Computing
Computing Curriculum Overview
Computing Curriculum Intent
Our aim is to give children a thorough and ambitious education in computing, equipping them to use technology, computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world. It is now more important than ever that children are able to use technology positively, responsibly and safely, and that they see good models of this.
All children access the computing curriculum across the school from Year R through to Year 6. Our Year R children enjoy using and learning about technology during their Discovery Time whereas our KS1 and KS 2 children enjoy more structured lessons. In all year groups, computing is undertaken each half term. Each unit includes e-safety elements and an E-Safety Day is conducted by all year groups in the Spring term, in line with the national Safer Internet Day (https://www.saferinternetday.org/).
By the time the children leave Wellstead, they will have gained key knowledge and skills in the three main strands of the National Curriculum for Computing: computer science (programming and understanding how digital systems work), information technology (using computer systems to create, store, retrieve and send information) and digital literacy (evaluating digital content and using technology safely and respectfully). Furthermore, computing clubs like the First Lego League provide experiences in computing and aim to develop children’s computational thinking skills.
A new computing curriculum has been written and implementation began in the academic year 2023-24. The new curriculum has units that cover a broader range of computing skills and introduce more coding and robotics at an earlier stage.
In all Key stages coverage includes programming, multimedia and technology around us (including e-safety). The new curriculum ensures that every stand and element of the computing curriculum provides the skills and knowledge that will hold the children in good stead for their transition into secondary and life beyond.
Our ambition is to ensure that all children that attend Wellstead are confident users of ICT. This means that every child will be confident in using a range of multimedia programs to create content fit for purpose: art packages, word processing, spreadsheets, web page designs, CAD, podcasts, animation, movies, digital music, etc. It is also important that every learner is confident and competent in computer science: writing algorithms, programmes, pseudo code, looking abstractly at code, debugging, understanding how a computer works, programming devices, etc. Ultimately, we want our children to be ready for the technology of tomorrow that they will encounter as they leave Wellstead and journey forward.