St Peter's Church of England Primary School

Computing

Our computing subject leader is Mr Eynon.

Learning in computing at St Peter’s follows the expertly developed Purple Mash computing scheme. We are proud of the computing curriculum that we deliver:

Staff training and CPD has been delivered by experts from Purple Mash and Google Education as well as the subject leader
St Peter’s is well resourced to deliver an engaging and effective Computing curriculum, with a fully dedicated Computing Suite and 64 new Chromebook devices.
An after-school Coding Club is offered for those children that would like to further develop their computing skills
Online safety and digital literacy is prioritised throughout the year. This work is bolstered during Online Safety week in February and by visits from online safety education experts from Essex Police Service.

Parent workshops will be delivered in the Summer Term, led by online safety experts the 2 Johns
The computing curriculum taught is a balanced offer of each of the three key computing elements (Computer Science, Digital Literacy and Information Technology)
Our St Peter’s 5 Cs of computing concepts thread through every unit of learning (Code, Connect, Communicate, Collect and Create)
Technology is utilised throughout the wider curriculum to enhance learning retention and to aid access to learning for children with additional needs

Our computing curriculum enables our children to ASPIRE:

A Our computing curriculum is ambitious, achievable and accessible for all – it teaches our learners to aim high and persevere through challenging, progressive and engaging units of work. Teachers help all children to succeed in computing, by employing a carefully planned lesson structure, modern technology, frequent retrieval practice and occasionally a practical and unplugged (away from the computer) approach to computing lessons. Assessments are focus on the key knowledge and skills for each unit of work. We introduce our children to the exciting career prospects that computing can open up for them in the future.

S Our bespoke computing curriculum is carefully sequenced to ensure that children build upon their prior learning. We have adapted a thorough, expertly produced and nationally recognised scheme of work (Purple Mash) to suit the needs of our learners at St Peter’s. Our computing curriculum pathway presents the learning journey for the subject to children visually, and is referred to by teachers frequently so children know how what they are learning, and how this builds on and links to their prior knowledge. Frequently revisiting key concepts enables children to do more with their skills and remember more knowledge of computing.

P Many of our children have a natural interest, intrigue and passion for computing and technology. Our Aspire computing curriculum aims to ensure this is nurtured and developed throughout their time at St Peter’s. Exciting learning topics, up to date hardware and software, enthusiastic leadership and impassioned teaching develops children’s passion for the subject. Children’s curiosity is fostered through the use of frequent questioning and problem solving tasks and challenges, such as those designed to develop computational thinking. Children see the importance and application of computing in the wider world around them.

I Children are encouraged to develop independence in their computing lessons. Our progressive curriculum, ensures that as children progress through the school they receive more opportunities to plan programs, debug and solve their own problems and to investigative efficient uses of technology and code. Many children are so enthusiastic about computing that they develop their passion further independently at home, through the use of programs such as Scratch, Code.org, Lightbot and Purple Mash. Our modern learning environment, that utilises Microsoft Teams, Google Apps for Education and Purple Mash, means the children can be independent and continue to learn more about computing outside of the school day.

R Through our Aspire computing curriculum, children learn about how the internet and technology has had a huge impact upon our modern, global way of life. Computing is a global subject, that has the power to influence and improve people’s lives. In every year group, from Reception to Year 6, children are taught how to use technology safely and responsibly and how to become a respectful digital citizen. This work is bolstered by enrichment opportunities, such as celebrating Safer internet Day annually, communication with parents on the latest online trends and risks and by working with trained safety officers from Essex Police. Staff are highly trained in safeguarding and online safety from experts such as the ‘Two Johns’. Links are also made to other subjects where possible, and computing skills such as effective searching and handling data, are practiced in other areas of the curriculum, for example in history and maths lessons. Importantly, children learn about a diverse range of influential computer scientists, such as Ada Lovelace, Alan Turing, Sir Tim Berners Lee and Katherine Johnson.

E Reading is encouraged and promoted within computing. Children learn about the value of research and learning about the subject through a variety of reading opportunities and tasks. Our children understand that communicating clearly, kindly and appropriately is particularly important when using online tools, such as messaging apps and email. Children communicate their computing learning and progress in a variety of ways: through written or typed explanations, presentations using PowerPoint or Google Slides, leaflets and digital posters.

Parents/Carers, please complete our online safety survey here, your feedback is highly valued:

Our curriculum is clearly sequenced and progressive, enabling children to build on their prior knowledge and skills. Below is the curriculum pathway for computing, which shows the journey a child takes through the subject during their time with us at St Peter's: