children to all the opportunities that technology offers. We are educating our children to actively engage in the future jobs market, taking inspiration from such pioneers as George Dyson and Alan Turing to maintain momentum within technology and educate our future digital scientists.
Educating for community and living well together by taking a robust whole school approach to the teaching of e-safety. Our children participate in ‘safer internet day’ and ‘e-safety week’ which are National events. We also begin each year with an e-safety topic across the school to ensure key messages about using technology safely, respectfully and responsibly are heard. Our children are clear about how to deal with malicious content, are increasingly able to recognise acceptable/ unacceptable behaviour and know a range of ways to report concerns about content and contact.
Educating for dignity and respect by teaching our children how to use communication technology in a dignified way. We explicitly teach our children how to communicate with their peers, school staff and wider world through technology including use of appropriate platforms. Importantly, we teach our children to develop healthy boundaries for themselves and others around social medias and explore the main differences between online and face to face communication.
Impact:
Our comprehensive Computing curriculum equips our children with the skills to engage as digital citizens and the knowledge to make a positive impact in society. Our children leave us ready for the secondary curriculum as they are able to use logical reasoning, problem solve and engage with technology in a safe and creative way. Our children have a secure knowledge about how the World Wide Web works and its impact upon society. They have the tools to tackle complex issues and are ready to further develop their technical understanding of computational thinking.