Computing

Computing

Computing

‘Enabling children to navigate the digital world with confidence, safety and creativity.’

At Bishop Pursglove, Computing equips pupils to use computational thinking and creativity to become active, competent and responsible participants in a rich digital world. Our Computing curriculum provides opportunities for all pupils to become digitally literate, and to have the skills to express themselves and develop their ideas within a variety of contexts through digital technology.

Computing is the medium through which the world is accessed and life is lived, and is an integral part of all learning.

At Bishop Pursglove, Computing is implemented through discrete and cross-curricular teaching, ensuring that content is relevant and purposeful, with the desire to develop and foster a pupil’s love of the subject. Through practical and meaningful real-life contexts, pupils learn a variety of transferable skills and have the opportunity to continually practise, apply and build upon previous learning.

Through engaging teaching and learning methods, we ensure a balanced coverage of the three strands of Computing: computer science, information technology and digital literacy, whilst equipping children with fundamental technological skills including word processing, online research, presenting data, retrieving and manipulating digital content and creating programs. Pupils have the opportunity to explore and evaluate online digital content, so that they value online safety and show respect for themselves and others when communicating digitally. Through investigative, problem-solving experiences children build resilience and perseverance where are they challenged as critical-thinkers. Cross-curricular links motivate and support pupils to make connections across subject areas and develop an awareness of the multitude of uses for technology within their daily lives. Pupils are taught valuable technological skills that will empower them to become successful, independent life-long learners.

At Bishop Pursglove, we promote pupils’ SMSC development in Computing through the following ways:

Using a range of social skills within different contexts through independent, partner and group work
Recognising the difference between right and wrong and understanding consequences for their actions when using technology and communicating through digital platforms
Respecting the feelings and opinions of others and how they express themselves creatively through technology
Understanding and appreciating technological advances made historically within global communities and recognising the continuing digital development in Britain and the rest of the world

We hope that by providing our pupils with an exciting and progressive Computing curriculum, that addresses the challenges and opportunities offered by the technology rich world in which we live, they will be confident contributors to society as responsible digital citizens. Computing will be planned in line with Teach Computing, Education for a Connected World and the national curriculum.

Our Computing curriculum encompasses the aims of the National Curriculum to ensure all pupils:

can understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms and data representation
can analyse problems in computational terms, and have repeated practical experience of writing computer programs in order to solve such problems
can evaluate and apply information technology, including new or unfamiliar technologies, analytically to solve problems
are responsible, competent, confident and creative users of information and communication technology

British Values

In computing we are learning to understand and be considerate to the views of other internet users. We understand that we are each part of the democracy of the internet and that we can each, in our own small way, affect the way the internet exists. We understand the use of rules on computers and the internet, such as when we are allowed to use social media and what we are allowed to post and share. We understand that rules are to keep others and ourselves safe and to help the internet to be an enjoyable and engaging place.

In computing we understand how to use our right to freedom of speech in a respectable and thoughtful way, being considerate of how this speech will affect others. We understand the freedom the internet and computers offer us in discovering information and connecting us with the world. We appreciate and understand the views of others, our right to challenge, question and discuss opinions and views, and to do this in a respectable and thoughtful way. We understand that as we are connected with the world while accessing the internet, we are exposed to the widest range of views, and we are learning to respect them. We understand that we are connected to people across the whole world. We understand that these are people from different communities, cultures, faiths and beliefs. We use the opportunities offered in computing to question, challenge and understand people with these different characteristics to support and develop our tolerance of them.

Protected Characteristics

At Bishop Pursglove, we want to give our children an open, respectful and realistic mindset towards the wonderful world we live in and how this relates to computing. We strive to expose them to a range of significant individuals from all different backgrounds related to the protected characteristics, and have planned for this in our varied curriculum.

We also want our children to understand how computing is working to help eliminate barriers, spread messages of acceptance and enable communities from across the globe to come together. We hope our children will continue to be the innovators of the future who with continue to stretch the realms of technology to help make the world a better place for everyone.

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