Intent

‘We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist, using technologies that have not been invented, in order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet.’

– Karl Fisch

As new technologies continually emerge, we will strive to give all pupils the skills to prepare them for their future. Technology is an essential part of everyday life and will continue to evolve in as yet unforeseen ways. Our pupils will develop the skills to become confident, capable digital citizens, believing it’s possible to manage and embrace changes as they arrive.

For children’s computing learning to be truly meaningful, it must be embedded across a variety of curricular areas, used purposefully to aid and unlock otherwise unachievable tasks. Examples of this include: obtaining information from the internet, communicating with others online, using a wide range of apps and programs to support learning, and creating videos, music, social media posts and other digital media to enhance and present outcomes. We endeavour to provide children with as many opportunities as possible to use our computing resources to support their learning across every subject.

Implementation

Online Safety

In order for pupils to emerge as safe and responsible users of information and communication technology, teaching and learning around online safety must remain at the forefront of our provision. In addition to every year group being taught a dedicated Online Safety unit over one term in their computing lessons each year, throughout all learning which involves accessing the internet, relevant discussions and reinforcement of SMART rules should take place, in order to nurture a culture amongst our pupils in which they understand how – and actively endeavour to – act as responsible digital citizens.

For more information, click here to visit our Online Safety page.

Coding

Through coding, pupils learn to develop and practise their computational thinking skills as they solve problems and design systems. Working with ScratchJr (KS1) and Scratch (KS2), pupils are encouraged to exercise invention, logic and resourcefulness to create and improve algorithms capable of achieving feats which excite and inspire, unlocking their understanding of the power and limits of human and machine intelligence.

Curriculum Overview

Pupils explore the many other aspects of computing through the Purple Mash scheme of work, as well as several other programs. An overview of our entire computing curriculum can be seen below.

Impact

Throughout their time at Stoke Bishop, pupils develop their fundamental ICT skills (logging in, typing, interacting with different forms of technology), progressing to a stage where they can confidently adapt to new, unfamiliar challenges in their computing, with increasing independence. They have access to regular opportunities to focus on improving their computing skills explicitly, as well as opportunities to use technology to enhance other areas of their learning. Our pupils are also able to experience extra-curricular activities which enable them to further develop their abilities and passion for the subject. They leave school knowing how to stay safe in an increasingly digital world and how to use technology to learn and do amazing things!

Have a look at some of the great projects our pupils have created on Scratch:

Alex in Year 5 has made an amazing pong game. Follow the link to have a go at it!

Take a look at Matthew’s amazing Talent Show animation, made on Scratch: