Computing Curriculum Vision

‘If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow.’ – John Dewey (philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer)

‘A high-quality computing education equips pupils to use computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world.’ (NC 2014)

Purpose and Intent

At Radipole Primary School, we want to prepare children so they can stay safe and thrive in an exciting technological future. We want children to feel secure and confident in using a range of programs, and we want to inspire children through the learning that they experience in computing lessons. Our computing curriculum aims to develop the skills, knowledge and understanding that children will need to flourish in an increasingly digital-based world. We want to equip children with solid foundations in the subject so that they can behave creatively and responsibly in the digital and online worlds. 

Implementation and Realisation

At Radipole, Children use the Purple Mash scheme of work, as well as other programs such as Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The Purple Mash scheme ensures that knowledge and skills are built on progressively term on term and year on year. As children progress through the school, they build on the work of previous years, deepening their skills in areas such as coding and databases. The scheme encourages children to explore their creativity in computing, which is essential to them becoming digitally-literate citizens. To facilitate this, tasks are designed to give children the scope to investigate solutions for themselves, and children are given opportunities to make choices as to how they present their own work in a variety of programs.

Online safety is an essential component of the Purple Mash scheme. Children explore the concept of a ‘digital footprint’, and they learn what personal information should be kept private and confidential. Children learn how to report negative behaviour online, creating a positive and safe digital space for all to learn and thrive in. The scheme confronts children with the concepts of ‘fake news’ and ‘fake images’, inviting children to think critically about the reliability of the information they find online.

As well as this, children explore how to exploit the huge potential of the online world, including how to search effectively and how to write successful emails.

In addition to discrete lessons, computing is embedded into our design & technology and art curriculums. In art, painting apps are used to create original works and pieces of art in the style of famous artists. As well as this, children take and manipulate photographs on iPads, which are then further enhanced in a painting app. In Design & Technology, children are beginning to explore how technology can play a vital role in the design process, including the design of product packaging and structures. The exciting marriage of coding and design is explored through the use of CrumbleBots, with children creating cars with flashing lights, and a model of a room with a doorbell system or automatic lights.

At Radipole, teachers are supported to ensure that they have good subject knowledge. Staff meetings and training sessions focus on key skills that teachers need in order to deliver the computing curriculum with confidence.

Impact and Evaluation

By the end of their time at Radipole, our children will be confident users of technology and be able to use it to accomplish a wide range of goals. They will have a secure and comprehensive knowledge of the implications of technology and digital systems and be on the path to becoming safe and socially-responsible digital citizens. Children will be able to communicate effectively using a range of technologies and will develop resilience in solving problems, whilst thinking logically and creatively.

Children’s progress is monitored through regular questioning and discussion.  Concepts and computing vocabulary are continually revised through curriculum progression across year groups and lesson sequences to allow learning to be cemented into the children’s long-term memory. Concept maps and end of unit quizzes help to assess what children already know and what they have learnt.