Heathcote Primary School - Computing Curriculum Intent.
Aims:
At Heathcote Primary School, we believe that every child should have the right to a curriculum that champions excellence; supporting pupils in achieving to the very best of their abilities. We understand the immense value technology plays not only in supporting the Computing and whole school curriculum but overall in the day-to-day life of our school.
We believe that technology can provide: enhanced collaborative learning opportunities; better engagement of pupils; easier access to rich content; support conceptual understanding of new concepts and can support the needs of all our pupils.
Our aims:
- Provide an exciting, rich, relevant and challenging Computing curriculum for all pupils.
- Enthuse and equip children with the capability to use technology throughout their lives.
- Give children access to a variety of high quality hardware, software and unplugged resources.
- Instil critical thinking, reflective learning and a ‘can do’ attitude for all our pupils, particularly when engaging with technology and its associated resources.
- Teach pupils to become responsible, respectful and competent users of data, information and communication technology.
- Teach pupils to understand the importance of governance and legislation regarding how information is used, stored, created, retrieved, shared and manipulated.
- Equip pupils with skills, strategies and knowledge that will enable them to reap the benefits of the online world, whilst being able to minimise risk to themselves or others.
- Use technology imaginatively and creatively to inspire and engage all pupils, as well as using it to be more efficient in the tasks associated with running an effective school.
- Provide technology solutions for forging better home and school links.
- Utilise computational thinking beyond the Computing curriculum.
- Exceed the minimum government recommended/statutory guidance for programmes of study for Computing and other related legislative guidance (online safety).
Safeguarding: Online safety:
Online safety has a high profile at Heathcote Primary School for all stakeholders. We ensure this profile is maintained and that pupil needs are met by the following:
- A relevant up-to-date online safety curriculum which is progressive from Early Years to the end of Year 6.
- A curriculum that is threaded throughout other curriculums and embedded in the day-to-day lives of our pupils.
- Training for staff and governors which is relevant to their needs and ultimately positively impacts on the pupils.
- Scheduled pupil voice sessions and learning walks steer changes and inform training needs.
- Through our home/school links and communication channels, parents are kept up to date with relevant online safety matters, policies and agreements. They know who to contact at school if they have concerns.
- Pupils, staff and parents have Acceptable Use Policies which are signed and copies freely available.
- Our online safety policy (part of our safeguarding policy) clearly states how monitoring of online safety is undertaken and any incidents/infringements to it are dealt with.
- Filtering and monitoring systems for all our online access.
- Data policies which stipulate how we keep confidential information secure.
Curriculum
As a school, we have chosen the Purple Mash Computing Scheme of Work from Reception to Year 6. The scheme of work supports our teachers in delivering fun and engaging lessons which help to raise standards and allow all pupils to achieve to their full potential. We are confident that the scheme of work more than adequately meets the national vision for Computing. It provides immense flexibility, strong cross-curricular links and integrates perfectly with the 2Simple Computing Assessment Tool. Furthermore, it gives excellent supporting material for less confident teachers.
