Vision

At New Haw Community School, we recognise that technology is developing rapidly; it impacts almost every aspect of our children’s lives and is likely to increasingly do so.  For this reason, our aim is for pupils at New Haw to become confident, creative and independent learners and users of technology.  These skills will be transferable, regardless of the hardware, software or programmes used, allowing them to thrive in our digital world.  Pupils at New Haw will become digitally literate; they will know and understand how to be safe and respectful online, as well as be aware of the potential risks.  They will know how to stay safe and know where, when and how to seek help.  They will be discerning in evaluating digital content and know how to make a positive impact on the online world.

Curriculum design

Curriculum Map - Computing

Curriculum map - Online safety

(PSHE/ RSE coverage in italic)

Rationale

The computing curriculum can be divided into three inter-related strands: computer science, information technology and digital literacy.  All three are securely embedded within the school’s computing curriculum, with links being made to other curriculum areas, wherever possible.  Our computing curriculum has been constructed as a spiral curriculum; this approach reduces the amount of information lost through forgetting and ensures stronger connections are made for both pupils and teachers.

Careful consideration has been given to ensuring that the computing curriculum is sequenced so that it builds on the learning from previous lessons, units and year groups; where appropriate, activities are scaffolded so that all pupils can succeed and thrive. Exploratory tasks foster a deeper understanding of each concept, encouraging pupils to apply their learning in different contexts and make connections with other learning experiences.

Strand 1: Computer Science

In Year 3, children begin their computer science journey through the use of physical and hands-on hardware, learning and embedding the foundations of programming - in particular, sequencing and algorithms.  In Years 4 and 5 they develop this further with more complex skills and knowledge of selection and variables, using screen-based programming software.   Year 6 lessons enable pupils to apply the skills and knowledge they have acquired during their time at New Haw across a variety of devices, setting them up for success in secondary school and beyond.

Computational thinking (decomposition, pattern recognition, abstraction and algorithms) sits at the heart of all computer science lessons, across all year groups.  Pupils are taught how to take complex problems and find solutions.  Such techniques are applicable across all areas of the curriculum, not just computing.

Strand 2: Information Technology

Information technology can be subdivided into the following areas:

• Media
• Networks and systems
• Data and information

At New Haw, pupils are exposed to a range of units which develop in terms of complexity year on year.  Although discrete IT units are taught within the computing curriculum, IT is also embedded across all curriculum areas, using a range of hardware and software - from Google Drive and iPad apps to cameras and data loggers; from basic formatting using Google Docs in lower school (Years 3 and 4) to collaborative tasks and presenting learning using Google Slides in upper school (Years 5 and 6).

The school’s computing curriculum allows for pupils to experience a wide range of IT activities, such as word processing, creating images, taking and using photographs and video, creating music and animations, using and creating databases, producing websites and contributing to vlogs. Some IT themes are revisited in later years, allowing the children the opportunity to consolidate and build upon their prior learning.  For example, in Year 3, children use iPads to take and subsequently use photographs; in Year 4 they then incorporate these into film, before going on to learn how to edit their digital content in Years 5 and 6. 

Strand 3: Digital literacy

Digital literacy is threaded throughout the computing curriculum and encompasses the following main themes:

• Use of devices and applications
• Handling and storing data and information
• Design, creation, and editing content
• Communication using technology
• Moral and ethical behaviour relating to technology
• Online safety.

Of these, online safety is the only theme which is taught discretely. This is to ensure the children learn how to become responsible, competent, confident and creative users of technology.  Strong emphasis is placed on the children taking individual responsibility for their own online behaviour and recognising the impact that a person’s online behaviour can have on others.  One online safety lesson is taught explicitly at the beginning of each half term, with a set theme similar across all year groups. A follow up task is set as a home-learning to consolidate this further and shared with parents via our social media and newsletter.

Online safety is also a focus of the school’s PSHE and RSE curriculum.  Online safety is additionally taught and discussed on an as-and-when needed basis, responding to events, be they national, local or personal. School continually responds to data regarding pupils and their online behaviours; from September 2021, for example, a separate online recording category has been added to CPOMS so that online incidents can be monitored more closely.