Intent
At Wouldham, our aim is to provide a high-quality computing education which equips children to use computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world. We believe computing is a crucial part of children’s learning, as technology is now essential to navigating our present world and innovating for the future.
We use Kapow as our main resource for the teaching of computing lessons. Kapow is a comprehensive and progressive scheme of work. It provides full National Curriculum coverage for computing, with detailed lesson plans that develop skills and knowledge with a wide range of topics for KS1 and KS2. Kapow provides in-depth lesson plans, teaching resources, informative links, descriptive videos and engaging independent tasks in relation to lesson objectives. Across a range of units, children master content related to computer science, such as writing algorithms, using logical reasoning to explain how algorithms work and debugging algorithms that do not meet the intended purpose. Children also learn content related to information technology such as how to use search technologies effectively, how to navigate information online and how to collect, evaluate and present data and information. Within digital literacy learning, we ensure that children are equipped with the tools to stay safe online.
We place a strong emphasis on e-safety through yearly online safety units, regular retrieval of online safety knowledge in lessons, regular worships and communication with parents and carers at home and celebrating Safer Internet Day each February. The Curriculum teaches children the knowledge, understanding and skills they need to balance the advantages offered by technology with a critical awareness of their own and other’s online behaviour. We equip every child with effective strategies for staying safe and making a positive contribution online.
Implementation
The Kapow scheme of work is designed around the three strands referenced in the National Curriculum: computer science, information technology and digital literacy.
Throughout KS1 and KS2, children revisit knowledge and skills in five key areas linked to these three strands: computer systems and networks; programming; creating media; data handling and online safety. The cyclical route through the curriculum ensures that prior knowledge and skills are revisited to ensure retention in long-term memory and built upon to develop increasingly sophisticated understanding.
Computing is taught weekly with children accessing a range of devices such as Bee-Bots, tablets or Google Chrome Books. Computing lessons at Wouldham incorporate the following elements: retrieval practice; explicit teaching of new vocabulary; teacher modelling and questioning and a range of generative learning tasks – some independent and some undertaken in partnerships. Knowledge organisers for each unit support children to build a foundation of factual knowledge by encouraging recall of key facts and vocabulary.
Each unit of learning includes teacher videos to develop excellent subject knowledge and support teachers’ ongoing professional development. All teachers at Wouldham are supported to have strong subject knowledge across the computing curriculum and to know how new learning builds on prior understanding and towards future knowledge and skills.
Impact
Teachers continually evaluate children’s learning through both formative and summative assessment opportunities. In each lesson, teachers ensure children are assessed against the learning objectives and planning is responsive to gaps and misconceptions. Each unit has a unit quiz to assess the retention of new knowledge and vocabulary.
The impact of our computing curriculum can clearly be seen in projects that children create. Programs that children write code for are saved digitally and accessed by teachers to ensure achievement of learning objectives. Children have the opportunity to self-assess the content they have created, as well as peer-assess. In each year group, children use previously learned skills and apply them to new software and coding programs. It is our ambition for every pupil to leave Year 6 computer literate and able to embrace changes in technology that arise in wider society as well as being digitally safe online.
The children at Wouldham will:
- Understand the importance that computing will have going forward in both their educational and working life and in their social and personal futures.
- Understand how to balance time spent on technology and time spent away from it in a healthy and appropriate manner.
- Understand that technology helps to showcase their ideas and creativity. They will know that different types of software and hardware can help them achieve a broad variety of artistic and practical aims.
- Be able to use technology both individually and as part of a collaborative team.
- Be critical thinkers and able to understand how to make informed and appropriate digital choices in the future.
- Be aware of online safety issues and protocols and be able to deal with any problems in a responsible and appropriate manner.